Updated: 09/21/21, & still relevant today!

BONUS – See more at this post: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/we-dont-need-no-stinkin-hdr-hassles-use-acr-instead/

 

_________

 

 

For those of us from the “old school” of photography, one of the things we miss most about film was the large Dynamic Range that was available to us – – It’s just missing in most DSLR’s and digital images.  How to make up for this?  Explore High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography!

 

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images could very well be the “Missing Link” in Photographic Digital Imaging; I believe that it’s the way photography is headed in the future – With HDR, you are able to overcome the lower tonal dynamic range of most 16-bit images, giving them a look that will knock your socks off!

 

A couple of quick definitions are in order:

• Dynamic Range: The ratio between the smallest and largest measurable values of light.
• HDR Photography: A technique that allows a greater dynamic range by combining bracketed images into one image.

 

So, how do you shoot for HDR images? Basically, you shoot bracketed multiple exposures (usually 3), preferably while your camera is on a tripod.

 

Most DSLR cameras have a feature called Auto-Exposure Bracketing (AEB): Select the Continuous Shooting mode, make sure the camera is set to Aperture Priority, and select an exposure increment of +/-2. The camera will automatically vary the shutter speed each time the shutter button is pressed, taking several exposures spaced by two-stop increments.

 

How do you process your multiple images into a single HDR image? Use the power of the Adobe Camera RAW plug-in – more here: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/we-dont-need-no-stinkin-hdr-hassles-use-acr-instead/

 

Once you process your image, then you bring your image into Photoshop for polishing, enhancing, tweaking, etc.

 

_________

 

•  AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE!  Want to see Photoshop in action?  Check out my “Photoshop 101” series of FREE online & live Photoshop Meetups – available nationwide:

https://wattsdigital.com/free-live-meetups-online

 

•  Was this information helpful?

Sign up for my free monthly newsletter here …

 

•  By the way, this is all based on my Photoshop book designed for photographers, “Not just another Photoshop Book”, available exclusively on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNLS1Q2

 

Questions? Please contact me – also, feel free to comment and tell your photography friends!

 

Thx again, and cheers,

 

John Watts ?

john@wattsdigital.com