How to combine bracketed images - seeking simple tips

[Brownbear]

I recently tried bracketing. I processed the images in Lightroom, one for the trees/reflection, and one for the sky/mountains and water.

In Photoshop CC I combined the images and started erasing the layer to reveal the lighter exposure. However when I get to the tops of the trees where they meet the mountains and sky it seems impossible to blend the exposures. As is the case where the reflections of the trees meet the water.

I am finding it very difficult to select around the tree line and also the reflections of the trees in the water, and my edit is frankly a big mess.

Combining the layers with any degree of competency seems impossible to do. Or perhaps this is something that requires several hours to do well?

I would like to receive a few simple pointers on how to combine images with different exposures. I tried varying the opacity of the erase brush but the combined layers just end up being the same mess in varying degrees of lightness throughout the image.

1. Is there a simple way to combine images? Any simple tips to share?

2. Are there any tutorials or links that someone could refer me to on the how-tos of combining images?

Thank you.

[DanK]

Use Lightroom Enfuse (a plugin) to blend the images in LR. If all you want is to combine areas based on correct exposure, that works fine.

[loosecanon]

Well its all about the effect you wish. You could of course just use HDR software to blend the images which may give the result you are seeking.

If not then I would place them as two layers. The sky is fairly easy to select and used to create a layer with just sky, with some feathering.
The water along the edge should be reasonable to select, but here you may want to allow a larger feather to avoid to sharp a line before creating a layer with the darker water.
Then apply a a mask to the sky and water, and using a soft brush with low flow, touch up any unnatural looking joins.
With the sky you may get a better result using blend mode darker.
For complex selections I use fluid mask

[Carl in Louisiana]

I agree with DanK on this one LR/Enfuse looks much better than Nik HDR Pro2. I have both of these and prefer LR/Enfuse. My last post Amphitheater is 5 images using LR/Enfuse and some minor tweeking in Nik Viveza 2. Maybe not the best one ever done but it is my first try. Also did one in Nik HDR Pro2 but did not like it as well as this one. LR/Enfuse is a small dontion compared to the more expensive HDR software.

[inkista]

+1 more for the Lr/Enfuse plugin. It uses the two open source command line tools, align-image-stack and enfuse, to do exposure fusing. It's kind of like masks/layers on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Unlike HDR, there's no need for a different file format or tonemapping. I usually just need Lr/Enfuse and a slight curves correction.



If you want something free, there's also Hugin and EnfuseGUI but they're not quite as easy to use.

[Manfred M]

Christina - it's time you discovered layer masks and instead of erasing, you use a soft brush to selectively hide or unhide parts of the image. I use this technique in much of my work, and while software like Enfuse may be faster, I get a lot more subtle control doing it my may.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Dan, Yes, Carl, Kathy and Manfred

All I wish to be able to do is combine exposures, nothing fancy - primarily in preparation for some mountain scenes I would like to photograph. I looked up LR Enfuse and as it is only $10, and sounds so quick and easy I am going to purchase it.

Yes

Thank you for those tips. I forgot about selecting things so I will give that a try today. Thank you for the tips on brushes and feathering

Carl and Kathy,

Thank you for sharing!

Manfred,

Thank you. I do intend to learn to use layer masks and I am using layer masks to selectively sharpen my images. The challenge is selecting around things like trees without seeing a selection line, and being able to do this quickly appeals to me. However, I do understand the benefits of using layer masks and intend to learn more about using them.

Thank you to all!

[Manfred M]

Thank you. I do intend to learn to use layer masks and I am using layer masks to selectively sharpen my images. The challenge is selecting around things like trees without seeing a selection line, and being able to do this quickly appeals to me. However, I do understand the benefits of using layer masks and intend to learn more about using them.

A soft brush with around a 20% opacity (to be adjusted up or down as needed) and repeated brushing over the same area is going to give you a nice blend. It takes time to build a blend, but it definitely gives you a really good transition betweent the two layers.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Manfred. I will try just that later today.

A soft brush with around a 20% opacity (to be adjusted up or down as needed) and repeated brushing over the same area is going to give you a nice blend. It takes time to build a blend, but it definitely gives you a really good transition betweent the two layers.

[ajohnw]

Enfuse usually makes a good job of blending 2 exposures but there are other methods using layers

As I was curious to see if PS used a GIMP type approach I looked and found this

http://petapixel.com/2012/01/31/how-...-in-photoshop/

There is also a rather good video here that covers 3 methods and explains how natural hdr processes work via layers fairly well. I book marked it for use with the GIMP. I mostly do this sort of thing with a package that creates the layers for me and then varies the blend with what are effectively curves adjustments along with the correct layer mode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q29h5t8_FO0

John
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[chauncey]

Is there a better way to combine images? Any simple tips to share?

OMG Christina, WTH did you do to that picture and what were you trying to accomplish?
There's a ton of ways to blend images depending on your goals.

A fair number of us could explain "our way" which may or may not fit with your style, so let's bypass all that...

check out all the youtube CC free stuff...https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...y=photoshop+cc
and/or http://www.lynda.com/search?q=photoshop+cc and http://kelbyone.com/

That latter two are subscription based but I would suggest going month to month rather than yearly.
Another freebee is http://tv.adobe.com/

All that will give you a total overload, but...hey, you did ask.

BTW, I rarely use plug-ins as my stuff is too eclectic.

[Polar01]

Christina: try this article from Luminous Landscape on blending of images:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...blending.shtml

Cheers: Allan

[Brownbear]

Hi Chauncey,

I realize that it was a mess of an image, and shared it only with the hope that someone could tell me what I was doing wrong just by looking at it. I have deleted the image because it was such a mess, and yes an OMG what did you do with it. I was hoping simply to combine two exposures to include a blue sky (instead of white sky) with the trees.

Thank you for all the links. Yes, information overload but a good resource to have handy. Free links that come from a virus free source.

OMG Christina, WTH did you do to that picture and what were you trying to accomplish?
There's a ton of ways to blend images depending on your goals.

A fair number of us could explain "our way" which may or may not fit with your style, so let's bypass all that...

check out all the youtube CC free stuff...https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...y=photoshop+cc
and/or http://www.lynda.com/search?q=photoshop+cc and http://kelbyone.com/

That latter two are subscription based but I would suggest going month to month rather than yearly.
Another freebee is http://tv.adobe.com/

All that will give you a total overload, but...hey, you did ask.

BTW, I rarely use plug-ins as my stuff is too eclectic.

[Brownbear]

John and Allan,

Thank you very much for the information and the links. I will view both today.

I've purchased LR Enfuse and have the registration code but I haven't yet managed to figure out how to download the program. Once I do, I will try it out. For now, I am going to try the method in Allan's link.

[Brownbear]

Just to show that I finally managed to combine the exposures after reviewing several of the links and following the advice shared. Manfred's tip to use a soft brush set at an opacity of 20% made a world of difference.

While far from perfect, it is magnificent compared to my first try (Deleted image).



Anyhow, I understand the process now, and with some more time and practice I will learn to do this.

Thank you to everyone!

[chauncey]

Humor me...Make a copy>flatten image>open image panel>adjustments>apply HDR toning...
ya just might like what ya get.

[Brownbear]

Okay... Here it is.



I can see that the colours are far more vibrant, a bit too colourful for my taste, and the HDR toning also clipped the blue in the sky. However, I noted that one can adjust the saturation and other things in there. I don't know what the HDR toning did to the image but yes, there is something for me to learn about post processing from this.

PS I do like it but possibly just toned down a little bit. I forgot to crop the image as I did with the original but the lesson is still the same.

Thank you Chauncey.

Humor me...Make a copy>flatten image>open image panel>adjustments>apply HDR toning...
ya just might like what ya get.

[ajohnw]

Just to show that I finally managed to combine the exposures after reviewing several of the links and following the advice shared. Manfred's tip to use a soft brush set at an opacity of 20% made a world of difference.

While far from perfect, it is magnificent compared to my first try (Deleted image).



Anyhow, I understand the process now, and with some more time and practice I will learn to do this.

Thank you to everyone!

Are you sure the images are aligned Christina? Something looks a little odd to me and I wonder why. I would expect a little more sparkle going on the 1st image you posted. The mountain skyline is odd in places. I notice that it's in aRGB though but don't think that is the reason. I applied a very weak s curve to increase contrast, tone mapped a little - have to from a jpg and then a touch of unsharp mask mostly bringing up the ripples in the water. It's bought up the lamp posts a treat too! No signs of miss alignment so not sure why you have lost contrast. I usually don't touch aRGB images. No point in using it when posting on the web.



I would expect to have to do some additional work on a merge like this. Maybe the simple method shown in the video would be better. The video also shows an easy method of generating layer masks but remember you can always modify their tone levels. The link I posted indicates the sort of change that you need to make to each of the images. The video is more detailed. Using the GIMP for this sort of thing I simply duplicate layers but in PS the adjustments shouldn't be permanent. Pass on that aspect as I don't use it.

On Chauncey's post not sure what the layer mode in PS is but if you do as he suggests and then place the original image on top and adjust it's opacity it's possible to weaken the colour effect as much as desired. Easiest way to find out which layer mode to use is to just try them. In GIMP if I remember correctly it's overlay mode.

John
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[Brownbear]

Hi John,

Thank you as always for your help and advice. Always truly appreciated, and I'm certain that many folks learn something from reading your replies, just as I do.

Honestly I didn't align the images because I don't know how to. I also had a few similar exposures and may not have chosen the exact right two to merge.

My only purpose here was to learn to combine exposures in preparation for another type of image I am hoping to capture. I using LR to process my images, except for sharpening, zapping dust spots, clearing out funny stray stuff, downsizing and most recently the odd selective curve adjustment. So this really new to me.

It should be an sRGB image but perhaps Photoshop changed it to aRGB and I will have to find those settings and check it out. Thank you for letting me know.

I like your edit, albeit it is very colourful but mine was lacking colour. I like how you brought out the ripples, and while I wish the lamp posts were not there it is nice to know that you like them.

I watched your video and a few others, and I will review your video again. Right now they are all a blur. I didn't work on this image because it was just an exercise for me but I will save it and work on it to practice. I need to learn the basics of doing this type of thing first.

Thank you for the tip on decreasing the saturation. I do know how to do exactly that with a layer mask.

Thank you John!

Are you sure the images are aligned Christina? Something looks a little odd to me and I wonder why. I would expect a little more sparkle going on the 1st image you posted. The mountain skyline is odd in places. I notice that it's in aRGB though but don't think that is the reason. I applied a very weak s curve to increase contrast, tone mapped a little - have to from a jpg and then a touch of unsharp mask mostly bringing up the ripples in the water. It's bought up the lamp posts a treat too! No signs of miss alignment so not sure why you have lost contrast. I usually don't touch aRGB images. No point in using it when posting on the web.



I would expect to have to do some additional work on a merge like this. Maybe the simple method shown in the video would be better. The video also shows an easy method of generating layer masks but remember you can always modify their tone levels. The link I posted indicates the sort of change that you need to make to each of the images. The video is more detailed. Using the GIMP for this sort of thing I simply duplicate layers but in PS the adjustments shouldn't be permanent. Pass on that aspect as I don't use it.

On Chauncey's post not sure what the layer mode in PS is but if you do as he suggests and then place the original image on top and adjust it's opacity it's possible to weaken the colour effect as much as desired. Easiest way to find out which layer mode to use is to just try them. In GIMP if I remember correctly it's overlay mode.

John
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[dje]

Hi Christina

You seem to be getting on top of this merging quite well and I'm reluctant to introduce another option - but - have you tried the automatic merge option in PS ? (File/Automate/Merge to HDR Pro). One of the things about this method is that it will attempt to align your images automatically and you can minimize the tone mapping as you desire.

I have had trouble in the past with images slightly out of alignment causing a loss in sharpness, even when using a tripod and bracketed exposure.

Your image is very nice and I personally like John's treatment. I think his application of Unsharp Mask has given it a bit of pop. Everyone to their own taste of course.

Dave