[Larne]

I shot this first image on a bright sunny day and as you can see I had real problems with the contrast. The final shot (posted to the gallery at the time) has a whited-out sky which really disappointed me, plus there was a lot of detail lost in the shadows.



Earlier today I finally decided to install and play with the trial copy of Photomatix that was shipped with last month's Digital Photo Magazine. The image below was created from three TIFFs generated from the original RAW file, one under-exposed by 2 stops and one over-exposed by 2 stops (using the exposure control on the Adobe RAW tool). I then used Elements to boost the contrast and saturation.



Aside from the watermarking (as it is a trial copy of Photomatix) what do people think of the result?

This third image is a combination of the two images above (thanks go to Dabhand for the technical tips and the suggestion). I rather like it myself!

[AQ]

I think the processing has made the picture a lot better. There is a lot more detail.

I will have to give that a try myself. I do not use RAW very much but I can see it could be worth switching to that mode in some circumstances.

[stepheno]

People have a tendency to over-process with HDR but I think this subtly done and produced a fine image

[PeteT]

Originally Posted by stepheno

People have a tendency to over-process with HDR but I think this subtly done and produced a fine image

I totally agree. Although more extreme HDR processing CAN in some circumstances produce very dramatic pictures, I have to say IMHO it is very much over used.

This however is a great example of HDR being used sparingly to produce an image closer to that which would have been seen by the naked eye.

My only comment is that there seems (to my eyes anyway) to be a very slight blue cast which could easily be corrected.

Well done Larne.

[Larne]

Thanks for the feedback. This is my first HDR image and as suggested, I did focus on trying to get a result that represented my memory of the scene.

I agree on the blue cast but interestingly it was there even before I boosted the saturation. I suspect the cause is the temperature of the light. The photo was taken at around 7.30am with strong warm side-lighting but with a clear blue sky that was providing fill light to the shadows.

I did have a fiddle and while I can correct the blue cast by desaturating the blue channel that leaves the picture looking a bit flat (for me anyway) so I decided to leave the blue there.

I reckon I will be investing in a copy of Photomatix as I can think of any number of 'okay' images that could benefit from this treatment!

[chrisa]

Nicely done Larne. You've used it to good effect here.

I've got Photomatix and think it is great. Can get some nice images from it, especially in high contrast conditions.

I think it's also capable of doing pseudo-HDR directly from a single RAW file.

[WOODY]

VERY NICE LARNE, GREAT END RESULT.

[Rob Barron]

Although the second shot undoubtedly has more detail in the shadow areas, the result is limited by being from one photo instead of three or more taken at different settings. I actually like the trees in the first shot and the boats in the second. The trees in the second shot have lost some of the wintry feel but you could put these two images together with a layer mask to show the boats, sky and water from the 2nd and the trees from the first. I think the result of that would be a really lovely picture.

I should just emphasise, I think you have done a really good job here and got it about as good as you could from a single image so I am not criticising your efforts at all. Using more photos taken at the same time definitely gives a big advantage but well done in what you achieved with just one :o)

Cheers,
Rob

[Larne]

I agree about the trees but as an Elements user I don't get the joys of layer masks (unless I have seriously misunderstood something) so that's for the future.

Regarding the shooting of multiple images, while I agree that would produce a better HDR picture I have a personal problem with it. I go out to take photographs, not to generate raw data for input to a tool that will generate the photograph for me. I know it is fairly semantic but what I did above I see as using Photomatix to improve my original photograph whereas if I had shot a load of images I would have been using Photomatix to create the image for me.

Does that make sense?

Its a creative thing really and I know on one level I am limiting myself but I don't want to lose the 'buzz' of shooting and turn it into a mechanical exercise. Layer masks on Photoshop (when I can afford it) will just be another part of improving my original image (by combining elements of it with the HDR image) so I'm okay with that as well.

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by Larne

I agree about the trees but as an Elements user I don't get the joys of layer masks (unless I have seriously misunderstood something) so that's for the future.

There is a work-around to get a layer mask for Elements that involves using an adjustment layer. I have posted it before, but it was a very long time ago and I can't find it. (Can't remember exactly how to do it either).

I'll keep looking for it and will re-post it if I can find it.

[Boofers]

Nice picture,
I started with elements one,,,my work around was with a background copy and the eraser tool.

[Larne]

Thanks Dabhand - a quick search in Google produced the following.

1 - Add a new adjustment layer to the layer you want to create a mask for. [Layer>>New Adjustment Layer>>Levels]

2 - Click OK Without making any changes!

3 - In the layers palette, click and drag the adjustment layer under the layer you want to mask. [Note: Click the left hand icon, because the white one on the right won't allow you to drag!]

4 - Hold down the ALT key and click on the line between the two layers to clip them together. [The mouse will change to a double black circle, and when you release the mouse a small arrow will appear on the left of the upper layer]

5 - Finally you can click onto the mask layer on the right of the Adjustment Layer icon. Now when you paint with a black brush on the main image you will reveal the layer below, white if you want to conceal it again. Use low opacity for subtle effects!!

Will have a fiddle and see if I can blend the two together.

[Dabhand16]

Well done Larne It comes back to me now. I remember about linking the adjustment layer to affect only the next one in the stack. I'm sure that it works as well as the 'proper' layers in PS.

[Larne]

OP updated with a third image showing the two (original and HDR) merged as discussed.

I also desaturated the blue channel to reduce the overall cast as discussed earlier in the thread.