Since I began my attempts at HDR Photography earlier this year, I’ve fielded many questions from folks wondering how I get my photos to look the way that they do.
Well first off, HDR or High Dynamic Range Photography isn’t too difficult. You just need the proper equipment and the proper scene to shoot.
Essentially, HDR photography is the technique of taking multiple exposures of the same photograph and then stacking those multiple exposures on top of one another. This helps to bring out more color and more detail than what you would see in a normal photograph.
By exposure, I mean how “light” or “dark” the photograph appears after you’ve taken the photograph. Most digital cameras have “Exposure Values” or “EV” ranging from -2 to +2. Personally when I take photographs to use in an HDR I take three photos at exposure values of -2, 0, +2.
Most point and shoot digital cameras have the ability to alter the EV, while many digital SLR’s or dSLR’s have a feature called “auto-bracketing” which allows the user to set the camera up so that it takes 3 pictures at varying exposures in rapid succession. A camera with Auto-Bracketing helps tremendously with HDR photography but is NOT essential.
For example look at these three photos of Cabot Tower / Signal Hill below.
These three photos were shot on an auto-bracketing mode as I shoot with a digital SLR (Canon Rebel XTi). But again, with a tripod or flat surface to lay the camera on, the user could alter the EV after each shot.
This first photo is a +2 and thus appears to be quite bright. This is called “over Exposure”
This second photo is a 0 and is basically a “normal” exposure. This is essentially the photo that most people would take with their digital cameras.
Finally this last photo is quite dark and is a -2 exposure value. This is called “Under Exposure”.
Also, I would recommend that most people use a tri-pod or something to hold their camera steady as they flip through the various exposures as if the pictures are not 100% identical (with respect to alignment and positioning) you well get a weird and blurry looking HDR. I often don’t use a tripod but I have perhaps the most steady hands known to mankind. Either way it’s your choice but for beginners a tripod is certainly a safer bet.
So, now that you have your three photographs you need to stack them one on top of the other. To do this you can use a software program such as Photoshop or Photomatix. I currently use photomatix and find that it works great.
Basically, the software will stack the photos for you and render an HDR image which you can then “tone map”. Tone mapping is essentially editing the photo so that it will display properly on a computer screen as computer screens currently have difficulty displaying proper HDR.
This is a critical component to creating an HDR photograph and you should make certain that your software has tone mapping capabilities.
So in summary you need the following :
1. Three or more photographs at varying exposures such as (-2, 0, +2)
2. A good scene to shoot in HDR. Look for clouds, colors such as green or blue, buildings, etc. It is important to avoid moving objects such as cars or people as they will create “ghosts” in the HDR photo.
3. Proper HDR software such as Photomatix or Photoshop. Make certain it has a tone-mapping ability.
In the end if done correctly you should end up with a photo such as the image below.
Depending on the scene you are shooting some of the photos come out looking amazing while others are nothing special. Critics of HDR photography point out that HDR photos look “fake” and admittedly they are often exaggerated but I still find them interesting. And if done properly I think they can look much much nicer than a general photograph. For example just look at my three basic shots of Cabot Tower above. None of them have a “wow” factor that will make people stop and look. Now look at the HDR shot. People will find that interesting.
Just for fun I’ll post a few more of my favorite HDR shots that I’ve taken below. Feel free to leave a comment.
Cabot Tower on Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
2008 Chevrolet Cobalt
Hole # 6 At The Willows Golf Course In Holyrood, Newfoundland, Canada.
View From My Back Yard
Topsail Beach – Newfoundland, Canada
Queen & Yonge – Toronto, Ontario
Yonge & Dundas Square – Toronto, Ontario
Eaton Centre – Toronto, Ontario
University Of Toronto Campus Building – Toronto, Ontario
My complete photo collection can be found at http://www.kurtisbillard.com
