HDR or High Dynamic Range

All This Networking. Now What?

 

How about family networking?  It is the season. In fact here in the US it’s almost Thanksgiving and although many people think it is a time to eat and watch American football that is not what it is all about. In fact it’s not even really about the food either.

 

A few hundred years ago people new to the continent gave thanks to a bountiful harvest after a drought earlier in the year. They were grateful that they had managed, mostly due to the assistance of the native people, that they would have food throughout the coming winter months. This is said to be the first Thanksgiving; the year was 1621.

 

Over time we have learned how to grow and harvest food that can sustain millions through the winter months. Although we are still grateful for a bountiful harvest; that is not the true reason we should be grateful. At least, it shouldn’t be the only reason.
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Lead, Follow Or Get The ‘F’ Out Of The Way

 

Recently my business coach (View article here) created a video article for photographers that is a tough love type of video that asked photographers if they needed to get out of the photography business or if they were willing to do what it takes to make it work. I have to admit that I loved it.

 

I agree with her and many others that some photographers have gotten very negative about the business and about their clients, not to mention other photographers. For me, this is not the way to win the confidence of my clients. Sure it has gotten harder to make a living in the photography business. But it has gotten harder to make a living in any business! Business in general has changed all across the board.

 

Times are difficult. Just yesterday my 72 year old mother was laid off from a job she had for over 20 years. Her entire Human Resource department was outsourced. She is lucky, she has been contemplating retirement. Others she worked with are now in the market for work. They have to be prepared for change and so do companies looking to grow their business.
My clients are looking for photography services that are faster, cheaper and of higher quality. An example is one of my top clients. This past Sunday I had a shoot of a 15 bedroom, 34 acre estate where the images were needed by Tuesday for layout of a publication. Due to a short budget I had to shoot the estate alone. Normally I would have at least an assistant and hopefully a second photographer. In this case that was just not an option. Editing the images alone was going to take 25+ hours. The shoot took almost 8 hours in itself.

So what did do to solve it? The client agreed to receive un-retouched images in a low resolution just so they could use them as place holders. They understood that of the filtered images only about half of what they saw on Tuesday would be delivered as final images. However they were able to do their layout and have something to work with. I made sure to deliver as many images as possible (65% of those un-retouched images) in the highest quality as possible and by Wednesday end of business.

 

Together my client and I worked out a solution that just a few years ago would not have been an option. Why? Because so many photographers would not be willing to give anything but the final images. Sure I did what I didn’t want to do, let my client see my work only half done, but we came to an agreement, wrote it up in a contract and met halfway to assure that they got the product they needed in a way that worked for both of us. The client is happy. Their client is happy (or will be) with the publication and I got the work that keeps me working.

Together we took the lead to create a mutually beneficial solution. If you can’t lead your client to a creative win/win solution, or if you aren’t willing to follow those that do, then why are you in business?  Either get positive and get creative or get the ‘F’ out of the way of those that are.

Breaking the Rules

 

As many of the regular readers of this site know, I am a huge fan of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. I love how you can create images that really pop and have deep, rich saturation of color.  In many cases, it can be over done to the point of surreal and almost (and in some cases, very) unrealistic. Many believe this is the only way to do HDR; it is the “HDR Rule.”

 

Another rule is the Rule of Thirds. In the rule of thirds the thinking is that you should divide an image into thirds or 9 cells as the image below shows. In the final image that you present it is strongly suggested that pour points of interest (POI) should be along those lines and even better, where they intersect (the red circles).

 

 

 

This rule is not a hard fast rule but one that is “strongly suggested.” Many images you have seen break this rule.  More however, almost break the rule. They way they will do this is to place a person into the image center but keep the eyes on the third mark and perhaps place one of the eyes over the POI intersection.  The latter is usually done by using a fast lens (2.8 or 1.4) and keeping the depth of field so shallow that one eye is softer and less sharp than the other eye. The sharper eye is then placed over the POI intersection to grab your attention.

This image I took this past weekend of a really nice guy I met in DC while shooting the Lincoln Memorial is a perfect example. Victor is from Holland and I have to give him a nod as he is traveling the US before starting his career this come summer. If all Dutch are as intelligent and friendly as Victor I am moving. Enjoy the rest of your trip Victor!

 

 

 

Anyway, back to my point. The image above shows Victor in the middle of the shot, however his eyes are on the top third parallel. In fact, his left eye (on our right) is exactly over the upper right POI. I superimposed the first image over Victor to show what I mean.

 

Obviously the image of Victor is not HDR. But whether your image is of people, still life or anything this rule is applied more often than not. The same is true of the over saturation and uber sharpening of what is called HDR. The reality is that HDR is High Dynamic Range, not High Reality Delusion.

 

In the image below I break another rule too. The rule that, “The horizon line should never divide the image in half.” This is just a variation of the rule of thirds so I won’t go into it again. Keep in mind this image is a composite HDR image made up of 4 separate images processed in the same fashion that I mentioned in my last blog post. Let’s look at the rules that have been broken here.

 

  • HDR Rule of Surrealism
  • Horizon Center Division
  • Rule of Thirds (sort of)

 

 

 

In fact, although I did separate the image in the center with the edge of the reflecting pool, and I created realistic saturation, I didn’t really break the Rule of Thirds. In fact, I multiplied it. Notice the Capitol Building. Not only is it the main subject in the upper third of the image, but so is the reflection of the building in the lower third. This actually broaches on another rule of only having one main subject per image. In fact, I do have only one main subject, I just have it twice. Does that break that rule too?

The main point of this post is simple. Rules are meant to be broken. The idea is to know the rules so that when you break them, you have a reason and purpose in doing so. Take the time to learn all the rules you can, study how they work, then go out and break them to show only a positive result.

 

How are you going to break the rules today? Leave a comment to tell us.

 

Until next time…

Happy Shooting!

HDR Images – Photomatix to Photoshop

 

On my last tutorial I showed you how to generate a good HDR image from Lightroom to Photomatix then to Photoshop. I got a few comments saying “I don’t use the plug-in!” or “I don’t have Lightroom!” Well, Photomatix is a standalone program too. So in this 3 part series of video tutorials I will walk you through the entire process starting in Photomatix and ending in Photoshop CS4.

This tutorial is a little longer than the last one totaling just under 30 minutes for all three parts combined. You may want to sit back and grab a cup of coffee before you start. I don’t think I sound boring, in fact I was surprised how long it took to get through it all because it felt like a lot less than that when I recorded it. Click the image below to watch part 1 then come back and watch the second two parts!

Part 1

Click the link below for parts 2 &3!
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HDR in Photomatix Pro 3.2 (Plugin Version)

 

I was looking for information on Photomatix recently and I found very little helpful information. There were 5 pages of YouTube videos but 90% of them weren’t very helpful. So many of the videos said thing like, “I don’t use this slider/option so just leave it as it is.” Or, “This is how I use the software. I’m not sure what this does.” Unacceptable!

I took it upon myself to give a better overview of the software. I did not get into the batch processing, or any of the other tools that are in the stand alone program. I looked only at the Lightroom Plugin in the overview/tutorial. As it is, I had to do this in three parts. What I do is I take an older set of bracketed images and show you how Photomatix can manipulate the merged HDR image. I then re-import the image back into Lightroom and Photoshop and take the process through to saving the final image.

Below is part one.

Click the link below it to see parts 2 and 3.
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Hear That Noise? – More 1 Handed Photoshop

 

In this week’s video tutorial I take a look at noise and the different ways to reduce it. In the past, I thought that Photoshop, Camera Raw or Lightroom could clean up noise fairly well, and they can. Severe noise was another story and I thought I was just stuck with it. But then I learned what 3rd party plugins could do.

Talk about a difference! I was able to save images that I thought were lost to the noise. I mean we were talking the image versions of a heavy metal concert. Then I had a shoot where I got nothing but noise all day long. Shot after shot of noise infested images.

Check out the video and what I do about noise by clicking the link.
I broke down in desperation and bought Noiseware from Imagenomic (they also make Portraiture). I got it because I got a discount on it from being a member of NAPP. OMG what a difference! This stuff was astounding. It literally saved my entire day of shooting. From none of the image being usable to all of them being usable!

Then last week I got the most recent copy of Digital Photo Pro and they had a short piece on reducing noise. I thought “Great! I can use noise and maybe some of their tips for my next blog post. Their tips didn’t really work for me. The first step in the tutorial is very similar to what they were suggesting. Watch the video and see how it turned out.

So now you know why I use plugins. Simply put, they work. And if they save me time and effort and they work better, buy them. You will never look back. It’s not important that you buy the same versions I use. Get what works for you and your work flow. These are just what works for me. most have trial versions that you can try out so give them a shot!

Until next time…

Happy Shooting!

One Handed Photoshop – Make The Image Pop!

 

You probably know already that ice is slippery, but did you know it’s sneaky too? It is when its black ice. It was hiding in my driveway last week and it took my feet right out from underneath me. I remember hearing a distinct snap too. Then I realized that snap was my wrist. So here I sit typing a blog post with one hand. The other is in a cast and itching like mad!

I was due to write my weekly post over the weekend but now I can only type so much and its less than half as much when using only one hand. So I got to thinking, what can I do one handed that I can put on my site? 1 Handed Photoshop Tutorials were born!

Below is the first in what I hope will only be a short series of tutorials that can be done quickly and easily, and with only one hand, in Photoshop. This first one is on how to use the High-Pass filter to make your images pop out at the viewer. Click the link to watch the video and take a look!

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HDR In Photography

Unless you have been living in a vacuum for the last few years you have heard of the latest trend in still photography, HDR (High Dynamic Range).  Everything from real estate to portraits to advertising is using HDR as a way to grab the viewer’s attention.  Even I have written a couple of pieces on HDR and how to get the effects that really make an image pop.

Is it a trend or the future of photography? I believe that the trend has passed and that HDR is here to stay. More photographers are using HDR everyday and with that, more ways to get ‘the look’ are being used and discussed.

Is there a best way to get the HDR look in your images? I don’t feel that any one technique has yet emerged as the single ‘best’ way. Clearly HDR soft’s (http://www.hdrsoft.com/) Photomatix and Photomatix Pro are the current choice of the majority of users today. Of course many are using the HDR component in Photoshop as well.  It just seems that Photomatix is a better tool for tone-mapping than what is included in Photoshop, so far.
 

I used Photomatix on the image to the right, the image above and the self portrait in my last tutorial and many images you see on this site. For me it works better than the HDR tools in Photoshop. With the tools in Camera RAW of Lightroom 2 (and soon LR3) the hyper real, super sharpening of the James Effect became available. By combining those two processes alone the possibilities become endless.

No matter what tool is used as a solution HDR and super sharpening is here to stay. So what does that mean for your photography?  Should you use an HDR process in every image you create?  Probably not but ultimately, that is up to you. How and where you apply it, the sky and your creativity are the only limits.  The fact is that you should be at least considering it, learning about it and figuring out how it may fit into your workflow.

If you are the client rather than the photographer, what does HDR mean to you?  HDR means that more of the colors you see in real life will come out in the images you want and need. Whether a simple tone mapping in a portrait, a full multi image HDR or having the full dynamic range included in your advertising HDR is going to give you a more appealing and dare I say, more dynamic, image.

HDR is coming on full speed ahead and for me it is the greatest thing since photography went digital.  In each image I take I wonder how I can generate the feeling that I had when I decided to capture the image.  Now the processing is as much of an adventure as the photography itself.  This is a chance for photographers to jump ahead of their peers; an opportunity to be the next leader in photography.

Until next time, Happy Shooting!

“True” HDR Portraits (You Know, with Bracketing?)

On my last tutorial I received many comments on how changing the exposure level of a single raw file then creating an HDR image is not a ‘true’ HDR image. So I shot a bracketed self portrait and generated a new tutorial.  This is the image that resulted.

100104-Me_1510hdr

I am not sure how letting the computer in my camera do the bracketing is any less ‘true’ than doing the same thing manually in Lightroom or Photoshop.  But, I come from a purist photography background; as in I shot film, developed film and have lost years of my life in a dark room (go into the darkroom at 7 in the morning and come out and it’s still 7am, on a different day!), and I am actually fond of the smell of fixer.

I will admit that there are many, many photographs out there today that don’t look anywhere close to real. Some are meant to look that way but many more try to pass themselves off as some type of surreal reality.  I want people to know that you can achieve some very true to life images using HDR processing.

This morning I took many self portraits while bracketing 1/3 to a full stop. I shot sets of 3, 5 and 7 frames.  I found that when doing self portraits it is a bit more difficult to sit still than you think it is.  I was using a programmable shutter release (Nikon’s MC-36), my D200, one SB800 with a grid spot, and one SB900 for fill and of course a tripod.

In the tutorial below I start out with the three bracketed images and using Adobe Lightroom2, Photoshop CS4, Photomatix Pro3 and Imagenomic Noiseware Pro and I make what I think is a very true HDR self portrait. I do it all in about 15 minutes too! It’s actually very easy. Check it out! (tutorial should open in a new tab/window)

clickhere

This tutorial won’t fit on YouTube so if you want to share it, feel free but send your friends to this blog post.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I think this should satisfy all those that wanted a ‘True HDR Portrait’.

Until next time,

Happy Shooting!

HDR Portraits

By now I am sure you have heard of HDR or High Dynamic Range Photography. Usually the images are done for landscapes or architecture where there is little or no movement from the subject. This is because you need to blend several images, taken at different exposures, together to show the full dynamic range of color. Doing this with portraits has been difficult or impossible because of the (however so slight) movement of a portrait subject. Not anymore.

In the tutorial below I show you how I got to the dramatic image above from an everyday image that is well exposed but is nothing special.

 

With Lightroom 2 and Photomatix Pro and a single image of James I was able to create an HDR photo in just a few minutes. The image isn’t perfect but it’s an example of what you can do in a very short time and a little creative thinking.

To do this tutorial, first find an image that you want to work with. Then make two copies of that image. They need to be the same size, exposure, etc.; exact duplicates. I jump ahead in the video to where I have three copies of the same image. Once you have your three, click the image below to watch the video.

(A new window or tab will open; then  just click the play button)

clickhere

(Best viewed in at least 1024×768 or greater)

Not too tough was it? Do you like the results of your work? If not, go back and play a bit more. Tweak the settings until you get just the HDR portrait you are looking for. Remember, you will get your most dramatic results from portraits of those people that have a lot of drama and character to their looks.

Until next time…

Happy Shooting!