Can't there just be a camera that would take automatic HDR photo for us so we won't have to worry about photoshop and all the hassles of doing HDR stuff with it?
@dmana3172 I think there are cameras that already do this, but as with all "auto-stuff" there are the geeks out there that like to do things manually. The HDR scene out there is becoming more and more main-stream and not like the "oh wow" thing it was 4 years ago. Trey Ratcliff comes to mind...he lives right here in Austin...that guy got in on the "here's how to HDR" early and has landed him some nice royalties :) For me, HDR is not that heavily used in my portfolio...just once in a while.
@motleypixel Trey Ratcliff is awesome. You can follow him on Google + ... +Trey Ratcliff. He's always holding hangouts to discuss photography and tutorials and sharing new photos.
All of the information about HDR Photography, provided on the internet, has been intended to assist and teach "Photographers" how to do this process. While it's easy to teach the shooting aspect, it's both time consuming and expensive to learn how to do the "proper" post-processing. If you look up Pro Photo Results / HDR Photography on YouTube, you will finally be able to get the finished post-processing done for you! You do not need to be a professional Photographer to accomplish this.
Alll of the information about HDR Photography, provided on the internet, has been intended to assist and teach "Photographers" how to do this process. While it's easy to teach the shooting aspect, it's both time consuming and expensive to learn how to do the "proper" post-processing. If you look up Pro Photo Results / HDR Photography (on YouTube), you will finally be able to get the finished post-processing done for you! You do not need to be a professional Photographer to accomplish this.
Want to shoot like this but do not have the time, software and skills to produce the final imagery? We will show you in under 10 minutes how to use almost any camera to achieve the original images required. Then just drop them into our on-line up-loader and we will deliver back to you the most amazing photos that you have ever taken! We're so confident that you will love the results that we will do the first assembly for you for free. No obligation whatsoever. ProPhotoResults
Want to shoot like this but do not have the time, software and skills to produce the final imagery? We will show you in under 10 minutes how to use almost any camera to achieve the original images required. Then just drop them into our on-line up-loader and we will deliver back to you the most amazing photos that you have ever taken! We're so confident that you will love the results that we will do the first assembly for you for free. No obligation whatsoever. ProPhotoResults
Im not sure if bridge and ps are separate but I start off in bridge when doing my hdr. Here is how I do it.
Open the folder with the pics while in bridge---> highlight the thumbnails you want to use for HDR -----> once highlighted (should see small thumbnails opened on the right side) click at the top "tools" and look for "HDR" it will open a side menu box that says (on mine) "merge to HDR Pro"..click that and let it do its thing....play with the menu buttons, enjoy.
HDR -- The best way to shoot high-quality HDR photography and video with DSLR cameras is the 3D-BS MINI (beam-splitter) Rig. To find out more visit our site - 3D Film Factory (dot) com
@TheUmara11 IF the 600D can do "in-camera" HDR (wouldn't doubt it), then the manual should explain how to use it and how it works. Regardless if the camera can auto-HDR, if you can still adjust EV w/o adjusting the apertuer (f-stop), then you can still take varying EV exposures and importing them into any of the many HDR applications available today.
@kostis007 Well maybe...it depends on how extreme you are with regards to noise...also the newer versions of these HDR apps are getting better and better. As you know, RAW images contain more data to manipulate and thus I like to shoot RAW always, then dress them up (remove noise etc.), then save as a 16bit tiff and use the 16bit tiff to generate the HDR composite.
@motleypixel my camera has an option to shoot 3,5 or 7 raws in a row with a different ev.should i prefer 7 or 5 to 3?is it better?i have almost no idea how to use photoshop and process images at the moment :P
@kostis007 Most of the time 3 raws will get you 99% of the way there...I say most of the time because 3 will result in a nice bell-shaped histogram...5 may help but usually very little and 7 I feel is just over-kill...the law of diminishing returns kicks in at 3 images. What do you use to process your RAW's? If you use an app that can reduce noise i.e. LR 3 then process the RAW's will a little NR, crop, dust removal, etc. and sync the same changes across all 3, save as 16bit tif use PhotoMatix
@trigg3r85 generally speaking people how slap their photos into an HDR program and crank up the HDR-like effects and export are noobs...those who take it to further levels and mask in HDR file and normal file to make a more "realistic" scene make better images. I photograph a lot of stuff and only about .5% is HDR.
This is not a tutorial, this is just you reading reading your settings out loud. Theres no explaination to what stuff does and why. There's tons of better tutorials all over youtube.
@TzumB Well your comment seems to contradict the 147 other comments. True there are plenty of other "better" tutorials on youtube since I posted this over two years ago. Back then I think mine was one of the first. Thanks for stopping by and watching my video. Have a cheerful day!
Just in case anybody is reading this who is thinking about buying Photomatix...if you use the coupon code: RoyaltyFreeStock, you will get 15% off your order.
Big picture question: You start out with RAW, save to Tiff, and then save to JPEG. Why this series/sequence of formats? Can you not just manipulate in RAW or is this a limitation of the software for HDR which forces you to go to TIFF?
I was under the impression that TIFF was offered the least quality, JPEG second best and RAW the best.
Finally, have you ever come across any underwater photos using this technique and if so any suggestions for us divers?
@meltdownman1 I shoot RAW, then bring the raw into PS, then use NoiseWare Pro to remove noise, then save as 16bit tiff (this captures the NR), 16bit is the same data depth as RAW, then take those 16bit noise reduced tiffs into photomatix, then perform HDR, then save as 16bit tiff, then I open that HDR in PS and make further adjustments, including blending the original 16bit noise reduced tiffs using layer masks if necessary.
Tiff is a very high quality lossless file. (better than jpeg)
Jpeg is a high compression file type but small in size so is usefull. its best to edit and save tiffs made from raws. then if you want to send the image send it as a jpeg. As you copy jpegs from jpegs your actualy compressing data which is already compressd! So after a few repeated copys are made (copys of copys ) There can be drastic degradation of detail. Its a long story, google it.
hey thanks! ive been testing with HDR pics and exactly like you say, you have to choose an object that doesnt move to fast.
But i have a question, how can you make HDR pics with fast moving objects? For example Ive seen HDR pics of bridges with cars on them, or just a crowded street.
I tried to just use 1 normal exposure photo and make an over- and underexposed version in photoshop and then convert it, but it doenst look as good as with the original photo's that you take.
@stasisnu18 First, don't just use one photo, it's much better to use 3-5 photos and use a proggy such as Photomatix. Second, a scene with moving objects will show HDR with the moving objects blurred because of the under-exp frame having shutter open longer. Some like this and some don't so if you don't then you will have to use the HDR composite frame and your normal exposure frame and mask in the "frozen" subjects due to fast shutter speed. Like layering two photos.
@stasisnu18 shoot RAW.. its the best way to capture fast moving objects for HDR.
once you capture the shot u want, open the RAW file in either photoshop or software you got with your camera. next thing you want to do is to find the EXPOSURE VALUE slider/button. then make 3 different exposure values. for the first picture move the EV slider/button to -2. the next one should be 0 (original) and the 3rd one should be set to +2.
@stasisnu18 If you shoot with a SLR and use RAW format for your files you can shoot one picture and then when converting it to a jpeg you can make diffrent versions for it
@teranite43 Now that you understand how it works, here's basically how I use it. What I'm doing more and more these days is taking my 3-5 frames at varying EV and producing an HDR image (16bit tiff), then I bring that composite into PS along with the normal exposure frame (post-enhanced with LR) and then with layer masks I mask in/out parts of the HDR and normal exposure and I basically make a composite HDR/Normal EV composition. To me most of the time 100% HDR is too fake.
Thank you for making this 3-part video putting the HDR concept together in an easy to understand format. Being a newby at Photoshop, I was lost on the last step. Would appreciate it if you could explain the purpose of painting with a white brush at the end.
@teranite43 I recommend practicing with layers. Painting white on a layer masks shows the active layer and black hides. Do a quick test on a photo, duplicate layer, add layer mask, select photo layer, change levels and make it really bright, select layer mask, select large brush-black, paint on layer mask, see the adjustment you made go away, change brush to white, see it come back.
Do the 3 photos I take have to be in the exact same position? The reason I'm asking is because I don't have a tripod and am taking the photos by hand, so the 3 photos are going to vary a little bit in terms of position and camera shake. Thanks!
@faYte0607 YES the must be in the same position and a tripod is HIGHLY recommended. Also you don't want to change your aperture/iris during the captures either as they change the depth of field. Now you can hand-hold but only if your shutter speeds are going to be fast and you have a very high burst rate on your camera. The example of the shot of the barn in my video was done hand-held as I was kneeling on the ground and my shutter (even for the -2EV) was quite high.
@N6600 Yes, you can certainly layer 3+ shots in photoshop and get some normal dynamic range effects, but it's the tone-mapping that is more complex in photoshop that's harder to pull-off.
Very Useful video..Ive try to take my own HDR's (with a Canon 450D) ..and they came out excelent, the only thing is that after I merge the 3 different exposed photos in Photomerge Pro, the resulting HDR photo looks extremely noisy..why is that? How i can i remove the noise? Cheers
make sure that your aperture does not change during as you take pictures +, 0 and -. the reason is that with the change of aperture also depth of field changes and sharpness of some objects may change from one picture of the set to another
Don't take this as an insult. But I dislike the way you do your HDR. When you get it into photoshop you sort of make more work for yourself.
The way I've learned and have always done it is..
You take the ORIGINAL photos and put all of them (along with the HDR image) into photoshop. Get them all into one page, and then use layer masks from there. Just a different way of doing it, I find that it gives you more room to work with, and allows more colors I feel.
This tutorial is perfect. You should make some more, on whatever you want. (I think you also know how to use C4D, 3DS Max or Blender, because of your BG ;) )
@motleypixel Does the picture have to be taken in RAW or JPEG mode? i'm about to buy my first DSLR, wanted the canon 7d, but its too expensive and probably a little too advanced for me, do you think the 550d is a good buy?
I am sure a lot of this can be done in photoshop using layers and filters etc and don't see where the advantage is in buying this software photomatix for 90 US dolares. In CS3 is more mucking about but I am sure one can obtain the same effects, what say you guys & Gals?
I don't think it's so easy. After merging the pictures in photomatix, I take THAT picture and layer it on top of one of the originals. Photomatix is very easy to use and yields pretty good results.
I Know. I have just bought it and am having a lay around with it. The same can be done in CS3 but takes much much longer Photomatix is much faster and saves time. Thanks.
Because digital camera's are what they say, digital, it means that everythings limited to information bandwith.
This is also the case for the dynamic range of a digital camera (how much digital values/grades are between black and white), which by default is not comparable with old chemical film.
By taking three pictures with alternating light settings and combining those photo's, you get a wider dynamic range.
Yes, if you open your RAW's in PS then only do a noise reduction with a NR filter (noise ninja or noiseware pro), then save as 16bit tiff (be sure to not adjust any contrast or exposure). Then open Photomatix and select hdr and open the tiff files and then once open select the "Tone Mapping" (in newer versions of Photomatix it auto-opens to the tonmapping; however, in older versions it does not). That's pretty much it.
Do the photos you take have to be in RAW? Bacause i am doing the whole tutorial correctly step by step. Yet my final image is still unappealing and does not have an official HDR processed look. Any suggestions?
Not necessary, but better in RAW, but I prefer to shoot raw...process RAW to 16bit tiff with noise reduction ONLY (no other adjustments), then import the 16-bit tiffs that have been noise reduced into Photomatix.
Are you sure you are doing tone mapping and not the other method?
Alright! Thank you for your reply! I will try this to see how it works out. I'm a little new to photomtix so maybe I wasn't tone mapping it right. Also, I use photoshop to combine my pictures, do i save the image to 16 bit tiff after its finished? when its saved, I launch my image into photomatix so then its ready to be tone mapped! I'm pretty sure I am tone mapping only.
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to create such an in depth tutorial. I have referred back to this several times ... keep up the good work.
I'd been taking some decent pictures I think well compared to the some other ones, anyway I decided to share with you some of the HDR pics that I took, I'm really happy about the outcome and that all thanks to you and some people here that gave me a hand with it, I'll leave the my web page so you can see it, thanks again.
flickr (.) com/photos/21390355@N02/ without the ()
does anybody know of any tutorials i can read or watch that tells u how to start from a jpeg? i know you can use them in Dynamic-Photo HDR but i'm not sure what to do.
...I went until the last step(s) following you but in both cases I still get ugly results, do I have to use those raw files, or the jpegs? in either case no good result comes out , I´m just so frustrated with this HDR thing I will be so greatful and you or anyone reading this could help me or direct me to a website so I can get things straight. Well thanks in advance for reading this msg. I really liked this vid. too!
Please post your work-flow in detail and examples (host the file somewhere so we can see it). I shoot in Manual Mode only like I say in my tutorial. Shooting in P-Mode WILL certainly screw things up...shoot either in A-mode or Manual (i.e. set permanent aperture and shutter speed and then AEB).
What happened to the comment I just posted? Anyways like I said Thanks for your answer Roy I do have a flickr account which by the way I believe is the best site to share your pics and watch great work from the pros. I haven´t shoot any HDR due to too much work, and I´m also shy about sharing my pics becuase I´m an amateur, but I´ll try to share my first HDR(s) oh and by the way I loved your pics at your site they´re so beautiful and inspiring!!!
I´d tried everything about HDR photos and I still haven´t get a good result, with your vid. I tried every single step and I´d failed, I have a canon rebel xsi 450d and I shot in the ¨P¨ mode with a -2, 0, and a plus 2. I´d used the 3 raw files in photomatix pro 3 and I´d got a light over exposed result right away, I´d tried with the other 3 other shots in jpeg termination and I still got a very bad result with normal colors but still over expossed , what am I doing wrong?
You should shoot in A mode (Aperature Priority) to ensure that the aperature doesn't change between exposures. If the aperature changes (possible by using P mode) you'll get depth of field differences between shots which will mess things up on you.
Thanks a lot I just got off work and the first thing I checked was if there was an answer to my question and there was, so thanks I appreciate that, I´ll shoot using the A-Dep option as you said and we´ll see what the results are. This should be mentioned in the video so people like me don´t get confused, well thanks for your time :)
Hey I was going to practice taking HDR pictures in model homes. I've seen some that were done before and they were taken with 5 different exposures. Could you send me some feedback on how to achieve that? So far I'm only use to taking 3 exposures for HDR.
Easy, take two 3-shot EAB exposure sets and throw away the duplicate 0EV shot. I.E. -2, 0, +2 and then take a -1.5, 0, +1.5, then throw away the duplicate 0EV exposure.
Thank you soo much man.. this is the best hdr tutorial I have ever read still now.. I used to get really sad by that Adobe photoshop CS2, I am not a any expert, I'm a beginner. But I got soo much confidence now watching your video. Thank you soo much..thanks alot man.. keep grooving I will show you my first hdr when I will make one.. :) I cant wait..lol
Thank you, this is a great tutorial! One question though, does it matter which format you use to take your pictures, example: .jpeg, .RAW, .png etc. Thanks!
مافهمت شيء بس خذ
amo0ore07 4 months ago
@amo0ore07 ياهلابك والله...
PineNutButter 3 months ago
This is great.
Thanks.
George Vreeland Hill
GeorgeVreelandHill 5 months ago
the best Hdr tutorial i seen, very powerful and usefull , thanks a lottt
sharagim1 6 months ago
Great
sgaymon 8 months ago
Can't there just be a camera that would take automatic HDR photo for us so we won't have to worry about photoshop and all the hassles of doing HDR stuff with it?
dmana3172 8 months ago
@dmana3172 I think there are cameras that already do this, but as with all "auto-stuff" there are the geeks out there that like to do things manually. The HDR scene out there is becoming more and more main-stream and not like the "oh wow" thing it was 4 years ago. Trey Ratcliff comes to mind...he lives right here in Austin...that guy got in on the "here's how to HDR" early and has landed him some nice royalties :) For me, HDR is not that heavily used in my portfolio...just once in a while.
motleypixel 8 months ago
@motleypixel Trey Ratcliff is awesome. You can follow him on Google + ... +Trey Ratcliff. He's always holding hangouts to discuss photography and tutorials and sharing new photos.
parallelworlds 5 days ago
@dmana3172 Sony a55 will do HDR's automatically. But, if one uses that auto function, you are stuck with what the camera wants to do.
BR5499a 8 months ago
@dmana3172 my iphone 4 does it!
10YouGotTube10 6 months ago
All of the information about HDR Photography, provided on the internet, has been intended to assist and teach "Photographers" how to do this process. While it's easy to teach the shooting aspect, it's both time consuming and expensive to learn how to do the "proper" post-processing. If you look up Pro Photo Results / HDR Photography on YouTube, you will finally be able to get the finished post-processing done for you! You do not need to be a professional Photographer to accomplish this.
sandmancan2 6 months ago
Alll of the information about HDR Photography, provided on the internet, has been intended to assist and teach "Photographers" how to do this process. While it's easy to teach the shooting aspect, it's both time consuming and expensive to learn how to do the "proper" post-processing. If you look up Pro Photo Results / HDR Photography (on YouTube), you will finally be able to get the finished post-processing done for you! You do not need to be a professional Photographer to accomplish this.
sandmancan2 6 months ago
To learn how to achieve true HDR photographs with your own camera, please search out Pro Photo Results / HDR on YouTube
sandmancan2 6 months ago
@sandmancan2 your videos aren't good.
smokejc 4 months ago
Want to shoot like this but do not have the time, software and skills to produce the final imagery? We will show you in under 10 minutes how to use almost any camera to achieve the original images required. Then just drop them into our on-line up-loader and we will deliver back to you the most amazing photos that you have ever taken! We're so confident that you will love the results that we will do the first assembly for you for free. No obligation whatsoever. ProPhotoResults
sandmancan2 3 weeks ago
@dmana3172 dont be lazy..art takes effort
ChelleElleBelle 5 months ago
@dmana3172 The Sony alpha nex5 has built in HDR and panorama sweep and I think it can do 3D too
itshg0 4 months ago
Want to shoot like this but do not have the time, software and skills to produce the final imagery? We will show you in under 10 minutes how to use almost any camera to achieve the original images required. Then just drop them into our on-line up-loader and we will deliver back to you the most amazing photos that you have ever taken! We're so confident that you will love the results that we will do the first assembly for you for free. No obligation whatsoever. ProPhotoResults
sandmancan2 3 weeks ago
Finally a descent tutorial with a guy who knows what he's talking about! :) Thanks:)
pyka10 9 months ago 4
@pyka10 Thank you!
motleypixel 9 months ago
can i do this with adobe bridge?!!?
TheSitard 9 months ago
@TheSitard I don't know...there are ways to do this in Photoshop but I prefer this application.
motleypixel 9 months ago
@TheSitard
Im not sure if bridge and ps are separate but I start off in bridge when doing my hdr. Here is how I do it.
Open the folder with the pics while in bridge---> highlight the thumbnails you want to use for HDR -----> once highlighted (should see small thumbnails opened on the right side) click at the top "tools" and look for "HDR" it will open a side menu box that says (on mine) "merge to HDR Pro"..click that and let it do its thing....play with the menu buttons, enjoy.
destin325 8 months ago
can i do this with adobe bridge?!!?
TheSitard 9 months ago
@TheSitard Yes, very easily you can do this, Also this application is probably worse for the professional look.
This application converts your images to JPEG, but photoshop it can remain RAW :)
Lolpop751 8 months ago
HDR -- The best way to shoot high-quality HDR photography and video with DSLR cameras is the 3D-BS MINI (beam-splitter) Rig. To find out more visit our site - 3D Film Factory (dot) com
3deefilm 10 months ago
okay, this might sound like a stupid question, but do ihave to get photomatix pro 3? or can i go on with pro 4?
grimreaperatta 10 months ago
@grimreaperatta any version will work...the more current versions will work better (they constantly improve the engine).
motleypixel 10 months ago
Hi, I am going to buy Canon 600D in coming few days. I heard we can do HDR photography in SLR camera itself, would you provide any guide for it?
TheUmara11 10 months ago
@TheUmara11 IF the 600D can do "in-camera" HDR (wouldn't doubt it), then the manual should explain how to use it and how it works. Regardless if the camera can auto-HDR, if you can still adjust EV w/o adjusting the apertuer (f-stop), then you can still take varying EV exposures and importing them into any of the many HDR applications available today.
motleypixel 10 months ago
is there any difference if i use 3 jpegs instead of 3 raws?
kostis007 11 months ago
@kostis007 Well maybe...it depends on how extreme you are with regards to noise...also the newer versions of these HDR apps are getting better and better. As you know, RAW images contain more data to manipulate and thus I like to shoot RAW always, then dress them up (remove noise etc.), then save as a 16bit tiff and use the 16bit tiff to generate the HDR composite.
motleypixel 11 months ago
@motleypixel i tried with raw and i get slightly less noise.
does it make a difference if i use 7 different raws instead of 3?
kostis007 11 months ago
@kostis007 if you can shoot raw and process the noise down some and then save in 16bit tiff and use those, then raw would be better.
motleypixel 11 months ago
@motleypixel my camera has an option to shoot 3,5 or 7 raws in a row with a different ev.should i prefer 7 or 5 to 3?is it better?i have almost no idea how to use photoshop and process images at the moment :P
kostis007 11 months ago
@kostis007 Most of the time 3 raws will get you 99% of the way there...I say most of the time because 3 will result in a nice bell-shaped histogram...5 may help but usually very little and 7 I feel is just over-kill...the law of diminishing returns kicks in at 3 images. What do you use to process your RAW's? If you use an app that can reduce noise i.e. LR 3 then process the RAW's will a little NR, crop, dust removal, etc. and sync the same changes across all 3, save as 16bit tif use PhotoMatix
motleypixel 11 months ago
i am gonna steal those BOSE speakers u have in the back
digitalwolves 11 months ago
Nice! A complete tutorial, thanks a lot for sharing!
breakingbeatz 1 year ago
Bad ass! Great tutorial.
marcuelcajon 1 year ago
Torrent for photomatriX?
1337Creations 1 year ago
Wow, best tutorial I have seen on HDR in the whole youtube. Thank you sir.
CamiloSanchez1979 1 year ago
great, thanks for sharing ur knowledge, just slow down bit when do the pshop part.
lesumia 1 year ago
i liked it, thanks bro
jstal55 1 year ago
Great tutorial! Very detailed and clear.
trippalhealicks 1 year ago
Great fuckin tutorial dude. Took me 5 minutes to make my first hdr image. Really helpful. Thanks!
Thehubb1 1 year ago
its not an HDR -.- low!
trigg3r85 1 year ago
@trigg3r85 its is an HDR -.- high!
motleypixel 1 year ago
@motleypixel just take a look for a grass in the video, and now take a look for and other HDR grass pic. :D noob!
trigg3r85 1 year ago
@trigg3r85 generally speaking people how slap their photos into an HDR program and crank up the HDR-like effects and export are noobs...those who take it to further levels and mask in HDR file and normal file to make a more "realistic" scene make better images. I photograph a lot of stuff and only about .5% is HDR.
motleypixel 1 year ago 6
thank you very nice~~
quienmas25 1 year ago
Incredible. Insta-screensaver worthy photos. (given you understand composition).
andros1984 1 year ago
i like the magic trick that u did 00:30
giannism312 1 year ago 6
@giannism312 Yea, I'm good at making camera glass appear...just ask my wife :)
motleypixel 1 year ago 8
hey man, thanks. a few of the tutorials i found were wrong and weren't the greatest. this was easy to follow and well explained :)
SilentEcho8 1 year ago
Nicely done. Great step by step tutorial.
LEXPIX 1 year ago
This is not a tutorial, this is just you reading reading your settings out loud. Theres no explaination to what stuff does and why. There's tons of better tutorials all over youtube.
TzumB 1 year ago
@TzumB Well your comment seems to contradict the 147 other comments. True there are plenty of other "better" tutorials on youtube since I posted this over two years ago. Back then I think mine was one of the first. Thanks for stopping by and watching my video. Have a cheerful day!
motleypixel 1 year ago 12
Worth spending 10 minutes..
dhurbaadhikary 1 year ago
Just in case anybody is reading this who is thinking about buying Photomatix...if you use the coupon code: RoyaltyFreeStock, you will get 15% off your order.
raquiellet 1 year ago
Good Tutorial
adrianmoore222 1 year ago
Big picture question: You start out with RAW, save to Tiff, and then save to JPEG. Why this series/sequence of formats? Can you not just manipulate in RAW or is this a limitation of the software for HDR which forces you to go to TIFF?
I was under the impression that TIFF was offered the least quality, JPEG second best and RAW the best.
Finally, have you ever come across any underwater photos using this technique and if so any suggestions for us divers?
Thanks,
The Meltdownman
meltdownman1 1 year ago
@meltdownman1 I shoot RAW, then bring the raw into PS, then use NoiseWare Pro to remove noise, then save as 16bit tiff (this captures the NR), 16bit is the same data depth as RAW, then take those 16bit noise reduced tiffs into photomatix, then perform HDR, then save as 16bit tiff, then I open that HDR in PS and make further adjustments, including blending the original 16bit noise reduced tiffs using layer masks if necessary.
motleypixel 1 year ago
@motleypixel Thanks Mot for the quick and professional response. Love the vids and keep teaching, it in itself is an artform.
The Meltdownman
meltdownman1 1 year ago
@meltdownman1 raw is the unproccesed cmera data.
Tiff is a very high quality lossless file. (better than jpeg)
Jpeg is a high compression file type but small in size so is usefull. its best to edit and save tiffs made from raws. then if you want to send the image send it as a jpeg. As you copy jpegs from jpegs your actualy compressing data which is already compressd! So after a few repeated copys are made (copys of copys ) There can be drastic degradation of detail. Its a long story, google it.
cyphre117 1 year ago
verry informative
this is what i wuz looking for
clubtablist 1 year ago
hey thanks! ive been testing with HDR pics and exactly like you say, you have to choose an object that doesnt move to fast.
But i have a question, how can you make HDR pics with fast moving objects? For example Ive seen HDR pics of bridges with cars on them, or just a crowded street.
I tried to just use 1 normal exposure photo and make an over- and underexposed version in photoshop and then convert it, but it doenst look as good as with the original photo's that you take.
Advice please?
stasisnu18 1 year ago
@stasisnu18 First, don't just use one photo, it's much better to use 3-5 photos and use a proggy such as Photomatix. Second, a scene with moving objects will show HDR with the moving objects blurred because of the under-exp frame having shutter open longer. Some like this and some don't so if you don't then you will have to use the HDR composite frame and your normal exposure frame and mask in the "frozen" subjects due to fast shutter speed. Like layering two photos.
motleypixel 1 year ago
@motleypixel oh thank you for the very fast respond!
Yes, thats what ive been doing now, just masking around the moving objects,
okay its always good to have some extra information from a real pro like you :-)
thanks!
stasisnu18 1 year ago
@stasisnu18 shoot RAW.. its the best way to capture fast moving objects for HDR.
once you capture the shot u want, open the RAW file in either photoshop or software you got with your camera. next thing you want to do is to find the EXPOSURE VALUE slider/button. then make 3 different exposure values. for the first picture move the EV slider/button to -2. the next one should be 0 (original) and the 3rd one should be set to +2.
nerxboy 1 year ago
@stasisnu18 then just use photomatix or photoshop to merge those 3 images together.. hope this helps.. if not, feel free to message me.
nerxboy 1 year ago
@stasisnu18 If you shoot with a SLR and use RAW format for your files you can shoot one picture and then when converting it to a jpeg you can make diffrent versions for it
WowNimm 1 year ago
That's what it does. Thanks for the reply.
teranite43 1 year ago
@teranite43 Now that you understand how it works, here's basically how I use it. What I'm doing more and more these days is taking my 3-5 frames at varying EV and producing an HDR image (16bit tiff), then I bring that composite into PS along with the normal exposure frame (post-enhanced with LR) and then with layer masks I mask in/out parts of the HDR and normal exposure and I basically make a composite HDR/Normal EV composition. To me most of the time 100% HDR is too fake.
motleypixel 1 year ago
Thank you for making this 3-part video putting the HDR concept together in an easy to understand format. Being a newby at Photoshop, I was lost on the last step. Would appreciate it if you could explain the purpose of painting with a white brush at the end.
teranite43 1 year ago
@teranite43 I recommend practicing with layers. Painting white on a layer masks shows the active layer and black hides. Do a quick test on a photo, duplicate layer, add layer mask, select photo layer, change levels and make it really bright, select layer mask, select large brush-black, paint on layer mask, see the adjustment you made go away, change brush to white, see it come back.
motleypixel 1 year ago
Where can I edit exposure in photoshop? I only have one photo. Can't I make other copies with different exposure?
zac0964 1 year ago
Is it enough if I just make one photo then make two copies and make one darker and one brighter in Photoshop?
MarkArandjus 1 year ago
@MarkArandjus Not really...this technique has been discussed enough in depth so you can google it...it's best to manually take at least 3 shots.
motleypixel 1 year ago
Do the 3 photos I take have to be in the exact same position? The reason I'm asking is because I don't have a tripod and am taking the photos by hand, so the 3 photos are going to vary a little bit in terms of position and camera shake. Thanks!
faYte0607 1 year ago
@faYte0607 YES the must be in the same position and a tripod is HIGHLY recommended. Also you don't want to change your aperture/iris during the captures either as they change the depth of field. Now you can hand-hold but only if your shutter speeds are going to be fast and you have a very high burst rate on your camera. The example of the shot of the barn in my video was done hand-held as I was kneeling on the ground and my shutter (even for the -2EV) was quite high.
motleypixel 1 year ago
nice.. very informative^^ thank you motleypixel~
ssnake11 1 year ago
what if i don't have photomatix? could i still do this in photoshop alone? cs2?
N6600 1 year ago
@N6600 Yes, you can certainly layer 3+ shots in photoshop and get some normal dynamic range effects, but it's the tone-mapping that is more complex in photoshop that's harder to pull-off.
motleypixel 1 year ago
thanks bro, for the reply.
N6600 1 year ago
thanx man for this great video!!! HDR is simple thanks to you!!!
aannttee1 1 year ago
nice toot
funkymonkeyboy852456 1 year ago
ty bro...learnt something new today
Lumixster 1 year ago
Thank you, this is awesome! My first test worked great!
Kitarasti 1 year ago
wow this is by far the best hdr tutorial ive seen. thanks for the vid
Lai829 2 years ago
You're a genius. This is beautiful.
ksteiger 2 years ago
awesome video..thanks..
mikeysphotography 2 years ago
It's also useful if you can put the camera in aperture priority mode so that the DOF doesn't change.
Bomag 2 years ago
thank you so much i always wanted to know how to do photos like this.
XECUTA2 2 years ago
Superb vid ... thanks !
siwatson 2 years ago
that photo turned out excellent .... I love HDR ...thanks for the help and tips...great video
DoseDeCape 2 years ago
thanks man! ur great!
bamaboy090682 2 years ago
Very Useful video..Ive try to take my own HDR's (with a Canon 450D) ..and they came out excelent, the only thing is that after I merge the 3 different exposed photos in Photomerge Pro, the resulting HDR photo looks extremely noisy..why is that? How i can i remove the noise? Cheers
dz53346 2 years ago
check out noiseware pro, it does a decent job getting rid of the noise, even on higher noise hdr images.
banfaith11 2 years ago
Very informative, look forward to having a go myself.
matthewawbery 2 years ago
Very well done.
ald0sco 2 years ago
THANK YOU.VERY GOOD.LOVE YOU PICS
treveenos 2 years ago
does this work if i would use the manual settings... and just adjust the exposure 2 stops down.. or would you recommend using program for HDR
Thank you
jasonics 2 years ago
You can do it manually, its just obnoxious to change the settings.
davidprowe 2 years ago
Great job, great pic.
frearpark 2 years ago
Very good tutorial. I learned a lot but wish I could accomplish this with photoshop alone. It seems I always have to buy more software.......
eileenartteacher 2 years ago
You can with photoshop! Just go to File-->Automate-->merge files to HDR : )
starkpv 2 years ago
very informative & cool info.... thank you for uploading the video...!!!
mydigitalcd 2 years ago
videos sound a bit better if you memories your script... or, work without a script.
Otherwise, I really liked the video!
JuryDutySummons 2 years ago
make sure that your aperture does not change during as you take pictures +, 0 and -. the reason is that with the change of aperture also depth of field changes and sharpness of some objects may change from one picture of the set to another
moorfame 2 years ago
Thanks. BTW, does this work with Photoshop elements 6 (Mac) too? Or only the full Photoshop?
gerwiseman 2 years ago
it's good but you could of told this whole tutorial in about 2 mins
Dorkdufus 2 years ago
super cool, thank u!!
bubass 2 years ago
Don't take this as an insult. But I dislike the way you do your HDR. When you get it into photoshop you sort of make more work for yourself.
The way I've learned and have always done it is..
You take the ORIGINAL photos and put all of them (along with the HDR image) into photoshop. Get them all into one page, and then use layer masks from there. Just a different way of doing it, I find that it gives you more room to work with, and allows more colors I feel.
SphotographyR 2 years ago 2
great tutorial.... i learned a lot from this... thanks for taking the time.
franmol01 2 years ago
wow, this is an awesome tutorial, thank you very much :)
darkxeldar 2 years ago
This tutorial is perfect. You should make some more, on whatever you want. (I think you also know how to use C4D, 3DS Max or Blender, because of your BG ;) )
Greets
PDXclan 2 years ago
Nice trick MOTLEY!
The pics looks like a PIXAR MOVIE Poster, TOY STORY or MADAGASCAR.
I personally like to emulate the classic 35mm or large format film camera look with my DSRs & SW.
PD. DUDE GET A MAC!!
mojonpelu 2 years ago
Thanks for doin this man it really helped. Keep up the good work.
butlerphotography 2 years ago
great tutorial, thanks
danutz1083 2 years ago
Excellent Tutorial very helpful.....
MangAnduy 2 years ago
excellente!!!!
cleopetra88 2 years ago
thx man. nice video
ImarGinaer 2 years ago
great guide!
i just went downstairs to take some shots, downloaded photomatix. worked a charm. just need to play with it more, thx
thehkway 2 years ago
EV = Exposure Value
motleypixel 2 years ago
@motleypixel Does the picture have to be taken in RAW or JPEG mode? i'm about to buy my first DSLR, wanted the canon 7d, but its too expensive and probably a little too advanced for me, do you think the 550d is a good buy?
sct911 1 year ago
@sct911 start with the 550D...awesome camera compared to the Rebel offered 2+ years ago. RAW is always better for post processing.
motleypixel 1 year ago
WHAT IS EV?
i99xx 2 years ago
Thanks for the instructions. Well done!
eratus 2 years ago
What if you don't have PS? I have GraphicConverter on my Mac.
thisitesucksrealtime 2 years ago
Nice video...good job.
aeroub 2 years ago
tesekkur
turan665256796 2 years ago
i downloaded the full res picture, and inside the barn, in the black shadow,, its VERY noisy.. needs attention
ccccyyyrruuussss 2 years ago
thanks man...its a great tutorial... its time to practice...
recca231 2 years ago
I am sure a lot of this can be done in photoshop using layers and filters etc and don't see where the advantage is in buying this software photomatix for 90 US dolares. In CS3 is more mucking about but I am sure one can obtain the same effects, what say you guys & Gals?
Macinabit 2 years ago
I don't think it's so easy. After merging the pictures in photomatix, I take THAT picture and layer it on top of one of the originals. Photomatix is very easy to use and yields pretty good results.
radioschizo 2 years ago
I Know. I have just bought it and am having a lay around with it. The same can be done in CS3 but takes much much longer Photomatix is much faster and saves time. Thanks.
Macinabit 2 years ago
What the hell is bracketing??? Please someone tell me
lorikzzz 2 years ago
First things first: Most consumer camera's (by default firmware) do not support bracketing.
It's a shooting mode that allows you to select a pre-defined lighting setting.
The so called "transport" mode is put in "Continuous mode" so that you take 3 pictures without having to release the shutter button completely.
The first picture is taken with a shutter speed that produces a photo on normal lighting level.
The second photo is the lightest one, the third the darkest. (see second answer :P)
Dutch3DMaster 2 years ago
Because digital camera's are what they say, digital, it means that everythings limited to information bandwith.
This is also the case for the dynamic range of a digital camera (how much digital values/grades are between black and white), which by default is not comparable with old chemical film.
By taking three pictures with alternating light settings and combining those photo's, you get a wider dynamic range.
Hope that answers you question lorikzzz :)
Dutch3DMaster 2 years ago 2
when you got bracketing activated with you DSLR you can make pictures with different exposures
135Weird531 2 years ago
Great Tutorial !!! =D
fabinhopysklyvicz 2 years ago
i have a olympus e-410 but i cant find how to set the aev :(
puremage000 2 years ago
Yes, if you open your RAW's in PS then only do a noise reduction with a NR filter (noise ninja or noiseware pro), then save as 16bit tiff (be sure to not adjust any contrast or exposure). Then open Photomatix and select hdr and open the tiff files and then once open select the "Tone Mapping" (in newer versions of Photomatix it auto-opens to the tonmapping; however, in older versions it does not). That's pretty much it.
motleypixel 2 years ago
Do the photos you take have to be in RAW? Bacause i am doing the whole tutorial correctly step by step. Yet my final image is still unappealing and does not have an official HDR processed look. Any suggestions?
JM3FAN 2 years ago
Not necessary, but better in RAW, but I prefer to shoot raw...process RAW to 16bit tiff with noise reduction ONLY (no other adjustments), then import the 16-bit tiffs that have been noise reduced into Photomatix.
Are you sure you are doing tone mapping and not the other method?
-Roy
motleypixel 2 years ago
Alright! Thank you for your reply! I will try this to see how it works out. I'm a little new to photomtix so maybe I wasn't tone mapping it right. Also, I use photoshop to combine my pictures, do i save the image to 16 bit tiff after its finished? when its saved, I launch my image into photomatix so then its ready to be tone mapped! I'm pretty sure I am tone mapping only.
thanks again for your help! =)
JM3FAN 2 years ago
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to create such an in depth tutorial. I have referred back to this several times ... keep up the good work.
buffer12321 2 years ago
haha i laughed when the point and shoot turned into a dslr, i didn't even notice the change, but ty for video, im still watching =)
ilnn408 2 years ago
wow, thanks, but so far none of my pics really are that dramatic. i thank my content of what im taking pics OF might be the issue
vacationboyvideos 2 years ago
very nice clip
but sombody can tell me how to do it with d90?
alimagics 2 years ago
Hi, I don't know how to change the exposure on my Canon eos 400D
Can anyone help me? Reply
Axelga2112 2 years ago
Is it maybe the Av +/- Button? ;]
Axelga2112 2 years ago
Your 400D also does AEB, it's in the menu...read your manual.
-Roy
motleypixel 2 years ago
I'd been taking some decent pictures I think well compared to the some other ones, anyway I decided to share with you some of the HDR pics that I took, I'm really happy about the outcome and that all thanks to you and some people here that gave me a hand with it, I'll leave the my web page so you can see it, thanks again.
flickr (.) com/photos/21390355@N02/ without the ()
jo5erock 2 years ago
does anybody know of any tutorials i can read or watch that tells u how to start from a jpeg? i know you can use them in Dynamic-Photo HDR but i'm not sure what to do.
thirdstreetent 2 years ago
...I went until the last step(s) following you but in both cases I still get ugly results, do I have to use those raw files, or the jpegs? in either case no good result comes out , I´m just so frustrated with this HDR thing I will be so greatful and you or anyone reading this could help me or direct me to a website so I can get things straight. Well thanks in advance for reading this msg. I really liked this vid. too!
jo5erock 2 years ago
Please post your work-flow in detail and examples (host the file somewhere so we can see it). I shoot in Manual Mode only like I say in my tutorial. Shooting in P-Mode WILL certainly screw things up...shoot either in A-mode or Manual (i.e. set permanent aperture and shutter speed and then AEB).
Cheers,
Roy
motleypixel 2 years ago
What happened to the comment I just posted? Anyways like I said Thanks for your answer Roy I do have a flickr account which by the way I believe is the best site to share your pics and watch great work from the pros. I haven´t shoot any HDR due to too much work, and I´m also shy about sharing my pics becuase I´m an amateur, but I´ll try to share my first HDR(s) oh and by the way I loved your pics at your site they´re so beautiful and inspiring!!!
jo5erock 2 years ago
I´d tried everything about HDR photos and I still haven´t get a good result, with your vid. I tried every single step and I´d failed, I have a canon rebel xsi 450d and I shot in the ¨P¨ mode with a -2, 0, and a plus 2. I´d used the 3 raw files in photomatix pro 3 and I´d got a light over exposed result right away, I´d tried with the other 3 other shots in jpeg termination and I still got a very bad result with normal colors but still over expossed , what am I doing wrong?
jo5erock 2 years ago
You should shoot in A mode (Aperature Priority) to ensure that the aperature doesn't change between exposures. If the aperature changes (possible by using P mode) you'll get depth of field differences between shots which will mess things up on you.
breff247 2 years ago
Thanks a lot I just got off work and the first thing I checked was if there was an answer to my question and there was, so thanks I appreciate that, I´ll shoot using the A-Dep option as you said and we´ll see what the results are. This should be mentioned in the video so people like me don´t get confused, well thanks for your time :)
jo5erock 2 years ago
...Av mode I meant.
jo5erock 2 years ago
Great Job!Congrats
keyframe14 2 years ago
Congrats mate. Excellent job.
Thanks
AZabakas 2 years ago
Hey I was going to practice taking HDR pictures in model homes. I've seen some that were done before and they were taken with 5 different exposures. Could you send me some feedback on how to achieve that? So far I'm only use to taking 3 exposures for HDR.
Lucifer9387 2 years ago
Easy, take two 3-shot EAB exposure sets and throw away the duplicate 0EV shot. I.E. -2, 0, +2 and then take a -1.5, 0, +1.5, then throw away the duplicate 0EV exposure.
motleypixel 2 years ago
Thank you very much!
Lucifer9387 2 years ago
Comment removed
Lucifer9387 2 years ago
Thank you soo much man.. this is the best hdr tutorial I have ever read still now.. I used to get really sad by that Adobe photoshop CS2, I am not a any expert, I'm a beginner. But I got soo much confidence now watching your video. Thank you soo much..thanks alot man.. keep grooving I will show you my first hdr when I will make one.. :) I cant wait..lol
Kaustabh0012 2 years ago
just took my forst one pretty shitty but hey HDR is one moreskilladded to the bag ha
patty070070 2 years ago
Thank you, this is a great tutorial! One question though, does it matter which format you use to take your pictures, example: .jpeg, .RAW, .png etc. Thanks!
mindyxlynn 2 years ago
I'm wondering this as well, thanks. :)
Klikster 2 years ago
Is the AEB mode you mentioned native to Canon Rebel XTi's? Unfortunately I don't have a manual for mine. :/
Klikster 2 years ago
Yep sure does...look for in under your menu.
motleypixel 2 years ago
put it on M then go into the menu go to camera 2 and it will be there
patty070070 2 years ago
Thanks -This is great information! I will post it in my video directory for other photogs to learn from!
PhotogsParadise 2 years ago
I was wondering why you just didn't use the merge tool in PhotoShop to create the HDR?
roddinron 3 years ago
Because the magic happens in "Tone Mapping" the merging is basic...it's the "Tone Mapping" that makes it HDR.
motleypixel 3 years ago
Thanks Great job!!
denebuff 3 years ago