So you want to learn HDR?

Hardware

You will need a few items before you start. Most of these items will be obvious, but they are all important in the HDR process.

Camera

The most important item that you will need is a camera. You do not need a high-end camera, but you do need a camera that lets you adjust the exposure values. These are numbers that refer to certain combinations of lens aperture and shutter speed. I would recommend a DSLR for anyone that is serious about photography.

Tripod

A tripod is very helpful and is a must in this process unless you have robot arms and can hold perfectly steady while taking these photos.

Computer

Yes, of course you need a computer to manipulate digital photos. Who would have thought? This technique requires a good amount of RAM on your PC or Mac since you will be opening huge image files. You may experience a lot of lag while trying to do this. It is good practice to close out all programs that you are not using at the time.

Software

There's tons of HDR software out there, but the ones I am about to introduce to you are the ones that I prefer to use. Feel free to search around for software that will fit your needs.

Photomatix

Photomatix offers a free trial to download. It is worth downloading and trying it out. You will get a feel of the program and how it all works.

Adobe Photoshop

I use this program to do the final touchups after use Photomatix. This program is not necessary but it's highly recommended.

Step-by-step Process

Step 1 - Change the settings on your camera

When shooting for HDR photos, you must change the settings on your camera. I prefer to use the Manual setting on mine so that I can control every aspect of the shot. You will also want to go into your camera settings and change the AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing). I usually put my AEB to -2, 0, +2. With this setting on, your camera will take three photographs and the shots will be underexposed, normal, and overexposed.

After I put this setting on, I put my camera on continuous shooting mode. Another important detail is to make sure your camera is shooting RAW format. By shooting in RAW, you will get more details in a photo than you would with JPEG format.

Step 2 - Set up shot and snap the photos

After you have all of your camera settings adjusted, you should take out your tripod and set your camera up. Find a good angle and shoot away. You camera should take three different photographs. You may have to manually press the shutter button each time but you'll see that they are all different exposures. Be sure not to move the camera at all when you're taking your shots since want all three photos to be exactly in the same position.

Step 3 - Copy to computer and open up programs

Once you are happy with the shots that you've taken, get the photos off of the memory card and onto your computer.

Step 4 - Photomatix (or other HDR software)

Open up Photomatix (I am using version 3.0.2). You will see a few different options. Go ahead and click Generate HDR Image and choose the three images that you want to combine into an HDR image.

Press OK and you will get these settings:

I align by matching features and I want the program to attempt to reduce moving objects and people. Once you figure out your options, click OK. Photomatix will then combine all three images into one image but beware that this process may take a few minutes, depending on your computer and the size of your images.

You will then see a preview of your image, but this is just the beginning.

Step 5 - Tone Mapping

Choose Tone Mapping to adjust all of the different settings the program has to offer.

My technique is to play around with all of the different settings to get an image that is close to what I am looking for. You can make the photo look really vibrant and pop out at you, or you can have more of a natural look. I usually go for in between or whatever looks "right" to me. Once you're done messing around with the settings, press Process and Photomatix will then process your image.

Step 6 - Save as JPEG

When Photomatix is done processing, go to File > Save As. You can then save your photo to either a jpeg or tiff. I prefer jpeg, but if you are more comfortable with a .tiff then go ahead and use that format.

Step 7 - Open up Photoshop (or any photo editing software)

Open up your JPEG in a photo editing software and edit away! I like to adjust the brightness/contrast, hue/saturation, and highlights/shadows settings. A lot of this process is trial and error so play with the photo until you like the outcome.

Here's the adjustments menu that has a ton of different editing tools that you can use.

Step 8 - Save as... again!

Once you are done editing your photo and it looks like an HDR photograph, you can then save your image as a JPEG.

Step 9 - You're done!

That's it! There are many other techniques and ways to create HDR photographs, but this is my method and it seems to work great for me. The key is to practice and always experiment until you get the outcome you were looking for.

Final Outcome:

Thanks for reading this far and I hope this tutorial was beneficial for you. Now that you know how to create HDR images, why don't you take the quiz?