HDR photo comparison

Since I have been working with HDR photography a couple of months ago, I have never ceased to be amazed at the advantage of HDR. I recently took a photo at a nursing facility and am posting all the shots I used to process the photos. As you can see, the dark exposed image shows how clear it looks outside the glass door. The over exposed image clearly shows inside the room. The finished product shows a clear rendition of both in and outdoor shots combined to make the entire photo become visible. I use as most people do, Photomatix Pro. Comments are welcome.

I'm a big fan of hdr but I am puzzled as to why the piano is so bright when none of the shots made it very light to begin with. Really am diggin the reflection on the floor

Well, I'm NOT a big fan of HDR myself. I don't want to be mean, but to me this shot is an example of why. It looks quite unrealistic to my eyes, especially after seeing what it really looks like. The Piano is yellow and has weird texture that's not there in real life and there seems to be a weird glow around everything. To top it off the area around the window is still blown out.

HDR means High Dynamic Range. To me it should be used to increase your dynamic range, not make an unrealistic picture. I know it's fun to play with and heck I did the same thing for a bit. But this shot isn't enhanced by the use of HDR very much IMHO.

These days the dynamic range of cameras is so large that a good RAW file will be able to bring out enough details in a shot that HDR is hardly needed. For the times it is, I'll selectively bring back areas using layers in PS myself.

Lastly from my experimenting Photomatix Pro isn't as good as just using the PS HDR function.

Of course others will come and post after me and probably disagree. So YMMV.

Pixelchix wrote: I'm a big fan of hdr but I am puzzled as to why the piano is so bright when none of the shots made it very light to begin with. Really am diggin the reflection on the floor

that reflections makes it so real for me

Stealthy Ninja wrote: Well, I'm NOT a big fan of HDR myself. I don't want to be mean, but to me this shot is an example of why. It looks quite unrealistic to my eyes, especially after seeing what it really looks like. The Piano is yellow and has weird texture that's not there in real life and there seems to be a weird glow around everything. To top it off the area around the window is still blown out.

HDR means High Dynamic Range. To me it should be used to increase your dynamic range, not make an unrealistic picture. I know it's fun to play with and heck I did the same thing for a bit. But this shot isn't enhanced by the use of HDR very much IMHO.

These days the dynamic range of cameras is so large that a good RAW file will be able to bring out enough details in a shot that HDR is hardly needed. For the times it is, I'll selectively bring back areas using layers in PS myself.

Lastly from my experimenting Photomatix Pro isn't as good as just using the PS HDR function.

Of course others will come and post after me and probably disagree. So YMMV.

Opinions vary.

Pixelchix wrote: I'm a big fan of hdr but I am puzzled as to why the piano is so bright when none of the shots made it very light to begin with. Really am diggin the reflection on the floor

I'm not sure why that is either. The only thing I can figure is that the shots I took were raw files to begin with and maybe in the process of downsizing the photos so that I could post them on here may have made them look darker.

1hdr4u wrote:

Pixelchix wrote: I'm a big fan of hdr but I am puzzled as to why the piano is so bright when none of the shots made it very light to begin with. Really am diggin the reflection on the floor

I'm not sure why that is either. The only thing I can figure is that the shots I took were raw files to begin with and maybe in the process of downsizing the photos so that I could post them on here may have made them look darker.

Photomatix isnt really known for it's accuracy.

HDR is a great tool for a LOT of reasons, and can produce really stunning photographs for architecture and landscape photography which is what it's used for a lot. It's useful, that's why it's used. It's a way to replicate what the human eye can see when it's not physically possible with one exposure.

However, you CAN use HDR and still create a completely believable photograph. Clearly it's not your thing, which is fine. Everybody has their own tastes in art. Some people crap on the sidewalk and call it art, some people use HDR to the point where my eyeballs bleed.

To each their own.

Tamgerine wrote: HDR is a great tool for a LOT of reasons, and can produce really stunning photographs for architecture and landscape photography which is what it's used for a lot. It's useful, that's why it's used. It's a way to replicate what the human eye can see when it's not physically possible with one exposure.

However, you CAN use HDR and still create a completely believable photograph. Clearly it's not your thing, which is fine. Everybody has their own tastes in art. Some people crap on the sidewalk and call it art, some people use HDR to the point where my eyeballs bleed.

To each their own.

Opinions vary.

Which is...the basics of my post. Yes. But I will say this, accepting critique is part of being not necessarily just a good photographer, but a photographer that progresses and improves their skills over time. If I shouted "opinions vary" at everyone who ever disliked my work or tried to help me improve, well I'd still be a pretty crummy photographer. Eventually everyone just rolls their eyes and offers you nothing but praise, which feels nice, but does nothing for you in the long run.

If someone actually sits down and takes the time to write out a polite and thoughtful critique such as Stealthy Ninja did, it might be nicer to say, "Thanks for the help! I'll take that into consideration," even if you're just going to toss out the suggestions anyway.

Tamgerine wrote: Which is...the basics of my post. Yes. But I will say this, accepting critique is part of being not necessarily just a good photographer, but a photographer that progresses and improves their skills over time. If I shouted "opinions vary" at everyone who ever disliked my work or tried to help me improve, well I'd still be a pretty crummy photographer. Eventually everyone just rolls their eyes and offers you nothing but praise, which feels nice, but does nothing for you in the long run.

If someone actually sits down and takes the time to write out a polite and thoughtful critique such as Stealthy Ninja did, it might be nicer to say, "Thanks for the help! I'll take that into consideration," even if you're just going to toss out the suggestions anyway.

Why post and ask for opinions, when you then dismiss anything other than fulsome praise? Why not engage in a discussion, which may be interesting to others, as well as benefit the participants, if you can explain your reasoning and procedure....

Some people like it overcooked , some don't . I'm good with that .

Okay I'll say this..you like it your way, I like it mine. If you don't like my style of photography then there's nothing I can do about it. I guess saying I'll take a crap on the sidewalk is good wholesome discussion, isn't it? This is one of the reasons why I sometimes don't care to give some people more of a response. Someone could have politely told me that it's a tad overdone, but no, they have to say take a crap on the sidewalk. As someone else here said, I'm not trying to be mean, but practice what you preach and start acting civil and then maybe you'll get more of a response from people. Unless you're getting paid you can't please everybody so just please yourself. I could give two hoots & a holler if nobody here liked my work because I'm sure yours isn't any better.

Play nice people. I don't think Tam meant to compare your work to crapping on the sidewalk, and if she did she needs to take a step back and rethink her posts.

I don't mind the unnatural look if it's what you're going for. My only problem is the inconsistency of exposure. In the curtains it has a dark spot for no reason above the piano. Outside the door on the right on the siding it has another exposure drop.