Post Your Best HDR Photo

[Michael James]

Would you mind if I contacted you privately to discuss your techniques?

I don't mind, but I also don't have a solution/workflow that lends itself to email or otherwise. I get a lot of requests both online and offline to share my approach, apps and workflow (from capture to final output).


I would create a DVD or training CD if I had the time, but thankfully this workflow has created a name for myself and I have been slammed shooting real estate for over a year. I haven't had three days off in a row since 2007 and believe me... I am not complaining about it at all.


I've thumbed through the rocky nook books on HDRI while at Barnes and Noble and none of what they show is my workflow. When I went down this path I didn't have anyone (couldn't find anyone) that was using the techniques and apps for real estate. I'm sure they were out there somewhere, but I couldn't find them online or off to pick their brains. And I couldn't find any courses that taught the subject either.


I do want to create a training product that would show step by step how I deal with interiors and mixed lighting issues without using flash, but I just have not had any slowdown to do so. As soon as I do I'll put one together. I've done a lot of video in the past (corporate training vids) so I have experience in that realm as well as screen captures to showcase software. I have the capabilities to teach/show what I do.... just gotta find the time to actually produce it.


Michael James - http://www.digitalcoastimage.com

[HiFiGuy1]

I would love to see you do it. I would definitely be interested in purchasing that DVD. I may contact you through your website for a few beginner pointers in the meantime.


Do you think that my current EF17-40 Land 40D will be useful in this endeavor? I see that you use FF, and I know just from a short romance with a 5D that it takes some wider shots for sure with my lens.

[maloner]

Here are a few I took recently

[Alan]

Top drawer! [Y]

[steve_m]

I like the second one the best. It starts in the foreground and seems to go on forever. Great job.

[Alex Bishton]

Excellent images. I notice you said you used Photoshop. Are there any benefits to using Photoshop over a bespoke piece of HDR software?

[maloner]

Thanks, everyone. The first was my favorite at first but I like the 2nd a lot more now as well.


Alex, I didn't tag the post correctly - each one was processed in Photomatix off of three bracketed exposures, + and - 2 stops. I did then proceed to play with the generated photo in Photoshop (and Lightroom) to get them a little less aggressively HDR in look.

[Tim]

Great photos, and I love the fact that there is snow in the last one. Great contrast cold and hot.

[Alex Bishton]

Maloner, understood. I've been using Photomatix and I agree that it makes the images look too processed. I guess fiddling around in Photoshop would rectify some of the damage caused.

[maloner]

Sometimes what I'll do is blend it as normal in Photomatix, then take the middle exposure and paste it on top as a separate layer, then use whatever blending options make the most sense for that particular photo (it varies a lot). That way you can keep your dynamic range but also restore a more natural look to the photo. I try to get as much of that done in Photomatix itself, but I find that the preview window it shows is not really close enough to the real output to trust it completely.