How do i Make HDR Images?

Question

Hi all i just seen some HDR Images! and they are fantastic! but how do they do them? i am Very new to taking photos and that! so i need some were that will tell me. in a easy way lol. any info would be good thanks!

Answer 1

Hi there, HDR is quite simple once you get started. I like the quite extreme styles, where it almost looks like someone has painted the photo. I use a software called Dynamic Photo HDR available here



http://www.mediachance.com/hdri/index.html



for a free trial download. (the tutorials they give are so easy to follow) I bought the full version as I was so impressed with how easy it was! ($40/ £30) Check out my own site for a few examples I have done using the software.



http://www.imagesdslrcanon.blogspot.com/



The best thing about this software is you can do pseudo hdr images- where you don't need to take 3 different exposures. You just fiddle with one photo and can create the same effects as if you have done a proper HDR image. This is basically just for fun though, best results obviously come with doing it the correct way...!

Answer 2

There are a few programs out there, some free, some pay-ware. Qtpfsgui is a free program that was popular, but I could never get the results to look right (colors looked surreal and gave HDRI a bad name). It is worth a look if you are interested in different techniques of tone mapping.



The HDRI process I'm now using is align_image_stack.exe and enfuse.exe which are part of the Hugin panorama package. These are command line programs which run on common operating systems. Thus, don't expect a cutesy graphics interface. In spite of them being command line programs, the process is very simple. I find the process simpler than Qtpfsgui which is uses a cute graphics interface. There are precompiled binaries for Windows and Mac. Enfuse is fast and produces pretty nice results. Both programs can handle 16-bit per color source images.



To produce HDR images, you need a digital camera with manual exposure mode, stable tripod, the two above programs, and an image editing program like Photoshop or The Gimp. A cable release or remote for the camera is useful to prevent camera movement when you snap the shot (using the self-timer setting also works). It's helpful if your camera can save pictures in RAW format so your contrast curves aren't altered by the camera. A dSLR is preferable, but a decent point & shoot camera will also work. Take a series of pictures at different exposures. The only thing you are allowed to change is the shutter speed. Each exposure shouldn't be more than 2-stops different. I usually shoot at 1.33-stop intervals. You may be inclined to change f-stops, but this will change the optical parameters which is a no-no. Your set of images should properly expose the dark areas through the brightest areas. Each image must be the same scene, i.e. a tripod is required and your subject must be static. After you take your images, you need to align each image so they overlay. Use align_image_stack to align the image stack if necessary. Even though you used a tripod, you may have slight movement of the camera between the various images unless you really have a solid camera mount. Align_image_stack will remove slight alignment skews. Next, run the images through Enfuse. The default settings for Enfuse work great most of the time. Run your final image through a photo editor to adjust contast levels, color balance, and cropping to your liking. It's so simple anybody can make their first HRDI in 10 minutes.



http://picasaweb.google.com/qrkpub/HDRIExperiments# are a few of my quicky experiments playing with Enfuse and align_image_stack.



http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/ <--interesting but not my cup of tea

http://enblend.sourceforge.net/ <--enfuse tone maps really good

http://hugin.sourceforge.net/ <--comes with enfuse and align_image



While you're at it, play around with Hugin to make panoramas. The latest version of Hugin is simple to use and does a great job. No need to spend $300 for a panorama stitching program.

Answer 3

It more looks like a photo that had a cell shader applied, than a HDR image. E.g. the lower part of the tree stump is completely lost in darkness. For a HDR image i would expect to be able to easily discern details there. The same applies to the highlights on the carrots. Overall i find the detail level to be extremely low. Did you perhaps have the software choose the images in the wrong order? It looks like it took the darkest exposure for the dark parts, and the brightest for the bright parts. It should have been the other way around. What software did you use?

Answer 4

I've had the best results using photomatix.



You can get a free download to try it out in one of the main two modes.



The better mode needs to be unlocked with an inexpensive software key purchase. If you are in education it costs very little.



In the demo version you can use it in both modes but the better mode is water-marked.



You will also need:



A tripod.



A lens you can set to manual focus (AF will not work so well for HDR)



A camera where you can either expose manually, or lock the aperture and bracket.



Switch off AF.



Switch off lens stabiliser if you have it.



If you are shooting at night-time, sunrise or sunset then you might want to get a cable release or find out how to work mirror lock up on your camera as longer exposures will be affected by shake.



The software can detect and blur out motion, but if there is a lot of motion going on you might want to recompose your shot to crop as much out as you can.



Photomatix lets you open a single RAW file and create a psuedo HDR image. These are not as detailed as conventional HDRs and are prone to noise, but get a similar effect with less hassle.



You want to bracket your exposures so that you go from -4EV to +4EV , ideally in stop increments. This may seem excessive, but its better to overshoot than get back to your PC and find out you haven't got enough range. As a guide you want to go from almost entirely black to almost eniterly white. If you dont need to use them all then fine, but better to have the option.