Finally took a stab at HDR

[shocksyde]

When I went to Lake Tahoe I made sure I got some bracketed shots so I could try HDR when I got home. I attempted to do it in Photoshop but wasn't pleased with the results. But, yesterday I went to a photoshop conference and the guy talked about the program Photomatix, so I gave that a try. Much better!

Here's an example

 

[idiotekniQues]

very nice work

 

[kyzen]

Those are pretty cool looking.

Care to give a high level overview on how to produce an HDR image, for those of us still getting starting out in the photography world?

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Looks pretty good. I imagine that a metallic print of that would look fantastic.

 

[angry hampster]

That looks really nice. A sea of different blues.

 

[finbarqs]

i think i would like it better if the sky wasn't so much in the picture... Take a little off the top...

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: finbarqs
i think i would like it better if the sky wasn't so much in the picture... Take a little off the top...

yea id crop it like an inch above the cloud line when looking at the larger pic, but otherwise great stab

 

[GrJohnso]

Cool shot, but a bit too intense for my taste. It's at that point in the treatment where it has gone from a super natural to unnatural look to me. But HDR is definitely an artistic treatment that is never received the same way by everyone.

Might turn out nice in print... Hard to say with HDR stuff...

 

[troytime]

i like it!!

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I like the shot, even though I prefer more natural HDR treatments... especially for, uh, natural landscapes.

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: kyzen
Those are pretty cool looking.

Care to give a high level overview on how to produce an HDR image, for those of us still getting starting out in the photography world?

To tell you the truth, I'm a beginner at it, too.

What I can tell you is to bracket your shots (especially landscapes with a bright sky or scenes with harsh shadows) so that you get all the information you need if you're gonna try HDR. Then get a program such as Photomatix and play around for a bit. You can make it look like an illustration or you can try to keep it looking as real as possible. In these pics I went for a middle ground.

These were my first tries, so it's pretty easy to get interesting results. Just give it a whirl!

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: ZetaEpyon
Looks pretty good. I imagine that a metallic print of that would look fantastic.

I've never gotten a metallic print. What is the difference between metallic and regular?

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: finbarqs
i think i would like it better if the sky wasn't so much in the picture... Take a little off the top...

You're right, if I were to get an 8x10 print I'd crop it as you suggested.