HDR Photography Photo Workshop

HDR Photography Photo Workshop

Released June 2009
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470412992

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Book description

Expand your artistic vision with HDR photography

By artfully blending multiple exposures, you can create images with incredible detail, photos that mimic fine paintings, surrealistic imagery — once you understand the process, your options are virtually endless. This book explains the tools you need to get started and how to create high dynamic range (HDR) images. You learn to evaluate a scene, photograph different subjects for the best HDR results, gain skill with software, and begin a lifetime of exploration.

  • See how HDR compensates for the camera's limited ability to record the visible range of light

  • Examine the necessary camera features and accessories

  • Learn to process HDR images using Photomatix and Photoshop® Elements

  • Learn to create HDR photos from single exposures

  • Experiment with landscapes, cityscapes, interior shots, black-and-white, nighttime photos, and more

Save 15% on Photomatix software when you buy this book! Details inside!

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About the Authors
  3. Credits
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction
  6. 1. DYNAMIC RANGE AND DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
    1. 1.1. DYNAMIC RANGE
      1. 1.1.1. SENSOR WALKTHROUGH
      2. 1.1.2. BIT DEPTH
    2. 1.2. WRANGLING WITH EXPOSURE
      1. 1.2.1. EXPOSURE EXPLAINED
      2. 1.2.2. EXPOSUREVALUE
      3. 1.2.3. METERING
    3. 1.4. SINGLE-EXPOSURE LIMITATIONS
      1. 1.4.1. SKIES
      2. 1.4.2. BUILDINGS
      3. 1.4.3. SILHOUETTES AND SUNSETS
    4. 1.5. TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS
      1. 1.5.1. LIGHTING
      2. 1.5.2. NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERS
      3. 1.5.3. CONTRAST MASKING
      4. 1.5.4. EXPOSURE BLENDING
      5. 1.5.5. TWEAKING SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
      6. 1.5.6. DODGING AND BURNING
      7. 1.5.7. FILL LIGHT AND RECOVERY
      8. 1.5.8. POST-PROCESSING WITH RAW
    5. 1.6. THE HDR ANSWER
      1. 1.6.1. HDR PHOTOGRAPHY
      2. 1.6.2. HDR PROCESSING
  7. 2. GEARING UP
    1. 2.1. FOCUSING ON THE PHOTOS
    2. 2.2. CAMERA TYPES
      1. 2.2.1. THE DSLR
      2. 2.2.2. COMPACT DIGITAL CAMERAS
    3. 2.3. CAMERA FEATURES
      1. 2.3.1. SHOOTING MODES
      2. 2.3.2. AUTO EXPOSURE BRACKETING
      3. 2.3.3. SPEED
      4. 2.3.4. PHOTO FILE TYPE
    4. 2.4. USEFUL ACCESSORIES
      1. 2.4.1. TRIPODS
      2. 2.4.2. MONOPODS
      3. 2.4.3. REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASE
      4. 2.4.4. LIGHT METER
      5. 2.4.5. FILTERS
    5. 2.5. LENSES AND HDR
      1. 2.5.1. EVERYDAY ZOOM
      2. 2.5.2. WIDE ANGLE
      3. 2.5.3. PRIME
      4. 2.5.4. TELEPHOTO
      5. 2.5.5. MACRO
    6. 2.6. SOFTWARE
      1. 2.6.1. PHOTOMATIX
      2. 2.6.2. PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
      3. 2.6.3. PHOTOSHOP
      4. 2.6.4. COREL PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTO
      5. 2.6.5. LIGHTROOM
      6. 2.6.6. APERTURE
  8. 3. THE ART OF HDR
    1. 3.1. HDR STYLES
    2. 3.2. SELECTING A SCENE
      1. 3.2.1. LIGHT AND TIMING
      2. 3.2.2. LOOKING FOR HIGH CONTRAST
      3. 3.2.3. DETAILS
      4. 3.2.4. TRIAL, ERROR, AND PERSISTENCE
    3. 3.3. SETTING UP
      1. 3.3.1. STABILITY
      2. 3.3.2. USING FLASH
      3. 3.3.3. USING FILTERS
    4. 3.4. CONFIGURING THE CAMERA
      1. 3.4.1. SHOOTING MODE
      2. 3.4.2. APERTURE
      3. 3.4.3. MANUAL VERSUS AUTOFOCUSING
      4. 3.4.4. ISO
      5. 3.4.5. AUTO EXPOSURE BRACKETING
    5. 3.5. METERING
      1. 3.5.1. FINDING THE BEST EXPOSURE
      2. 3.5.2. ALTERNATE METERING STRATEGY
    6. 3.6. TAKING THE PHOTOS
      1. 3.6.1. AUTO BRACKETING
      2. 3.6.2. MANUAL BRACKETING
    7. 3.7. PROCESSING PHOTOS INTO HDR
      1. 3.7.1. PROCESSING RAW PHOTOS
      2. 3.7.2. GENERATING HDR IN PHOTOMATIX
      3. 3.7.3. TONE MAPPING IN PHOTOMATIX
      4. 3.7.4. TONE MAPPING EXAMPLES
    8. 3.8. ALTERNATE PROCESSING PATHS
      1. 3.8.1. PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTO X2 AND HDR PHOTO MERGE
      2. 3.8.2. MERGETO HDR IN PHOTOSHOP
    9. 3.9. ALTERNATE APPROACH: SINGLE-EXPOSURE HDR
    10. 3.10. ADDITIONAL PROCESSING
      1. 3.10.1. REDUCING NOISE
      2. 3.10.2. CORRECTING COLOR
      3. 3.10.3. MAKING HISTOGRAM ADJUSTMENTS
  9. 4. LANDSCAPES
    1. 4.1. EVALUATING LANDSCAPES
      1. 4.1.1. BE SELECTIVE
      2. 4.1.2. BRINGING LANDSCAPES TO LIFE WITH HDR
      3. 4.1.3. ANALYZING THE SCENE
    2. 4.2. LIGHT
      1. 4.2.1. SHOOTING AT SUNSET AND SUNRISE
      2. 4.2.2. HAZE
      3. 4.2.3. WHITE BALANCE
    3. 4.3. CAPTURING GREAT SKIES
      1. 4.3.1. WORKING WITH CLOUDS AND HDR
      2. 4.3.2. CAPTURING WIDE-ANGLE SKIES
      3. 4.3.3. WORKING WITH FAST-MOVING CLOUDS
    4. 4.4. CREATING PANORAMAS
      1. 4.4.1. TAKING PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHS
      2. 4.4.2. CREATING THE HDR
      3. 4.4.3. STITCHING THE PHOTOS TOGETHER
  10. 5. ARCHITECTURE AND CITYSCAPES
    1. 5.1. CAPTURING ARCHITECTURE
      1. 5.1.1. LINES AND STYLE
      2. 5.1.2. BUILDING SURFACES
      3. 5.1.3. SHOOTING FOR DETAIL
      4. 5.1.4. INCLUDING THE SKY FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT
    2. 5.2. CAPTURING CITYSCAPES
    3. 5.3. URBAN CONTEXTS
      1. 5.3.1. THE PROBLEM WITH FILTERS
      2. 5.3.2. CONSTRUCTION
      3. 5.3.3. DECAY AND DEMOLITION
    4. 5.4. OLD BUILDINGS
      1. 5.4.1. CHURCHES
      2. 5.4.2. BARNS
      3. 5.4.3. CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE
  11. 6. INTERIORS
    1. 6.1. UNDERSTANDING INTERIOR SPACES
      1. 6.1.1. SIZE, SHAPE, AND SPACE
      2. 6.1.2. INTERIOR LIGHTING
      3. 6.1.3. NATURAL LIGHT AND SHADOW
      4. 6.1.4. EXTREME CONTRAST
    2. 6.2. SHOOTING LARGE INTERIORS IN HDR
      1. 6.2.1. CEILINGS IN SHADOW
      2. 6.2.2. LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS
      3. 6.2.3. FLOORS
      4. 6.2.4. ENHANCING DETAILS
    3. 6.3. HDR AND SMALLER SPACES
      1. 6.3.1. A NARROWER VISION
      2. 6.3.2. LESS DRAMA, MORE DETAILS
      3. 6.3.3. PROBLEM-SOLVING WITH HDR
    4. 6.4. MIXING IT UP
      1. 6.4.1. CAPTURING FROM THE INSIDE OUT
      2. 6.4.2. LOOKING IN FROMTHE OUTSIDE
  12. 7. BLACK AND WHITE
    1. 7.1. THINKING IN BLACK AND WHITE
      1. 7.1.1. WHATTO LOOK FOR
      2. 7.1.2. THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION
      3. 7.1.3. OVERCAST DAYS
      4. 7.1.4. PEOPLE
      5. 7.1.5. HDR LANDSCAPES IN BLACK AND WHITE
      6. 7.1.6. UNDERSTANDING COLOR CHANNELS
    2. 7.2. CONVERTING HDR TO BLACK AND WHITE
      1. 7.2.1. HDR FIRST, THEN BLACK AND WHITE
      2. 7.2.2. MAKING THE CONVERSION WITH PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
    3. 7.3. DODGING AND BURNING
    4. 7.4. TONING
      1. 7.4.1. ENHANCING WITH COLOR
      2. 7.4.2. CREATING TONED IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
  13. 8. PEOPLE AND HDR
    1. 8.1. PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE
      1. 8.1.1. HDR IN EVERYDAY PHOTOGRAPHY
      2. 8.1.2. PORTRAITS
    2. 8.2. WORKING WITH AND WITHOUT FLASH
      1. 8.2.1. USING EXTERNAL FLASH
      2. 8.2.2. USING NATURAL LIGHT
    3. 8.3. BLENDING HDR WITH NORMAL EXPOSURES
      1. 8.3.1. BLENDING SUBJECTS OVER HDR BACKGROUNDS
      2. 8.3.2. BLENDING HDR WITH NORMAL PHOTO LAYERS
  14. 9. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
    1. 9.1. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
      1. 9.1.1. GETTING INTO THE ACTION
      2. 9.1.2. SHOOTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
    2. 9.2. CAMERA SETTINGS
    3. 9.3. WIDE-ANGLE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
    4. 9.4. MID-RANGE ZOOM PHOTOGRAPHY
    5. 9.5. USING A COMPACT DIGITAL CAMERA
    6. 9.6. TECHNIQUES
      1. 9.6.1. WORKING WITH NATURAL LIGHT
      2. 9.6.2. WORKING WHILE ON THE MOVE
      3. 9.6.3. CAPTURING CANDID MOMENTS NATURALLY
      4. 9.6.4. WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT
  15. 10. MORE CREATIVE POSSIBILITIES
    1. 10.1. HDR AT DUSK
      1. 10.1.1. TAKING LONG EXPOSURES
      2. 10.1.2. WORKING AT DUSK
      3. 10.1.3. COMPENSATING FOR STREET LIGHTING
    2. 10.2. VEHICLES
      1. 10.2.1. SHIPS
      2. 10.2.2. INSIDE AN AIRCRAFT
      3. 10.2.3. CARS
      4. 10.2.4. OLDER VEHICLES
    3. 10.3. CROSS-PROCESSING
      1. 10.3.1. APPLYING THE TECHNIQUE
      2. 10.3.2. CROSS-PROCESSING EXAMPLES
  16. A. WEB RESOURCES
    1. A.6. HDR SOFTWARE
      1. A.6.1. PHOTOMATIX
      2. A.6.2. ARTIZEN HDR
      3. A.6.3. DYNAMIC PHOTO HDR
      4. A.6.4. EASY HDR
      5. A.6.5. FDRTOOLS
      6. A.6.6. QTPFSGUI
    2. A.7. PHOTO-EDITING SOFTWARE
      1. A.7.1. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
      2. A.7.2. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
      3. A.7.3. ADOBE LIGHTROOM
      4. A.7.4. COREL PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTO
      5. A.7.5. GIMP
      6. A.7.6. APPLE APERTURE
    3. A.8. HDR PHOTOGRAPHERS
      1. A.8.1. PETE CARR
      2. A.8.2. CHRIS COLEMAN
      3. A.8.3. ROBERT CORRELL
      4. A.8.4. DAVID HERREMAN
      5. A.8.5. JOHN MUELLER
      6. A.8.6. DAVID J. NIGHTINGALE
      7. A.8.7. RUBEN SEABRA
      8. A.8.8. PETER VAN ALLEN
    4. A.9. FORUMS
      1. A.9.1. PHOTOWORKSHORCOM
      2. A.9.2. TALK PHOTOGRAPHY
      3. A.9.3. FLICKR HDR GROUP
      4. A.9.4. FLICKR PHOTOMATIX GROUP
  17. GLOSSARY

Product information

  • Title: HDR Photography Photo Workshop
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: June 2009
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470412992