Experimenting with Lightroom 6 HDR

[Brownbear]

This is a scene I've shared before, photographed in brighter but still early morning light to allow the light to illuminate all the trees. (The lake is located in a valley)

Anyhow, I'm still working on my landscapes so feedback to improve is appreciated... However these are an experiment in using Lightrooms HDR program, merging just two exposures (the dynamic range of the scene at this time of day is workable but not so earlier in the morning). Bracketing and merging exposures is fairly new to me.


Garden of Eden


f/8 SS 1/125 ISO 200 Focal length 10mm

1. Lightroom HDR



2. Processed the underexposed image in LR, lifting the exposure and heavy duty shadow lifting...



I prefer #2 over #1...

A forests point of view

f/8 SS 1/60 ISO 100 Focal length 10mm

3. Lightroom HDR which I think turned out fine...



Comments?

PS Everyone please feel welcome to post your LR (or other) HDR images here for others to learn from...

[Barbara Ponder]

Very nice Christina, I especially like #3, just beautiful!

[Ziggy]

I like both 2 and 3. The green colors look good. I see some HDR shots where the greens just look off.

[Brownbear]

Thank you, and a special thank you for letting me know your preferences. Something about the 1st shot just seems odd to me, likely the hdr effect on the colours hence #2.

PS Barbara... Thank you. It's a beautiful scene that I've photographed and shared before but this is my first hdr.

I like both 2 and 3. The green colors look good. I see some HDR shots where the greens just look off.

[Mike Buckley]

I like the natural colors of the third one but wonder why you're using only two captures. My understanding is that three captures taken about 2 stops apart or five captures taken about 1 stop apart are the standards.

[Shadowman]

Nice processing but it's possible to get this capture without using HDR depending on the time of day you were shooting. However, since the outcome came out so well; don't listen to me.

[DanK]

Thanks for posting these. I agree that two and 3 are nice. #1 looks washed out. I don't see any obvious color distortions in #3.

Mike Buckley wrote:

My understanding is that three captures taken about 2 stops apart or five captures taken about 1 stop apart are the standards.

I bracket shots a fair amount, and I don't think either of these are or should be standard. First, the only reason to use 1-stop rather than 2-stop steps would be finding that the software had difficulty with 2 stops. I haven't encountered that. Second, there is no reason to add a third shot if two gets you the DR you need. I generally take 3 or 5, but in practice, I often find that the third is superfluous and don't use it in compositing. Perhaps others can chime in if I am missing something.

[Brownbear]

I like the natural colors of the third one but wonder why you're using only two captures. My understanding is that three captures taken about 2 stops apart or five captures taken about 1 stop apart are the standards.

Hi Mike,

Thank you. On that note I think there is still something odd about the colours in #2 so I'm going to revisit that image and redo.

I watched a video on LR and it suggested that the best results were obtained with using 2 exposures. Also, I'm trying to become comfortable with bracketing so if I don't have my filters with me I can manage it. I'm experimenting with 3 shots and 5 shots but for this image just two shots were needed, plus 2 is simpler than 5. (and takes less space) a Also with multiple shots including reflections of trees something funny is seen in the merges of the reflected leaves. All that said I realize that I am going to come across a scene that needs more captures and in fact I have... So I will try it one day.

For general interest (she uses 3 shots and I can't find the video that recommended two shots)

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/ho...ackingid=KSDXM

[Brownbear]

Nice processing but it's possible to get this capture without using HDR depending on the time of day you were shooting. However, since the outcome came out so well; don't listen to me.

Thank you, John... This image was taken at 8:30am (3 hours after sunrise) and it is surprising how dark the trees are and how bright the sky is on the upper right hand side.... Even in the HDR merge I had to lighten the shadows on the trees... And I also used a shadow filter on the right hand side of the image... I don't like lightening shadows because of noise albeit at ISO 100 negligible compared to birds photographed at high ISOs... Just little bit earlier than this set and the sky was clipped badly...

Here is the best exposure of the bracketed shots..



Plus I'm trying to get myself comfortable with bracketing and practicing to learn.

[Brownbear]

Thanks for sharing... Appreciated. Two served me well for this time of day.

Please feel welcome to post your images in this thread for me and others to learn from.

Thanks for posting these. I agree that two and 3 are nice. #1 looks washed out. I don't see any obvious color distortions in #3.

Mike Buckley wrote:



I bracket shots a fair amount, and I don't think either of these are or should be standard. First, the only reason to use 1-stop rather than 2-stop steps would be finding that the software had difficulty with 2 stops. I haven't encountered that. Second, there is no reason to add a third shot if two gets you the DR you need. I generally take 3 or 5, but in practice, I often find that the third is superfluous and don't use it in compositing. Perhaps others can chime in if I am missing something.

[Mike Buckley]

I watched a video on LR and it suggested that the best results were obtained with using 2 exposures.

That's interesting. I wonder if there is something unique about LR's application of HDR that makes that so. The following is from the Photomatrix web site:

"Most high contrast scenes fall into one of the following two categories. A scene is considered high contrast when its dynamic range is too high for a camera’s sensor to capture in one photo.

Average high contrast: Common outdoor scenes with less than ideal light. To properly capture these scenes, 3 shots at 2EV spacing (i.e. -2, 0 +2), or 5 shots at 1EV spacing, are normally sufficient.

Very high contrast: This could be an interior of a room with a bright view through the window, or an outdoor scene with the sun in the frame. In this type of situation, you will need at least 5 exposures at 2EV spacing, or 9 at 1EV spacing, and sometimes even more. Refer to the section on capturing a very high contrast scene to determine the number of exposures."

Naturally, the most important goal is to ensure that the entire dynamic range of the scene is captured regardless of the number of captures required to do that.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Christina, #3 looks great

[Rebel]

#1 - looks a bit over exposed to me.

#2 - much better, but the scene is a bit flat.

#3 - love this shot, great composition, PP and a lovely depth to the image.

[Brownbear]

Binnur & Matt... Thank you for the feedback. #1 is HDR from LR... #2 is my PP which I'm going to redo as it is not quite right.

Mike... Makes sense. Thank you for sharing. I wish I could find the video. I have a great memory, albeit the advice on the video may not have been correct or I may have misinterpreted it. I am going to revisit that one spot on the lake and give it a try, and post when done. It may be a while but, will do!

[TonyW]

To me, the processing in #2 looks best of the three but the scene in #3 looks best. I wondered why there is a fringe of light around the trees, both in the sky and the water in #3. This detracts from the image to my eyes.

I would be a bit surprised if HDR is needed in this context although it is always interesting to experiment as you have done. Did I understand correctly that #2 does not use HDR? I find that adjusting shadows and highlights in Photoshop and increasing the contrast a little does wonders in bringing out the colours in this kind of scene.

[Brownbear]

Hi Tony,

Thank you for advising. #2 is post-processed by me using shadows and highlights, and no HDR... Not needed for this scene at this time of day. #1 is the LR HDR version. Simply an experiment by me to learn bracketing and how to combine exposures. Earlier in the day when I include more sky in the scene the dynamic range is high. The sun rises from behind the mountains and the sky is bright and the forest is dark.

Yes, the scene in #3 is one of my favourite scenes. I can see the fringing. I used an un-sharp mask in LR and also in Photoshop (where I downsized and sharpened just the trees and cleaned up some leafy bits in the water)... Thank you for pointing this out. When I revisit the original I will be more careful.

Thank you.

To me, the processing in #2 looks best of the three but the scene in #3 looks best. I wondered why there is a fringe of light around the trees, both in the sky and the water in #3. This detracts from the image to my eyes.

I would be a bit surprised if HDR is needed in this context although it is always interesting to experiment as you have done. Did I understand correctly that #2 does not use HDR? I find that adjusting shadows and highlights in Photoshop and increasing the contrast a little does wonders in bringing out the colours in this kind of scene.

[Mike Buckley]

the dynamic range is high

What does that mean? I ask because I don't remember seeing the term, high, to describe dynamic range.

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

I see you plan to keep me on top of my terminology toes.

I mean that the highlights and shadows are badly clipped (over/underexposed), seen on both sides of the histogram... ie; climbing high up the sides of the graph... In this scene that means the highlights in the sky are clipped (beyond white) and that shadows in the trees are clipped (jet black) resulting in no detail.

I mean that the dynamic range of the scene is beyond the capability of the camera to capture in one exposure.

And to ensure for all that the explanation is clear and proper terminology is used....

If the left edge of the histogram touches the left boundary, some of the lowest brightness levels in the scene fall below the sensor's threshold and will be recorded as empty black. If the right edge of the histogram touches the right boundary, some of the brightest portions of the scene exceed the sensor's dynamic range and will be recorded as empty white.

When the brightness range of the scene exceeds the dynamic range of the sensor.... The histogram shows significant concentration at and near both edges, which tells you that you cannot capture the entire brightness range of the scene in a single capture.

From "The Art of Photography" by Bruce Barnbaum

What does that mean? I ask because I don't remember seeing the term, high, to describe dynamic range.

[Cantab]

Christina, I love #3. You're spurring me on to process several alpine photos I took last summer, two exposures: one for the sky and one for the trees.

[joebranko]

I love #3. I also want to try HDR. In fact I purchased LR6, and installed it, only to find that my computer could not run it as it is 32bit ,and LR6 requires 64bit! !