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Single frame image taken today. My Pine Mountain preset applied in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 then sharpened in Aperture 3.
Nearly Wordless Wednesday
Category: HDR
More HDR Exploration
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Today I am going to share several versions of one image to further illustrate the HDR process. In the image above I combined 5 exposures using NIK HDR Efex PRO 2. I then started with one of the realistic presets in NIK HDR Efex PRO 2 which I adjusted to my vision for the image. After getting it where I wanted it I created a custom preset that recorded all the adjustments I made to the image. I named the custom preset Pine Mountain #2 and saved it in the custom preset panel in NIK HDR Efex PRO 2 so that I could use it with any image I chose. I then started applying it to some of the single frames from this scene.
I’ll start with this frame which is the -1 EV underexposed frame. As you can see it is very dark and lacks detail in the shadows.
Below is the same image with the Pine Mountain #2 preset applied. It opened up the shadows and brought out a greater color range as well as some shadow detail.
I followed the same process for the 0 EV exposure below. This exposure has better shadow detail than the underexposed frame but it is beginning to show some blown highlights in the upper area, notably the small amount of sky and the mountain laurel leaves.
Once again I applied the Pine Mountain #2 preset I had created earlier to this single frame which produced the image below. There is now more detail in the shadows, the colors are richer but the sky is starting to gray slightly.
Lastly I used the overexposed image with the +1 EV and followed the same procedure with it. Once again the highlights are blown in the sky and on the leaves as well as on the rocks themselves.
This is the overexposed image after applying the Pine Mountain #2 preset.
Once again there is marked improvement both in the highlights and in the shadows but it still isn’t as rich as the first image in this post that was created by merging multiple exposures in NIK HDR Efex PRO 2.
My conclusion from this experiment is that; while there is increased detail in the shadows, better highlights and increased tonal range available when using NIK HDR Efex PRO 2 on a single image; the use of multiple exposures produces a richer more detailed image. I stand corrected regarding my earlier post about the differences in single vs multiple image HDR processing and the results that are attainable.
I hope this helps my readers and that they benefit from my exploration and experimentation with the NIK HDR Efex PRO 2 software. I feel certain that these results are repeatable regardless of which software is used be it Photoshop, NIK, Photomatix or any of the myriad of other HDR programs out there.
Pinnacle Point Sunset
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After my post last week about HDR processing I decided to follow up by processing an image from multiple exposures. In this case I shot four frames at +1.3, +.3, 0, and -3 ev then merged them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I was watching the histogram while shooting which is how I came to use these settings. The histogram was fine on the dark end but was still blown out at the upper end until I underexposed it by 3 stops. That frame was the one that made the image work.
After merging and tone mapping the merged image I returned it to Aperture 3 where I cropped it slightly, added some sharpening and enhanced the definition and vibrancy. I also tried creating an image as vibrant as this using only the 0 ev frame but it was way too dark and noisy. From this experiment I have to admit that it is definitely better to use multiple images when the exposure range is as wide as this sunset was. Without the multiple exposures the lake and mountains in the center of the image would still be too dark and lacking in detail.
I am also including the four frames I used to create the HDR image below so you can see what I was working with to create the final image.
What Constitutes an HDR Image?
I’m often asked what is HDR photography? HDR simply stated means High Dynamic Range. The impetus behind HDR is to reveal detail in all ranges of the exposure. It drives me crazy when people say that the only way to create HDR is by combining multiple images. Digital sensors are capable of a much broader exposure latitude than film; they can record so much information that was unavailable with film allowing us to create a broad range of tonality from light to dark within a single frame.
To my way of thinking HDR means being able to bring out detail in both shadow and highlight areas in a photo. Granted there are times, a strong backlight or a subject in deep shadow, when the exposure range is so great that combining a range of exposures is the only way to attain that goal but as long as the histogram/exposure is within the range of the sensor there is enough information in a single frame to create HDR. It is not any different that dodging and burning when you boil it down.
I remember my “ah-ha” moment in the darkroom eons ago when I had a negative that was severely underexposed in the shadows and my instructor explained that through dodging and burning I could extract the info that was there and create the image I thought I had taken. I was expanding the dynamic range beyond what a single exposure would produce, going straight from the negative through the enlarger, simply by burning in the underexposed shadows while dodging the overexposed highlights to tone map the image. Isn’t that the essence of Ansel Adams’ zone system? He exposed for as broad a range of tones as his film would record and then completed the image in the darkroom dodging and burning areas of the image to produce an image that had the full range of tones from pure black through pure white.
When folks refer to an image today as HDR I think what they are actually referring to is the stylization of the image. The emphasis is on enhancing not only the range of exposure but also enhancement of the saturation, hues and tints within the image along with increased contrast and sharpening. Sometimes the only way to accomplish those goals is through combining multiple exposures but simply combining multiple exposures usually results in a very flat image with very little contrast. It doesn’t become what is commonly referred to as an “HDR” until it has been tone mapped which, to my way of thinking, menas stylized through processing to attain the photographer’s vision for the photo. Taking this a step further I would argue that a single frame can be tone mapped and stylized to create what is referred to today as HDR photography.
Wordless Wednesday
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