- Messages
- 21
- Edit My Images
- Yes
This is kind of about the whole process rather than just the editing but I guess this will be the best forum for this...
I shoot a lot of interiors, and often use HDR techniques to bring a more dynamic range as well as add depth and contrast to the image. The problem is... Every single time I do a HDR they turn out differently, and I have to play around in photomatix for ages and even then am often not happy... With lightroom I have a certain workflow for certain types of photos, I raise the shadows, lower the highlights, and the blacks, etc. etc. With HDRs I have to try 3 or 4 different blending algorithms and play with settings which often seem to give random results. I also notice a lot of the time the output image is way too dark and there doesnt seem to be a way to brighten it.
So why is this?? Sometimes I put the images in and I get exactly what I want with X settings, but the next time X settings will be absolutely terrible, and nothing will seem to work.
How can I get more consistant results that would require more consistant editing techniques?
For an example, here is one I shot today. I took 5 exposures (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2) with the brighted being how I wanted the shadows to be, and the darkest being where I wanted the highlights (window) to be. After trying all the different algorithms and playing around with settings I got something that looked ok but still to dark, especially in the high mid tones. So I took one of the original exposures and masked it together in photoshop. Totally taking over an hour...
+2:
+1:
0 (middle exposure):
-1:
-2:
HDR output (natural fused):
final image after blending in photoshop:
I shoot a lot of interiors, and often use HDR techniques to bring a more dynamic range as well as add depth and contrast to the image. The problem is... Every single time I do a HDR they turn out differently, and I have to play around in photomatix for ages and even then am often not happy... With lightroom I have a certain workflow for certain types of photos, I raise the shadows, lower the highlights, and the blacks, etc. etc. With HDRs I have to try 3 or 4 different blending algorithms and play with settings which often seem to give random results. I also notice a lot of the time the output image is way too dark and there doesnt seem to be a way to brighten it.
So why is this?? Sometimes I put the images in and I get exactly what I want with X settings, but the next time X settings will be absolutely terrible, and nothing will seem to work.
How can I get more consistant results that would require more consistant editing techniques?
For an example, here is one I shot today. I took 5 exposures (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2) with the brighted being how I wanted the shadows to be, and the darkest being where I wanted the highlights (window) to be. After trying all the different algorithms and playing around with settings I got something that looked ok but still to dark, especially in the high mid tones. So I took one of the original exposures and masked it together in photoshop. Totally taking over an hour...
+2:
+1:
0 (middle exposure):
-1:
-2:
HDR output (natural fused):
final image after blending in photoshop: