Which one - Standard edit or HDR

[ChrisH]

Recently I was approached by a client who wanted an image of Bisham Church. I had two versions of the same image, one with a standard edit and one HDR. He wanted the HDR but I tried to persuade him to go for the standard image, however he insisted on the HDR and I have provided it to him.

I have posted both images below and I would like to know which of tight you prefer.



HDR Image



Standard Edit

[Manfred M]

Chris - this is a scene that has a normal dynamic range and does not warrant using a technique like HDRI. In fact, I suspect that the first image is not HDRI at all and is simply a tone-mapped single shot. I definitely find the second image more appealing (and I'm not one of those photographers who dislikes the technique out of principle and I have done quite a number of shots myself using this technique, in situations where the lighting warranted that approach).

That being said, if the client wanted an HDR shot, that I would tend to offer him or her one (there is certainly no harm in showing both shots).

As for the shot itself, I'm not sure that it is up to your usual standards. I find the shot is less of the church and more of the surroundings. I don't have an issue with using trees to frame the subject, but in this shot you have so much tree intruding both the left and right sides that the church is just a minor player in the image.

[Shadowman]

I like both but prefer the standard edit. The HDR version has a watercolor look to it and would be acceptable for specific usage.

[RobFellows]

I like the sky in the HDR version but I'm not too keen on the trees. I would take the HDR though from the two.

I prefer images that are an interpretation rather than a basic record of a scene.

[Rob Ekins]

Recently I was approached by a client who wanted an image of Bisham Church. I had two versions of the same image, one with a standard edit and one HDR. He wanted the HDR but I tried to persuade him to go for the standard image, however he insisted on the HDR and I have provided it to him.

Chris,
Not knowing what your clients expectations and final usage are I could not say one was better than the other for them, the client bought the one that he/she liked so you win anyway

Personally I am not a fan of over cooked HDR but I can see how they thought the structure popped more in the HDR image than the other edit, the verticals appear to be straighter/stronger and there is more detail in the building, sky and foreground.

A note on composition: I think this image could be made very much stronger by losing some of the trees, for me the CR third of the image does nothing and just pushes the main subject further away, I can see why you included the bridge CL as a point of interest but again it is taking away from the clients 'hero' shot, maybe moving further up that path and having that railing in the FG would have made a better image.

[DanK]

I agree with Manfred--the dynamic range doesn't require HDR. I read it into Photoshop, pulled the whites down a bit, and did a few simple edits, and while I didn't finish it, you can see that edits without HDR can accomplish some of what you have changed, e.g, more saturation and contrast in the sky. I'll delete this if you don't want people to post edits.

Leaving that aside, when I open up the HDR in the lightbox, it is an unappealing image to my taste. Look at the foliage on the left and the grass in the foreground. They look very unnatural.

It's all a matter of taste, but I usually use exposure fusion rather than HDR when dynamic range is too great because I find that HDR often produces artifacts that I find unappealing.

Then again, you have clients asking for photos and I don't, so who am I to say?

[NorthernFocus]

IMO the biggest difference in the two is the colors. The HDR version has much more saturated colors. It looks like a painting. Perhaps that had something to do with the client's preference. It looks like an idealized version of the scene. As a photographer I prefer the other version. But, the customer is always right

[Wavelength]

The client probably wanted to attract people to the Church; so he wanted that to be pleasing and colorful; keeping all other things aside, the original image is a bit melancholic whereas HDR is more pleasing. As an artist, I love both these images giving me two different feelings.....

[MrB]

The second is the better image, as the colours of the first look unreal to me, and I prefer a natural look in an image of this type. Having written that, and considering the position of the sun at that time, the reds in the second are just a bit too strong for my taste.

Cheers.
Philip

[Geoff F]

Definitely the second one for me. But when extra bright and over sharpened images appear in our competitions they always attract a good response, so this form of editing must appeal to a lot of people

[billtils]

Geoff

I totally agree with everything you say here! I enjoy many of the results that come out of the digital darkroom but it sometimes seems that there is an expectation of an end product that reflects how well the original image has been manipulated rather than how well it was captured. But then my grown up children tell me I'm just an old fogey ...

[JBW]

I prefer the HDR. It has a look and feel that (for me) suits a rustic church.

[rpcrowe]

I copied the image, opened it in Photoshop CS6 and then opened NIK HDR plug-in. I selected Outdoor 2 and then chose Vivesa and increased the structure by 40%.

[Manfred M]

I copied the image, opened it in Photoshop CS6 and then opened NIK HDR plug-in. I selected Outdoor 2 and then chose Vivesa and increased the structure by 40%.

Those trees across the river seem to have developed some blue and violet leaves Richard. I'm not sure that works all that well for me...

[ChrisH]

Thank you for your interesting replies. Perhaps both images have their place, but the final selection is down to personal choice.

[bnnrcn]

I'm a bit late for this thread but I think I would prefer the natural looking image. The church doesn't stand out very well in that shot though, may be I would try another composition if the main subject is the church