HDR Photography Tutorial: Tools, Camera Settings, And Step-By-Step Guide

by admin on January 23, 2012

This HDR photography tutorial aims to welcome and educate those who want to delve into the larger than life world of HDR photography. HDR photography or High Dynamic Range photography is the post-processing method of a photo or more commonly, a series of photos, combining these photos, and then fine tuning contrast ratios to create unique and astonishing effects.

Thailand Boat Docks

Photo Credit – Captain Kimo

An HDR image is first created via taking three pictures with the same subject or scene, but at varying shutter speeds. When done correctly, you should have a dark, medium, and bright photo. You will then have to use specific software for combining these photographs in order to bring out the details on all three images.

In this HDR photography tutorial, you will need these tools:

• If you have DSLR camera, great. If not, that’s fine since as you progress through this HDR photography tutorial, you’ll find that the software you’ll be using is more important than the hardware.

• HDR software. In this HDR photography tutorial, we’ll be using Photomatix Pro.

• Image editing software. Here we’ll be using Adobe Photoshop.

• Noise Reduction Software. Optional.

For this HDR photography tutorial, here are the recommended camera settings and some things you need to look out for.

• Shoot in RAW format.

• Remember to shoot in ‘Aperture Priority Mode’ because you have to use the same aperture in all shots so they’ll all have the same depths of field.

• Take advantage of your camera’s bracket function for shooting in one EV step for five brackets, or two EV steps for three brackets. In majority of scenarios, -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2 are ideal.

• Your camera metering should be set to ‘Evaluative’ for Canon, and ‘Matrix’, fro Nikon so your camera will be able to choose the perfect exposure for your current condition. This is for the middle exposure.

• Be on the lookout for moving objects and wind. Even though you can minimize ghost artifacts in Photomatix Pro, it’s still ideal that you keep moving objects at a minimum since fixing motion via software is relatively hard.

• Shoot in bursts, most especially if you’re trying to capture a scene with clouds, the moon, or sun.

Once you have your photographs and all the necessary tools you’ll need for this HDR photography tutorial, move on to the step-by-step guide below.

HDR Photography Tutorial with Multiple Photos

1. When your photos are ready, click ‘Generate HDR Image’ in Photomatix Pro to successfully load them in the software. Photomatix Pro is capable of handling virtually all image formats so loading your photos without conversion won’t be an issue.

2. As earlier stated, if you followed the recommended camera settings, your loaded photos should be in RAW format. This is crucial since RAW photos provide you with plenty of options such as color profiles and white balance. In the box ‘Generate HDR – Options’ in Photomatix, check ‘Attempt to reduce ghosting articles’ for moving objects you may have missed while shooting and check ‘Align source images’ to make sure that all your photos are properly aligned. Likewise, choose ‘Reduce noise’ and ‘Reduce chromatic aberrations’. Under ‘Raw conversion settings’, choose ProPhoto RGB and select the most ideal white balance for preserving all the colors you can.

3. After you’re done with the above, select ‘OK’ to generate the HDR image. Because your photos are in RAW format, don’t worry if the process will require some time. This is perfectly normal.

4. Click ‘Tone Mapping’ to begin tweaking the HDR image when it comes up.

5. The generated HDR photo will understandably look ‘blah’ compared to the HDR photo you’re expecting and this is okay since to get the results you need, you have to personally modify the settings for every individual photo. When tweaking, remember the phrase ‘to each, his own’ since people have different notions of what looks good and what doesn’t. Likewise, you don’t necessarily have to tweak all the options. With this HDR photography tutorial, here are some general tips to keep in mind:

• Saturation: Refrain from over-saturating your image since every image is different from one another, and there’s a thin line between having your colors ‘pop’ and having them look electric neon. HDR is about manipulating light to make details pop and not over-saturating it.

• Strength: Keep at 100% because you can easily lower it down in Photoshop later if you’re not satisfied with you HDR image.

• Detail Contrast: This aid in controlling the fluctuations and color details on a small scale. With this one, try sliding it back and forth until it looks right to you. As you’ll see, the image becomes darker, grungier, and gritty when you move it more to the right.

• Luminosity: This option brings in that ‘painted’ and airy effect. You’ll see less contrast as you go further right.

• Black Point and White Point: Tweak the White Point to harness and not blow out the photo’s brighter parts, and lower the Black Point or set to default to make colors pop out.

• Lighting Adjustments: This is one of the most vital options that you can tweak since this will determine how ‘HDR’ your final photo will look. With this one, go with your gut.

6. After making the necessary tweaks, select the ‘Process’ button to generate the final HDR photo in Photomatix.

7. When done, save the photo by pressing CTRL+S or going to ‘File’ and choosing ‘Save As’.

8. As you’ll see from the HDR image you’ve just produced, no noise (or only some noise, if there’s any present to your very meticulous eye!) is present and shadows now seem more natural. This is mainly because all details came from the photos you took so you didn’t have to play with the exposure level which basically, is where noise comes from.

9. If you are a perfectionist, or if you are simply satisfied with your final result, you can definitely tweak the HDR image in Photoshop and further reduce the noise by using a Noise Reduction Software. You can sharpen it, tweak curves and colors – do anything you wish until you are satisfied with the final output.

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Types of Photography: A Beginner’s Guide

by admin on January 16, 2012

There are many types of photography a beginner may partake in, whether as a hobby or as a professional venture. As camera technology continues to improve, more and more kinds of photography become possible, from the deepest depths of the ocean to the vast expanses of space. A beginner may not be willing enough to go deep into the ocean, or into space, so other, more accessible kinds of photography may be sought instead.

Nowadays, a beginner photographer will be able to try taking pictures of all kinds with even a kit lens and entry-level camera body. Black and white photos will have a great, nostalgic quality that is easy to do both on a camera and in a computer program. Macro photography will require a steadier hand and more skill to do, while landscape or portrait photography can be done on near-impulse. Depending on your tastes and interests, sky is almost literally the limit with photography.

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How to Start a Photography Business

by admin on November 20, 2011

Like most businesses within the freelancer genre, setting up a photography business is incredibly simple provided you have the required skills. While expert advice would be a clever investment at the later stages, the initial months of a photography business simply require the skill to take photos that people will pay for and a few small business decisions. Here are the first four steps required to start your business.

Choose a specialty

Here you need to consider both your skills and the demand that is present for them. If you are particularly good at taking photos of cats for example, though fun this is sadly not a business. There are however many categories in which there is sufficient demand and you simply need to figure out which you are best at and which you most enjoy. Many photographers specialise in areas such as weddings, product photography and portraits. Of course many also concentrate on the more artistic side of photography but setting up this form of business is an entirely different ball game. It is also worth noting that choosing a particular specialty does not prevent you from working outside it. It is just useful to advertise a particular genre as it gives the impression of expertise within it.

Set a reasonable rate

This is all about research. If you are planning on setting up a photography business that specialises in weddings for example, you simply need to search for ads put up by similar businesses. Remember though that offering a slightly lower price to compensate for your lack of experience is perfectly sensible but offering the service for a significantly lower rate is usually a bad move. Many people hire photographers because they are willing to pay for professionally taken photos. Offering a very low price says the exact opposite about your business and is therefore not to be recommended even for potential short term gains.

Set up a website

Before advertising your services it is important that you have a showcase for your portfolio. A website is both the easiest and the most effective means of doing so. There are many platforms just a Google away that will allow you to set up a small website for free and with practically no technical knowledge. In the long term a professionally designed site complete with your own domain name can be a great investment but during the initial months, it is not really necessary.

Advertise

The key thing to remember is that any money that goes out on advertising muse be recouped before you make a profit. Therefore in the early stages, investing too heavily in advertising can be a mistake. The best place to start therefore is to simply place ads in local newspaper. They are cheap because of their narrow reach but they are effective because they reach those that you are targeting. Another cheap but effective form of advertising is business cards. Bought in bulk they border on free and are a very good way of increasing the effectiveness of people recommending you to friends.

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Photography Ideas – Where and How To Click ‘em Right

by admin on October 4, 2011

A problem that affects both the novice and the professional when it comes to photography is the simple task of establishing new and interesting ideas for photographs. Much like the aspiring writers ongoing struggle with writers block, even the most talented photographers run out of ideas now and then. Though the world an interesting place in the minds of many, a grey street full of traffic and rain, may make you think otherwise and wonder is there to photograph that has not already been witnessed by somebody else’s lenses. The facts however are that that street need not be the one you live on and if it is, you are bound by no law to photograph it as it stands. I have had the most success with simple means of inspiring myself when inspiration appears lost completely. I will now outline them for you.

Travel

Whether this be the grand scale of continent hopping or simply an excursion to a near by destination that you have not frequented recently, few things can possibly spark more inspiration in a photographer than finding themselves in surroundings that they have not experienced before. Though the simple act of travel and seeing new things means that you will have new things to photograph, it is not just the environment that changes when we travel but ourselves. One of the enemies of the photographer is the fact humans are essentially programmed to block out or at least barely notice what it is that we are overly exposed to. You may find yourself coming up with innovative means of taking new photographs of things that are also in your home town but that you just didn’t see in your home town. Travel opens your eyes.

Alter Your Environment

One of the key things to remember about photography is that though we are constrained to what is within our environment, we are by no means forbidden from altering it. Though for many props are a simple and minor element used to enhance existing photograph ideas or help a subject feel more comfortable, for others props are the photographs themselves. Your environment if looked at correctly can be little more than a canvas and you are free to add to it and subtract as you see fit. An ordinary scene with a single object that is completely out of place will radically change a potential photograph to the point that it is capable of transforming the mediocre to the unforgettable.

Learn the Difference between Plagiarism and Inspiration

Many witness spectacular photograph ideas and there first thought is that they wished that they had thought of it. There are few phrases other than I’m not going outside that could limit your photography abilities and the size of your portfolio more. Just because somebody thought of something before you that does not mean that you can not improve upon it or offer your own personal twist on it. Had inventors and entrepreneurs had the same point of view, the state of our cars and computers and our very lives would be very much different. Research online, find the most beautiful photographs that you can and put your own spin upon them.

In closing I would simply like to say that all that has been said is but pure theory. Though the outlined methods are more than capable of driving trucks through any current inspiration blocks you are experiencing, without actually being exercised they are just words on a page. Inspiration cannot be found in these words alone, they must be combined with a camera and an open mind. You need to find your photographs yourself.

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A Crash Course on Digital Photography

by admin on January 12, 2010

A lot of digital photography enthusiasts can’t help but learn more about digital photography once they get hooked. In fact, a lot of serious hobbyists start taking digital photography courses and end up changing careers by turning their digital photography hobby into a career. Who can blame them if digital photography is really that interesting? And so, if you want to get yourself into a digital photography course, perhaps you should learn a couple of basics or tips to get you started. Here is a crash digital photography course to help.

1.Auto Exposure is perhaps one thing that you’ve heard several times when it comes to photography. Most of the modern digital cameras of today focuses or notices more the middle of the frame. At the same time, most of these digital cameras already have an auto focus .This means that it will set the aperture, the shutter speed, the exposure, and the focus on its own once you push the button half way down and you hear your digital camera beep. Just be careful and always look at your subject in the frame. Sometimes, when you are taking a picture of two people and there is a column, a tree, or a visible space in between them, your digital camera might focus on that spot instead of the two people. So, make sure that you move the camera as you are still holding the button halfway down so it refocuses to your subjects.

2.Shutter speed is another popular term in the world of digital photography. When taking photos with moving objects, shutter speed is very important. It is important to set your digital camera to shutter speed priority mode. You then select your shutter speed manually and your digital camera will set the aperture according to the light that it reads.

3.Aperture is another important setting you must learn about digital photography. Aperture Priority mode is used if you need the depth of field to either throw out some of the objects out of focus or to make sure that everything is in focus. So like in shutter speed, you use the aperture priority mode and let the camera choose the shutter speed depending on the light available.

4.Filters are also some of the things or tools you’ll need to know about digital photography. If you are taking photos in very bright light such as in bright sunlight, you can restrict the depth of field with the use of these neutral density filters. This will lessen the light entering the lens.

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