Updated: 09/21/21, & still relevant today!
BONUS – See more at this post, WITH VIDEO: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/we-dont-need-no-stinkin-hdr-hassles-use-acr-instead/
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Here’s a letter from one of my clients:
Hi John,
Thanks much for the post on HDR – that looks like wonderful software! A question: If I shoot in RAW, isn’t there enough dynamic range in one RAW file to achieve the same results? Just wondering…
Ann S.
Great question, Ann!
The short answer: Not always. Even shooting in RAW, & depending on the scene to be photographed, one file cannot always get the full dynamic range available to you in a composite HDR image.
To further explain, let’s talk about the dynamic range of the sensors in most modern digital cameras…
A typical D-SLR (shooting in RAW) has a dynamic range of approximately 7 to 11 stops, depending on the camera model. When you shoot in HDR (shooting between 3 and 5 different exposures that are 2 stops apart), you’ve increased that dynamic range by 11 to 17 stops.
Here’s a “Real-World” example:
The above image is one RAW image – – Not a bad image, of course – – pleasing to the eye, good dynamic range, well-exposed and so on.
Now, the same subject. which is actually 5 images combined into one single HDR image. Notice the tremendous increase in dynamic range, especially the blue sky and the shadow detail. Pretty dramatic difference, don’t you think?
Oh, and I spent less time overall “massaging” the HDR image on the computer to achieve much better results!
Bottom line: When you are shooting RAW files of different exposures and combining them into an HDR image, you’ve increased the amount of information to work with tremendously – – Hence, a much better-looking image!
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• 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 ?