Lately, I’ve been having fun teaching myself new photographic techniques and practising some that I learned a while ago. I’ve been playing around a bit with HDR (high dynamic range) photography to see what I can do and what I think of it.
I won’t talk here about how to make HDR images — there are lots of good tutorials you can find using Google. Here’s one that’s pretty straightforward. Yes, you do need special software to combine the exposures. I use Photomatix Pro. Photoshop can also do HDR but I’ve never been able to get good results with it.
Here is a recent image of Hutchinson Island beach at sunrise made with three exposures, two stops apart. I was quite pleased with it. The technique did a good job of capturing the scene with all its inherent drama.
Not everyone loves HDR images. We’ve all seen some poorly done and pretty aggressive uses of HDR with unnatural and psychedelic colours. I’m not fond of these, personally. But I’ve also seen many images that use HDR to enhance an image and make it look more like what the eye saw at the scene. Done well, even the more extreme applications of HDR can be beautiful and pleasing to the eye and can convey artistic visions that stop you in your tracks.
Check out Toad Hollow Photography for some great examples of HDR and some useful tips and tricks.
The fact is that no matter how expensive your camera is, it’s just not as good as the human eye. Our eyes are able to look around us and simultaneously see the detail in dark areas as well as bright areas. This is called “dynamic range,” and our eyes have a lot more of it than any camera (11 to 14 stops versus 4 to 6 stops for a camera.)
Your camera has to meter a scene, which means it picks a part of the image and tries to expose it correctly (not too dark and not too bright), and trusts that the rest of the picture will adjust accordingly.
That’s why, after you shoot a high contrast image, it can be disappointing. It doesn’t capture the scene the way you remembered it. The highlights are blown out or the shadows have no detail.
A couple of weeks ago, we were over at a relative’s house at dusk. The sun was setting in the west (to the left of the image) and the whole scene looking out over the lagoon and into the waterway beyond had a magical look to me. People in the surrounding houses has started to put their indoor and outdoor lights on and they were illuminating the water. A heavy, dark cloud cover was coming toward us, adding drama to the scene. The water was glowing.
I knew from experience that a straight shot wouldn’t capture the true beauty of the scene as I was experiencing it. So I shot three exposures, using my bracketing function and a tripod to keep things still.
It’s when you import the shots into Photomatix that you have all the creative decisions to make. You can be as conservative or as crazy as you like playing with the sliders. I tried to remain as true to what I saw as I could.
Then, the other night, we were having dinner with a friend by the pool. The water was a beautiful shining turquoise colour against an ink blue sky and the palms were illuminated. I tried another set of brackets.
And then I turned my attention to the palms and their reflections in the canal and the Manatee Pocket at night. I find HDR opens up a lot of possibilities for capturing images at night.
I have lots more experimenting to do with HDR and plenty of work ahead to refine my techniques, but I’ve come to the conclusion that HDR is worthwhile to pursue. This is just the beginning…
What about you? Have you tried HDR? What do you think of it?
Linking with Kent Weakley’s Sweet Shot Tuesday and Watery Wednesday
Sherrygaley.com 
I’m only a fan of HDR when its more natural than tweeked to the extreme, in the mid ranges is also quite surreal in many instances and just looks excessive.
Your images are stunning. I’m so glad you shared your blog. Peggy from pa
Wow – all these pictures are beautiful!
What beautiful images you have made here.
Each one is quite magical.
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Love, love, love that last image. I haven’t really tried a lot with HDR although I have tried to combine two differently exposed photos together in Elements with so-so success. Like you, I don’t like a lot of what I’ve seen with HDR; when it’s overdone it looks really fake and a bit tacky, like something that should be on black velvet, IMHO. Your work here, though, has me thinking that maybe I’ve been too dismissive. Perhaps I will try it some time soon. It’s always fun to learn new things.
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A very interesting article Sherri…thanks for leading me to it…I like how you have used HDR here, very subtle but adds a lot..I really don’t like the images that are so overdone…the photography gets lost in those heavy HDR images…
I’m going to keep that article in my save file and some rainy day…I’m going to give it a try..
Have a lovely weekend.
I really liked the first shot best and then I checked out the others and liked them best! I want to learn HDR so I think your post has given me the push to do it….these all look really really good!
Really like the first shot, I think it works very well. Seen on Kent Weakley Sweet Shot Tuesday.
Paul.
Wow awesome photos
Oh my goodness, these are all stunning. I cannot even begin to pick a favorite. I have admired HDR images, but have never experimented. Might just give it a try.
Good job Sherry!
This is really interesting, Sherry. I have experienced the frustration of not being able to capture all the nuances of light and dark at dusk but haven’t experimented with HDR. Thanks for your excellent discussion and examples. I learned a lot – and I also enjoyed seeing the Florida environment. It feels so far away now.
I echo Toad’s comments – these are excellent! And I like your explanation of HDR and dynamic range too. Well done!
Oh, Sherry, how can we thank you for your kind, kind words here? We really appreciate that so much. What wonderful photographs you’ve taken and shared here in your blog post, my good friend, these are some of the very finest HDR pictures I’ve seen recently! I love the rich range you’ve captured, yet as you said, the processing is so very subtle you just aren’t sure why the picture pops so! Unless, of course, you are an avid HDR fan like we are. You’ve done a terrific, terrific job with these and I am very, very much looking forward to seeing more!
Beatiful images!
Love what you’ve done with this. The HDR really captures the light and colours – especially in the storm cloud shot. You’ve done them really so beautifully. As you say, I’ve seen quite a lot of poorly done HDR which has put me off a bit, but you’ve inspired me to check out some of the tutorials.
Wonderful post and images Sherry.
I love them all, but the one of the pool looks the closest to what our eyes would see. I feel like I could be right there looking at that scene in front of me. I have to wonder how you take three separate shots (even with a tripod) and blend them together to form one image. Especially when you’re shooting waves in the ocean like the first one. One day I will take the time to research.