Try Your Hand at HDR (My Photomatix Tutorial)

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Technique

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-Sony a300 w/ 18-70 kit lens

-Tripod

-18mm

-ISO 100 (for HDR, always 100)

-F9

-5 RAW exposures taken @ -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 EV

 

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My Photomatix Tutorial: People have been asking me for a long time for a step by step tutorial, so here it is. Please feel free to post your result in the comments if this helped...=)

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To Start

 

The first and most important program you will need is Photomatix. , you can download the free version here. The free version will leave you with watermarks on your photos, so I highly suggest buying the full version.

 

Now you've got your HDR program, and your ready to get it on.... right?

Hold on. There's a few other programs your going to need. I hope you already have photoshop, but if you don't there is always Gimp. It's free, and It works. Last but certainly not least. When you are blending multiple exposures there is going to be some noise involved. A great free program for noise reduction is Noiseware Community Edition. Alright, now your good to go.

 

 

Shooting Your Images

 

Now go out and find a beautiful scene to shoot, and take 3-5 photos at different Exposure Values (EV) on a tripod. It's very important to keep the tripod in the same spot, and not to have too many moving subjects around. See below for an example.

 

Autofocus does work, but using manual focus is much better. I'm pretty sure that goes for all photography though. =)

 

 

Pre Processing

 

So open up Photomatix, and hit Load Bracketed Photos. Now select your photos taken at different exposures.

 

Next, a box will pop up called Generate HDR Options. Here's what you want to do:

 

Align source images> By matching feautures

 

Reduce Ghosting Artifacts: If you have moving subjects. I.E clouds, people. Then checking this Might work for you, but more often than not, it's better to use photoshop for this.

 

Noise reduction: Noise reduction is always the last step that i do. Because when you sharpen the image, you are going to create noise. So it's best to leave that step for later.

 

Reduce Chromatic Aberrations Check it!

 

Alright, now hit O.K, and wait in anticipation for photomatix work it's magic.

 

 

Processing:

 

This is how i do it. Of course, there are many different ways to process an HDR. Everyone has their own style. The more you mess around with the program, the more you'll find your way.

 

Strenth: 85-100 I almost always leave it at 100, but sometimes if your shot looks a little too harsh, you may want to slide it down a tad.

 

Saturation: 50-60

 

Luminosity: always at 10

 

Micro Contrast: always at 10

 

Smoothing. This one you want to play around with a little. Most of the time leaving it to max in light mode works best for a natural look. But sometimes it doesn't work so well. In this instance, un-check the box that says "Light mode," and start with the slider all the way to the left. Then inch the slider up little by little, untill the photo looks right. Note: You may want to mess with this one after you've done the settings below.

 

White point: Usually between 2.000% and up. You'll know when the lighting looks right.

 

Black point: I always keep this very low usually at 0.000%, to 0.030%.

 

Gamma: Between 1.40 and 1.00

 

Temperature: I'm sure you know about this one, so I won't insult your intelligence... =)

 

Saturation Highlights: 0.0 and up

 

Saturation Shadows: 0.0 and up

 

Micro Smoothing: You want to be in the 10 to 15 range. Mess with all options. This is a really important slider to get right.

 

Highlight and Shadows smoothness: Play around with these a bit. You will know when it looks right.

 

Shadows Clipping: Always at zero: I have no friggin clue what this is for. If anyone knows. I would love to hear it.

 

Different lighting conditions will have different results. Somethings work in HDR, and some don't.

 

O.K, so now your finished in photomatix. Go to Save as, and save it as a TIFF file.

 

 

 

Post Post Processing:

 

Open up your photo in photoshop, for a few minor, but essential adjustments.

 

Contrast Adjustment:\ I usually leave a photo a little too bright, so I can boost the contrast a bit.

 

Saturation/ Vibrance: I use the vibrance tool, but if you don't have it. Saturation will work. Sometimes when I process an HDR it is over saturated, and somtimes it needs a boost. You be the judge on whether or not to increase, decrease or leave it as is.

 

Unsharp Mask: To get even clearer, crisp details. Do a heavy unsharp mask. I usually set it at 100-125.

 

Noise Reduction: Finally, your last step will be to get rid of all that noise on your photo. Noiseware is pretty easy to use, and I'm sick of typing(haha), so I'll let you figure that one out on your own. =)

 

Bada bing, bada boom.... That's all folks! Hope this helps. Just be careful, HDR is highly addictive, you don't want to become an addict like me...do you? ;-D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Done