Some great HDR Photography How to
What is this term HDR Photography I keep hearing all about?
You might have seen floating around the internet these last few years the term HDR photography. Some seem to be really pretty and some seem to be really surreal and weird looking. In this article I’m going to discuss what HDR is, why photographers are in love with it and how it all works.
Here is actually a sample of what a good HDR photo can look like.
What is HDR Photography and how do you do it?
HDR photography is simple really. A photographer takes several photographs at different exposures. One exposure super dark so the bright areas in the photo are perfectly exposed. One photo in the middle so the midtones are exposed and one photo that’s super bright so all the shadows are properly exposed. Then combines them together into one photo with all the areas perfectly exposed.
The reason these hdr photographers need to do this is because current cameras do not have the dynamic range of shadows to highlights to properly expose everything, so photographers have to do it in multiple shots with multiple exposures. I imagine in another 10 years our camera’s sensor technology will have the capacity and a high dynamic range so this technique will no longer be necessary. It’s already that way for most shots.
Why so many photographers are OBSESSED with it.
What HDR photography allows you to do is take a simple boring scene and capture all the light available in that scene and then use it however you like to get whatever results you desire when color processing. And photographers love it when they’re is new techniques because now they all run around and try to sell you their HDR photography tutorials.
When HDR was first on the scenes most photos had this ugly over processed look. It was all about the unique new look of this new tecnique and many photographers were ignoring what it means to actually take a well composed photo, and would just super color process everything.
Today as cameras have improved so has the technique and so has the public's eye. People are use to now seeing fake surreal looking photos and now many of the HDR photographers have worn out the look and are now using HDR to create more natural looking photos again. Thank God. If you’re interested in learning more about this style of photography I suggest you check out Alik Griffin’s in depth and free HDR Photography How to Guide he has posted on his site. I guess they're more tutorials or tips then really training videos since they are kind of random.
Anyway he’s been created pretty cool photography tips lately that are very informative and helpful. Check it out. For me, I don't usually dive into the world of HDR photography. I'm old school and prefer using neutral density gradient filters to properly expose my scenes. One day cameras will be advanced enough with such a high dynamic range that I won't need to do this. I can't wait.