First attempt at an HDR photo

Heres my first attempt.




Couple of things I'm trying to figure out. I used HDR merge pro in CS5's free trial and am still somewhat clueless on how to use CS5 for editing. I want to be able to save as a NEF/RAW if possible and do my final edits in Capture nx2. I'm not sure how though so I saved as a JPEG and did my fnal edits in capture nx2. Hopefully I will learn a few things about CS5 with some youtube tutorials. I would like to clone out the forground distractions(light post, street signs).

thanks for looking and sharing

You can forget about saving a bitmap image in a raw format, isn't going to happen because raw is not an image format. Most raw-developers (like ACR) can read image files, though, and process them as if they were raw-files. Don't know if Nikon software supports that. But why would you choose a raw-developer to edit pictures, if you have some of the best software in the world at your hands?

I like the concept, I don't see too many B&W HDRI's. A point of critique could be that the image still has blown highlights in the metal parts. The whole concept of HDRI is that you use the total dynamical and tonal range a camera can provide to prevent just that.

Could you post the original(s) somewhere so I could see what your starting point was?

Joachim Bolte said:

You can forget about saving a bitmap image in a raw format, isn't going to happen because raw is not an image format. Most raw-developers (like ACR) can read image files, though, and process them as if they were raw-files. Don't know if Nikon software supports that. But why would you choose a raw-developer to edit pictures, if you have some of the best software in the world at your hands?I like the concept, I don't see too many B&W HDRI's. A point of critique could be that the image still has blown highlights in the metal parts. The whole concept of HDRI is that you use the total dynamical and tonal range a camera can provide to prevent just that.

Could you post the original(s) somewhere so I could see what your starting point was?

Click to expand...

Mostly form my misunderstanding of file formats itself.
Thanks for the comments. I just need to understand how to use it a bit more first. I'm sure I'll figuer some things out in the next few days. I'll be back on in a few hours and I'll post the original and another edit and get rid of them blown highlights.

Thanks for the help

Can I say that I like the blown highlights? I can figure out how it will be without, and I think it will be less interesting. I'm not so much in HDR usually (question of taste). Here, I'm in it... If it would be me (but it's not me) I would have cut a bit of the bottom. A very nice one...

Seems to be quite a lot of halo-ing round the buildings?

On OPF there is a serious fan club for the SNS-HDR program, IMO the only HDR program that creates natural results super easily and with an easy to understand GUI again unlike all the competition. Well worth a try!

Ben Rubinstein said:

Seems to be quite a lot of halo-ing round the buildings?

On OPF there is a serious fan club for the SNS-HDR program, IMO the only HDR program that creates natural results super easily and with an easy to understand GUI again unlike all the competition. Well worth a try!

Click to expand...

One question... I'm at th SNS-HDR site and its in another language. Is the software in english?

HAHAHA I found the english tab!

Hi, Jake,

jake klein said:

Heres my first attempt.

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum by Jake Klein]​

Click to expand...

Now, was your intent here:

• To use HDR technique to present in the delivered image the actual dynamic range of the scene even though that might be beyond the dynamic range capability of the camera, or

• To use HDR tools to generate an unrealistic, but artistic (here, I might even say, scary), image.

Best regards,

Doug

Doug Kerr said:

Hi, Jake,


Now, was your intent here:

• To use HDR technique to present in the delivered image the actual dynamic range of the scene even though that might be beyond the dynamic range capability of the camera, or

• To use HDR tools to generate an unrealistic, but artistic (here, I might even say, scary), image.

Best regards,

Doug

Click to expand...

Is a "little bit of both" a reasonable answer?

I want to try bracketing on a human subject and go for a realistic/complete capture of the scene tonal values.

When it comes to buildings and landscapes I like both.

Hi, Jake,

jake klein said:

Is a "little bit of both" a reasonable answer?

I want to try bracketing on a human subject and go for a realistic/complete capture of the scene tonal values.

When it comes to buildings and landscapes I like both.

Click to expand...

Indeed, why not.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

jake klein said:

Is a "little bit of both" a reasonable answer?
...

Click to expand...

Jake, you have given a simple but beautiful and honest answer.
Bravo!

I find this to be a very eye-catching image.

Regards.