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Thursday, January 8, 2009

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

High Dynamic Range or HDR is a technique that I've learned since I started getting involved with photography. Depending on how to tone mapped the HDR images, the outcome varies, be it a subtle effect or a dramatic effect. Some like it subtle, maintaining the photo-like appearance, while other prefer a more dramatic effect, which makes the photo look like a painting. Either way, it all comes down to personal preferences. 

There are several HDR generation software that can be used to produce the HDR effect. A popular one is the Photomatix (I use this). Photoshop also has the HDR creation function. Personally, I find the Photomatix easier to use.

In order to produce a HDR image, one will need to identify which shots suits best to be processed in HDR. For me, the following types of shots are suitable to be processed in HDR,

1. A shot that shows a lot of details, be it an old rusty fire hydrant, architectural details, etc.

2. A shot that contains a wide tonal range. Example, have you ever shot a landscape only to get an underexposed foreground or a blown sky? Well, that's a good candidate for HDR.

3. A shot that involves metallic materials, ie. vehicles, metal structures, shiny things.

Don't rule out another potential HDR shot, which is the combination of 2 or 3 of the types mentioned above.

In this post, I'm sharing some HDR images that I have processed showing architectural details of a building. This building is the Morrocco's House, located at the Putrajaya Botanical Garden, Malaysia.

Morocco House, Putrajaya Botanical Garden

Putrajaya

Putrajaya

6 comments:

Nicholas Leong said...

Ooo HDR the proper way. :P I am far too lazy to do it. Been Psedo HDRing since I found out I can :P

Enche' Adykasyah said...

Using PS or Photomatix bro?

Amino @ Lordmint said...

Thanks Nick. You should try the normal hdr :P

Ady, i used PS before, didn't quite get the output i wanted, coz maybe im not good at curve tonemapping. photomatix easier, bcoz the tonemapping method is parameterized. all my hdr now are processed using photomatix, then adjusted in photoshop.

libpuritan said...

photomatix! =) haven't done this in a while.

these are really good, lordmint! the second shot is best for me. balances the strength of HDR with the compo. worthwhile try on the fountain.

Unknown said...

this is great info... will do some experimen... :D

Nisa said...

beautiful sets of pictures min....