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SunRidge Photo<br />Presents…<br />HDR MAGIC!...<br />Racing Toward The Future<br />

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The winds of change are strong; the water turbulent; and the landlubbers,… watching to see what happens.<br />

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HDRi: High Dynamic Range imaging is NOT a gimmick!<br />It is… SCIENCE! <br />

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Raw Capture Is What The Sensor Sees….<br />

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HDR Is The Scene!... And BEYOND!<br />

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Black & White Work Comes… ALIVE!!<br />

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What can HDR be used for?<br />

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Landscape & Scenic<br /> ”It’s not about showing all the light in a scene. It’s about gaining control over all the light in a scene.”<br />~ Gavin Seim <br />

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Panoramic Views<br />The Road Less Traveled! <br />© 2010 SunRidge Photo<br />6 sections; 5 frames/section at 1-EV apart per frame; HDR file created in PS4; HDR segments stitched in PS4; HDR file (stitched) tone-mapped in Photomatix Pro; Camera: Nikon D3; Tokina 19-37mm f/3.5-5.6 lens; ISO 100 @ f/16; WB: Auto<br />

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Lifestyle/Destination<br />3-Frame HDRi Capture<br />Photomatix Pro for tone mapping and 15 seconds in PS for final tweak and POP!<br />Metered (Middle) Frame<br />

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Character Studies<br />HDR images crafted from single frame capture. Minor PSCS4 post work to craft sepia-toned B&W image of this gentleman.<br />

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Modeling Work<br />Single File HDR Conversion From RAW (NEF) & Tone-mapped via Tone Compressor in PM Pro<br />JPEG from RAW – Zero Edit<br />

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Architecture<br />

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Pacific Gold!<br />

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Incomparable Interiors<br />5th Frame of 5 Frame Capture<br />HDR Image<br />EV @ -.7, Fuji S5 Pro on Tripod, Aperture Priority, f11, 5 frame auto bracketing mode set at 1 f-stop apart per frame. Cable release. Processed in Photomatix and some minor Photoshop/CS4 work (lens corrections [e.g., tilt & shift] and my reflection removed from dresser mirror). 100% natural lighting!<br />

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A Little Nature…Birds of a Feather and all that stuff<br />Single file conversion to HDR and tone-mapping using Photomatix Pro Detail Enhancer Application. Minor – very minor – finish work in PS/CS4.<br />As captured at the scene (raw)<br />

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Fun At The Track<br />

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Full Throttle Shooting!<br />© 2008 SunRidge Photo<br />Images captured at Larry Miller Race Park, Utah, June 2008 for Redline Time Attack Series; Temp: 115o; Camera: Fuji S5 Pro; Nikor f2.8 400mm with Hoya 52mm circular polarizing filter installed; ISO 400; Shutter priority @1/250 sec; original shot as 300dpi, 27mb, JPEG. Converted 3 jpgs to HDR file in Photomatix @ 2 EV separation. Tone-mapped in Photomatix Pro’s Details Enhancer (two times) and saved as 16 bit TIFF. Converted to 920X562, 300dpi JPEG for presentation.<br />

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Macro Is Game<br />JPEG from NEF – no editing<br />Camera: Nikon D700<br />© 2009 by Tarrah Lashbrook<br />Used with permission<br />JPEG from Photomatix HDR tone-mapped to 16bit TIFF. Some PS4 work.<br />© 2009 by Tarrah Lashbrook<br />Used with permission<br />

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“Fine Art”<br />JPEG from NEF – no editing<br />Camera: Nikon D700<br />© 2009 by Tarrah Lashbrook<br />Used with permission<br />JPEG from Photomatix HDR tone-mapped to 16bit TIFF. Some minor PS4 work.<br />© 2009 by Tarrah Lashbrook<br />Used with permission<br />

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The Journey…<br />View output differently.<br />A few tools of the trade.<br />Some great software.<br />Willing to experiment<br />Time to have some FUN!<br />Understand the Real Benefits of HDRi<br />

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CREATIVITY IS WHAT GIVES BRANDS TRACTION IN THE MARKETPLACE!<br />I.E., Where the rubber meets the road!<br />

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The Physical Stuff<br /><ul><li>Camera capable of raw file capture preferred

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Lens of your choice

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Lens cleaning cloth

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Polarizing filter (optional)

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Stable tripod

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Cable release

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Memory cards

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Spare batteries

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Flashlight for light painting

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Fill flash (optional)

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HDR software (Photomatix Pro® preferred)

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Computer (for post)

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Card reader or USB tethering cable

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Processing software (e.g., Photoshop, PS Elements, etc.)

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Desire to experiment

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Something to photograph</li></li></ul><li>Software Available<br />Photomatix Pro (The Best) for Mac or Win - $99<br />Nik’s NEW HDR EFEX Pro ($179)<br />Hydra (up to 4 frames) aprox: $79<br />Dynamic Photo HDR (some “cool” effects) - $55 ($75 with PS4 plugins added for 8bit RGB editing)<br />Photoshpere (Mac only – freeware)<br />Many more can be found at: http://luxal.dachary.org/webhdr/software.shtml<br />

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Camera Settings<br />Set to raw capture<br />Color Space (default setting) @ sRGB.<br />Turn off enhancements (I.e., no sharpening)<br />Establish a “set” white balance (I prefer Auto)<br />On manual/auto bracketing: Set for TV/Speed (shutter speed changes and not aperture)<br />Experience & Testing Reveal: Set EV to -.3 (default),<br />Auto bracket: 3 to 9 depending on camera @ 1 EV stop apart min.<br />

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Camera Settings<br />Typical AB is 5 frames at 1 EV apart per (Nikon)<br />On most Canon (some Nikon) set for max of 3 frames @ 2 EV apart.<br />ISO set as low as possible (I prefer ISO 100 or lower if camera has ability).<br />Workflow: Most underexposed to most overexposed (if possible). Your choice!<br />Lock Focus (When possible & plausible, use manual focus.)<br />For landscape - f-8 or higher is recommended. I like f/11 or f/16.<br />

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Next Steps<br />

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Working The Image<br />Download the image to your HD/External HD<br />For today, the Desktop is the perfect location<br />Open up your image browser (Bridge is great)<br />Three ways to load files in Photomatix<br />Drag & drop from Bridge<br />Use the Lightroom 2.0 plug-in (sends them as TIFF files)<br />Automate (batch processing)<br />Generating the HDR (Radiance [.hdr])file.<br />

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The Photomatix Pro Interface<br />Click on “Generate HDR Image”<br />

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Now… Click On Browse<br />After the files are loaded, click on OK.<br />The next screen shows the dialog box which appears after clicking OK.<br />

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Set your parameters:<br /><ul><li>If working from 1 file, Align source images is not necessary.

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Use “matching features” as it also does rotational correction.

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I do not always use the “Attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts.” It depends on what I am after. However, it is good to leave it checked by default and remove the check mark if not needed.

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Make adjustments to white balance if needed.

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My color space is set for Adobe RGB (1998)

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Click on OK</li></li></ul><li>Your Next Window is an HDR Viewer<br />1) Before starting the Tone Mapping sequence, click on: File/Save As/.hdr should be in the dialog box/Save.<br />2) Now click on “Tone Mapping”<br />

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The Photomatix Pro Workspace<br />

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Detail Enhancer Settings<br /><ul><li>Strength: Controls the strength of the contrast enhancements; locally and globally.

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Color Saturation: Controls the saturation from grayscale to pure color in the image.

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Luminosity: Controls the compression of the tonal range, thereby affecting the global luminosity range. The higher the setting, the brighter the mid-tones and shadows – adds contrast as well.

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Light Smoothing: Controls the smoothing of light variations (two methods: slider or light mode).</li></li></ul><li>Detail Enhancer Settings<br /><ul><li>Microcontrast: Sets the amount local details are accentuated.

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White & Black Points: Controls the clipping points of the shoulder and toe of the tonal curve.

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Gamma: Adjusts the midtone of the image.

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Temperature: To the left is cooler; to the right, warmer.

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Saturation Highlights & Shadows: Enhances the primary saturation control allowing fine tuning.</li></li></ul><li>Detail Enhancer Settings<br /><ul><li>Micro-smoothing: Used to smooth local details enhancements.

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Highlights Smoothing: Use to keep highlights from turning gray or to reduce halos around objects.

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Shadows Smoothing: Reduces contrast enhancements in the darker areas of the image.

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Shadows Clipping: Controls the shadow clipping and is handy for reducing noise in dark areas of an image taken in low light.</li></li></ul><li>After Tone Mapping… Process The Image<br />Click on “Process” after Tone Mapping your image<br />

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Processing the Tone Mapped Image<br />The Magic is in the Tone Mapping!!<br />When Photomatix completes the processing phase, it will provide a preview image in the window. You are now able to tone map the image again if you so desire. <br />If you like what you see… File/Save As/TIFF (16 bit). There is a check box on the Save As window to “Open in Image Viewer” and I keep this checked with PS4 as the default program.<br />

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Adobe Photoshop™<br />Use Photoshop to generate an HDR file<br />It’s great – wonderful in fact – at combining files accurately<br />It STINKS – and I’m being very nice – at tone-mapping<br />To generate an HDR image file in PS…<br />Go to Bridge<br />Tools/Photoshop/Generate HDR (see next slide)<br />

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A Little About Photoshop™<br />

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HDR Previewer in PS<br />Click on OK<br />

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Let PS Do Its Thing…<br />

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Save As Radiance (.hdr)<br />

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What Now?<br />Open the Radiance (.hdr) file in Photomatix Pro and, you guessed it… Tone Map the image anyway you like it.<br />

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Questions?<br />More Importantly… <br />THANK YOU!<br />