What is HDR in a phone camera? High Dynamic Range - expansion of the dynamic range of a digital image. Myths about HDR photography

To understand what HDR is, just look at the photos taken in this technique. We see a contrasting image with good detail in both light and dark areas. For comparison, you can look at a photo of the same area without the use of HDR technology.

When a person looks at any area, his vision adapts to the lighting and the details become clearly distinguishable. The view adjusts to different lighting quite quickly, so we can easily admire landscapes with complex lighting. In addition, the dynamic range that a person sees is quite large, which cannot be said about cameras.

If the camera adjusts the exposure for the highlights, they become normally visible with all the details, but the shadows become completely black and there is a loss of detail in these areas. If you adjust the exposure for dark areas, detail will be lost in overexposed areas.

HDR technology aims to eliminate this limitation.

How does it look like in practice?

1. The camera is mounted on a tripod. All shots must be taken from the same location without the slightest camera movement. To completely eliminate camera vibration, you need to shoot with a cable or a timer. You need to take a few shots.
2. Photos are taken with different exposures. The diaphragm should not change.
3. Next, the received frames are combined on a computer. You can use various programs, but one of the best is Photomatix Pro.

Practical lesson

Step 1 Explore the Camera Features

Manuals are pretty boring to read, but don't underestimate their importance. You need to learn all the functions of the camera in order to fully master all the tools and settings that the device offers. Particular attention should be paid to manual settings.

Step 2: Explore Exposure Bracketing

Bracketing is the creation of several frames with different settings of a parameter. Bracketing makes it as easy as possible to get three or more frames with different exposures. To take a series of shots, you only need to press the shutter button once. If there is no bracketing function, then you can take three pictures manually by entering exposure compensation in turn.

Step 3 Aperture Priority Mode

Since the aperture value must remain constant throughout the series of shots, this mode is best suited. You can also use the full manual mode, but this is not necessary.

Step 4 Metering Mode

If you are not very familiar with the possibilities of exposure metering, then it is best to use estimated (integral). Other modes can also come in handy when shooting HDR, but they show their usefulness much less often. It all depends on the particular scene.

Step 5 White Balance

White balance is most often used on automatic, but you should not always rely on automatic. Sometimes it is worth setting the exact value of this parameter. It depends on the shooting scene, weather, environment, etc.

Step 6ISO

The ISO value should be set the same as in normal shooting, that is, as small as possible so that noise does not spoil the picture. But there is one caveat. HDR photos are especially sensitive to noise, so this parameter should be given special attention. In case of lack of light when shooting stationary objects, it is better to reduce the ISO as much as possible and increase the shutter speed.

Step 7: Tripod

A tripod is definitely needed for HDR shooting. It allows not only to firmly fix the camera in one place, but also to place it in places that are sometimes not the most convenient for shooting. The main choice is the type of tripod. In general, they do not differ much from each other in terms of the general principle of operation, but there are differences in fastening, size, presence of levels, etc.

Step 8 Remote Shutter Release

Even on a tripod, the camera can shake when you press the shutter button, so it's best to use a self-timer or cable release.

Step 9 Lens

Most often, HDR is used when shooting a cityscape or natural landscape. Therefore, a wide-angle lens is the best choice.

But HDR can be used in any style of photography, so other types of lenses should not be discounted.

Step 10 Manual Focus

Autofocus can fail, no matter how modern it is. He can simply focus the camera on a nearby object. In this case, the rest of the frame may become blurry. If your goal is to create a landscape shot with maximum detail, then you should switch to manual focus mode and set the value to infinity. Thus, everything that is in the field of view of the camera will be sharp.

Step 11 Leveling

A littered horizon is the most unpleasant error that can be easily corrected programmatically, but why take extra steps. After all, it is better to do everything right right away. Some tripods have built-in levels, but if you don't have one, you can buy a separate bubble level that attaches to the hot shoe. You can somehow adapt the usual building level.

A quick guide to creating high dynamic range photos. The article discusses the main points of HDR shooting - choosing a scene, setting up a camera for shooting with bracketing, a small overview of programs for merging HDR, provides alternative methods for expanding the dynamic range, working with filters, as well as shooting HDR panoramas and working in the style of multiple exposure. The material is designed for beginner amateur photographers who know how to use a digital camera and have the skills to process images on a computer.

What is HDR?

Every amateur photographer who is fond of landscape photography faces the same problem - pictures of a picturesque place or city landmark are often far from reality and turn out to be either overexposed or, conversely, too dark.

In the first case, the sky with clouds in the picture is strongly overexposed or absent altogether, in the second case, the sky is worked out well, but all other details of the landscape are so dark that they are almost invisible. Trying to change the exposure settings does not change the situation in any way. The fact is that, unlike photographic equipment, the human eye is able to perceive a wider range of brightness gradations.

The answer must be sought in the limited dynamic range of today's digital cameras. The camera exposure meter measures the exposure either by light areas (sky) or, conversely, by dark areas (buildings, trees, ground). Therefore, the only way out of this situation is to shoot in the exposure bracketing mode and then combine the images in a graphics editor.

Technology HDR(High Dynamic Range) combines the highlights, midtones, and darks of a series of images into a single high dynamic range image. Most often, the photographer does this with the help of a special computer program; Some cameras have this functionality built in, allowing you to take HDR shots without using a computer.

In order for the program to correctly combine the images, it is very important that they be as identical as possible and differ only in exposure parameters. When shooting handheld, even on a bright sunny day with a fast shutter speed, it is not always possible to keep the camera still, which leads to a slight shift, as a result of which the resulting HDR image will be blurry. Shooting from a tripod will help - the photographer will receive a series of shots, which, in theory, should match perfectly. However, in practice, the same pictures will be obtained only in a deserted place with complete calm - the wind shakes the branches of trees, passers-by, passing cars, as well as birds and other objects fall into the frame. In this case, software algorithms come into play that help fight blurring, in the language of developers, this technology is called Ghost Reduction, or “fighting ghosts”.

If you don’t have a tripod with you, or the shooting conditions do not allow you to mess around with it (during an excursion, or if shooting from a tripod is prohibited), it’s quite possible to shoot in handheld bracketing mode if you find a good support and hold the camera firmly.

Another option for creating HDR is processing one image taken in RAW format in 2 stages: first, a virtual copy of the file is made, then they work with lights in one image, with shadows in the other, after which the two files are glued into the final image. And finally, another technique is to create a "pseudo-HDR" from a single file using processing in a specialized program, such as Topaz Adjust.

In any case, well-glued HDR shots look very impressive and undoubtedly attract the attention of viewers.

Take a regular photo, or shoot HDR?

Determining whether a scene is suitable for HDR is very simple - just take a control shot of the landscape you like in creative mode, for example A, and immediately evaluate the result on the screen. Is the sky overexposed and shadows littered in the picture, while in fact everything around looks stunningly beautiful? You can safely shoot HDR, this story is just our case.

Oddly enough, stormy waves with a stormy sky come out very beautifully - despite the fact that the three exposures will be radically different from each other, when stitching together in Lightroom 6, you can get an unexpectedly dramatic and interesting shot.

It is quite difficult to shoot HDR at sunset, especially if there are beautifully illuminated clouds in the sky, often the sky is even traced by the rays of the sun through the clouds - in this case, the dynamic range of the scene is not so wide, the HDR technique is useless here, a single RAW frame is enough. It is better to focus on shooting and seize the moment before the sun hid behind the horizon!

However, even at sunset, if you have a tripod with you, it always makes sense to take a couple of series, because you can get very interesting pictures by deliberately darkening the sky and highlighting objects in the foreground. In addition, a tripod will allow you to think over the angle more carefully, as well as close the aperture to f / 11-16 and more interesting to work with depth of field.

Scenes that are not suitable for shooting in HDR style:

1. Portrait. There are exceptions, but in most cases, the portrait should be shot in portrait technique.
2. Night or evening city.
3. Fog. In theory, you can try to shoot fog in the HDR style, but only with a narrow fork and as an addition to regular shots.
4. long exposure with tracers or mirror water.
5. Studio photography and all kinds of items.
6. Reportage, street, although the street is a very broad and experimental direction, there may be options here.
7. Dynamics, sports, children games, animals, macro.
8. Cloudy gloomy rainy weather with a “milky” sky, in this case it is better to look for interesting angles, most often the HDR technique will not make the landscape more interesting.
9. Winter landscape. The plot is controversial, the author did not get a single interesting winter HDR, but it would be wrong to give up and stop trying so easily.

Expanding the dynamic range, no doubt, requires creativity, experience and a desire to experiment.

Setting up your camera for HDR shooting

Almost all digital cameras allow you to shoot with exposure bracketing, this feature is available not only in SLR or mirrorless cameras, but also in many compacts, it has even appeared in smartphones. We will consider the setup using the example of Canon and Nikon DSLRs. Bracket shooting setup is quite different depending on the camera manufacturer and its model.

In any case, the camera must be configured as follows:

1. Set to RAW format and aperture priority mode A, or fully manual mode M.
2. Adjust the exposure as if we were shooting a single frame. For example, for a landscape during the day, it will be an ISO sensitivity of 100 and an aperture of F / 11, the shutter speed in A mode will be set by the camera itself.
3. In the camera menu, select the order of shooting exposures (minus) - (zero) - (plus), so it's easier to sort the series on the computer later.
4. Set up bracketing - choose the number of exposures and bracket. For beginners, it makes sense to start with 3 exposures with a ±2 or ±3EV bracketing.
5. Set a timer, it is better to set 2 seconds - this time is enough; if the camera does not have a choice of several intervals, set which one is. If you have a cable release with you, it's time to use it.
6. Build a frame, autofocus (or focus manually), after which it is better to turn off autofocus.
7. Press the shutter button, let's go!

Canon cameras

Canon SLR cameras allow you to shoot at the same time and quickly, and with bracketing, and with a timer.

There is no separate bracketing button, you need to enter the menu and select the exposure. Next, use the wheel to adjust the bracketing fork and press SET. Attention! Bracketing is turned on in this way, that is, there is no item in the menu like ON / OFF. The camera can remember this setting and will take bracketed shots until the photographer sets the bracketing to zero.

The timer starts as usual: pressing the DRIVE button and turning the wheel allows you to select the clock with the number 2 or 10. You can use the cable to release the shutter. The three images above illustrate the Canon 5D Mark III camera setup.

Nikon cameras

Nikon DSLRs have a BKT button, you need to hold it down, then use the control wheels to set the number of exposures and the fork (Step). To turn off bracketing, you need to set the number of shots to zero.

If you use the self-timer, then between exposures the camera will count a certain delta in time, as a result, dynamic objects can move from exposure to exposure. To turn on the self-timer, you need to turn the left control wheel to the clock icon (see photo below).

To shoot the whole series like a machine gun, without a delta in time, you need to turn on high-speed shooting (Ch on the lower control wheel for selecting the drive mode, see photo below). Then keep the shutter button pressed - the series is ready, but you can easily move the camera, even mounted on a tripod. The self-timer cannot be used in this case, since high-speed shooting is turned on by the same wheel as the self-timer.

Thus, shooting with bracketing at the same time and quickly, and with a timer on Nikon SLR cameras will not work. It will most likely be fixed in future models. The examples above show the Nikon D610 setup.

Shooting on a tripod or handheld?

This example shows an HDR urban landscape shot. The shooting was carried out in exposure bracketing mode in steps of ±2 EV in aperture priority mode (A). To achieve a good depth of field in the foreground and background, an aperture of F/10 was chosen. A tripod was used to perfectly align the shots, as the negative exposure was too slow for handheld shooting.

-2EV	0EV	+2EV

The arch in the courtyard of a house on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg was not chosen by chance - using the example of shooting this story, you can clearly demonstrate the capabilities of HDR technology. Since the shooting was done in the daytime, the street was very well lit, while the area inside the arch was in shadow.

If you shoot, measuring the exposure on the house in the background, only the areas that are in the daylight area will be worked out in the picture, the camera is clearly not enough to work out the highlights and mid-tones inside the dynamic range arch.

Bracketing was used to expand the dynamic range. There is heavy traffic on Nevsky Prospekt, a car passing by was caught in one of the frames, and besides, pedestrians did not stand still and moved. Therefore, in order to achieve perfect merging of three shots, it is better to choose the morning hours for shooting, when the traffic on the avenue is not so active, or rely on automatics when merging HDR, as was done in this example.

Many tripods, such as those from Manfrotto, are equipped with one or more level indicators, one on the tripod body and one on the tripod head, which will allow you to set the horizon very level.

Of course, HDR technology means shooting from a tripod, but if you can’t use a tripod, it’s acceptable to shoot handheld, especially during the day. An image stabilizer will be useful here, as well as a good support, such as a column, railing, own knee or other tricks. However, you need to carefully monitor the ISO sensitivity and do not set high values, since nothing good will come of merging three "noisy" frames.

How many exposures to shoot?

Beginners can be safely advised at first to choose the classic HDR option with three exposures and a ±2 EV or ±3 EV bracket, depending on the scene or lighting situation.

Professional photographers who specialize in interior photography talk about 9 exposures, which allows them to work out maximum details in highlights, shadows and midtones. Professional cameras easily allow you to shoot 9 exposures, in addition, the photographer can shoot a series of shots in M ​​mode, simply by changing the shutter speed to get the number of exposures he needs. This technique is suitable for leisurely shooting indoors, when no one interferes and there is enough time. In addition, for responsible shooting, the photographer takes a computer with him, on which you can immediately check the result of gluing and make adjustments if necessary.

A classic example, with three exposures, and therefore a classic one, which is suitable for most shooting situations:

-2EV	0EV	+2EV

Five exposures will create an even wider dynamic range, which will allow you to process the photo more interestingly when gluing, working very finely with the details in the highlights and shadows. In theory, you can always make 5 exposures, however, firstly, three exposures are often enough, and, secondly, it is faster and more convenient to work with three.

-1,4	-0,7	0	+0,7	+1,4

The scene above was filmed in Pavlovsk on a Sony a7 camera, which can automatically shoot in a series of 5 exposures. Gluing in the program HDR Efex Pro.

Also 5 exposures can be useful if there is a lot of detail in the deep shadows, midtones and highlights, like the stone bridge in the forest example. Here you can’t see the sky with clouds at all, but the summer day was very bright, and the shadows in the forest were deep, and gluing HDR from five frames made it possible to work out all the midtones and get an image very similar to how we would see this scene with our own eyes.

This scene was shot in Sergievka Park (Peterhof, a suburb of St. Petersburg) on ​​a Canon 5D Mark II camera, which cannot automatically shoot 5 exposures in a series, so different exposures were obtained in M ​​mode by changing the shutter speed. In this case, the focal length is 17mm, ISO 100, F/10 and the shutter speed from left to right is 1/25, 1/13, 1/6, 0.3 and 0.5 seconds. Fusion in Lightroom 6.

Now pay attention to the winter photo of the same bridge. The shooting was carried out in the same place with the same equipment, but the winter mood could not be conveyed, the picture was not interesting. Obviously, the HDR technique is completely useless here, you could just take one frame in RAW format.

-2EV	0EV	+2EV

How to choose an exposure fork?

First of all, it makes sense to evaluate the contrast of the scene, perhaps take a couple of test shots to visually assess the dips in the highlights and shadows. In practice, one often has to choose between ±2 and ±3 EV. The abbreviation EV, by the way, means Exposure Values, in the jargon of "foot".

If we set up a tripod and set up the camera, it's best to take two series - both with a ±2 and ±3 EV bracket, and already at home, when processing pictures, choose the best option, because it's always good when there is a choice. It may well turn out that some story will stick together better from photographs taken with a wider fork, some from a series with a narrower one.

The pros at HDRsoft recommend always using the lowest ISO setting and a ±2 EV bracket. From the experience of shooting HDR, we can say that the first statement is beyond doubt, while in the case of a fork, various options are possible and there is a huge scope for creativity.

Plug ±3 EV

-3EV	0EV	+3EV

The maximum fork of ±3 EV should be chosen for high-contrast scenes in order to work out fine details in shadows and highlights well. In this example, such a wide fork is completely unnecessary, ± 2 EV could have been completely dispensed with. These settings are deliberately chosen to demonstrate the elaboration of halftones.

Fork ±2 EV

-2EV	0EV	+2EV

The ±2 EV plug can be safely chosen for shooting any landscape at any time of the year. In many cameras, you can set not only integer values, but also intermediate values ​​between 2 and 3, thus choosing the ideal settings for each particular scene, based on personal experience and intuition.

Plug ±1 EV

-1EV	0EV	+1EV

A fork of ±1 EV in the case of HDR practically does not make sense - the same effect can be easily achieved in a graphics editor when processing RAW, since within ±1 EV you can easily process any photo with almost no loss. This option is useful if you are not sure about the exact choice of exposure pair, but you want to work out the details.

Programs for merging HDR pictures

Adobe Lightroom 6

The HDR fusion tool appeared only in the 6th version of this wonderful RAW converter, users have been waiting for it for a long time and patiently. In fact, with Lightroom's ability to blend panoramas and HDR, the need for Photoshop for photo editing has been virtually eliminated.

The dialog box is simple and clear, nothing superfluous, no settings. As a result, the program will create a glued file in DNG format (this is a raw data format developed by Adobe). The file will be in the thumbnails ribbon next to the original exposures.

When should I process a photo - before gluing, or after? Adobe engineers advise processing after gluing, since all information from all exposures will be contained in the merged DNG, and we will have the widest possibilities for tonal processing of any part of the photo - both in shadows and in highlights or midtones. The profile for correcting optical distortions can also be connected after gluing, the same applies to editing the horizon and crop. Of course, any processing will be non-destructive, you can return to the glued original at any time.

Advantages

1. Probably the best HDR fusion tool to date.
2. Simple and intuitive interface, nothing more.
3. In the dialog box, you can see in the form of a mask the objects that will be processed by the anti-samaz tool.
4. It will be simple and understandable for beginners.

disadvantages

1. It is quite difficult to somehow influence the operation of the anti-blur algorithm.
2. In some places of the photo, artifacts appear in the form of stripes or noise, most likely due to the operation of this very anti-blur algorithm.

Adobe Photoshop CC

MacOS, Windows, subscription 300 rubles per month

The Merge to HDR tool of Photoshop CC, which is shown on the screen below, appeared a long time ago, in previous versions of the program, and served faithfully for a long time, it still works today, but with the release of Lightroom version 6, its functionality loses a lot.

The peculiarity of the tool is that all processing has to be done in two places - first in the fusion dialog box, and then modify the photo until it is converted from 16 to 8 bits per channel.

Advantages

1. Possibility to choose the exposure, on the basis of which the program will deal with blurring, the changes are displayed on the picture in real time.
2. An excellent HDR fusion algorithm that allows you to get a professional result.

disadvantages

1. There are few tonal processing tools in the program's dialog box.
2. The need for additional processing before converting from 16 to 8 bits per channel, for example using curves.
3. Photoshop curves skills required.

HDR Effect Pro 2

MacOS and Windows, the price is 5490 rubles for a set of programs.

HDR Efex Pro is a plugin, it is one of several plugins in a bundle called NIK Collection. It is developed by NIK Software, a company recently acquired by Google.

Advantages

1. Large collection of ready-made presets. Import presets, create custom ones.
2. A large number of HDR fusion tonal settings.
3. Nice simple interface.
4. Plugin for many programs: Photoshop/Bridge, Lightroom, Apple Aperture.
5. Working with "smart filters" - it is possible to use Photoshop's Smart Filters.
6. local adjustments.
7. Perfect for beginners for the first steps in HDR fusion.

disadvantages

1. Uncertain work with a monochromatic section of the sky, on which there are no clouds - this section will almost certainly turn out in the form of a dark spot.
2. Ready-made presets often make the picture too rough, too pronounced HDR effect.
3. Not always successful work of the algorithm for combating blurring of objects during gluing.

Oloneo PhotoEngine

Windows only, price $150.

Advantages

1. Fast work, all adjustments are made almost in real time, no brakes.
2. Extended work with color.
3. The program works both as a plugin for Lightroom and as a standalone application.
4. Along with the traditional HDR fusion, the program has a unique HDR Re-light technology that allows you to combine several photos taken not with different exposures, but with different backlighting.

disadvantages

1. The depressing work of the algorithm for combating blurring of objects during gluing, in fact, it simply does not exist in the program.
2. The application is released only for Windows.
3. The program is quite difficult for beginner amateur photographers.

Photomatix Pro 5.05

MacOS and Windows, the price is about $100

This program can be safely called a pioneer in working with HDR, because HDRSoft sari released the first commercial application back in 2003. By the way, the interface of the program has not changed much since then, it is made in the style of early versions of Windows and causes a smile and nostalgia, but at the same time it is very convenient and simple. Another thing is the principle of work in the program. Probably, Photomatix Pro is one of the most in-depth programs in terms of fine user settings, and despite the simplicity of the interface, it is not easy to figure it out. Beginners need to watch a few instructional videos that are presented on the company's website or on YouTube without fail.

Advantages

1. A huge number of gluing settings, including various algorithms and methods.
2. The settings work fine, you can very, very accurately work out the desired parameter, such as micro-contrast, details in the shadows, and so on.
3. Two work algorithms (Exposure Fusion or HDR Tone Mapping) to choose from.
4. The program works as a standalone application or can be used as a plug-in for Lightroom/ Photoshop Elements.
5. The presence of interesting ready-made presets.
6. Possibility of batch processing of several series.

disadvantages

1. The algorithm for combating blurring of objects during gluing does not always work successfully.
2. The program is very difficult for beginner amateur photographers.

HDR Exposure 3

MacOS and Windows, the price is about $120.

Developed by Unified Color, it is available both as a standalone application and as a plug-in for Lightroom, Photoshop and Apple Aperture.

Advantages

• Ability to batch process files.
• Possibility of batch merging of HDR panoramas.
• Nimble work.
• It is possible to select a frame on the basis of which the program will deal with blurring.
• An excellent anti-blur algorithm, it worked perfectly on all test frames.
• A large number of adjustments to the gluing settings, the engines work accurately, allowing you to fine-tune the desired parameters.
• Version available for both Windows and MacOS.
• The presence of both an advanced version (HDR Expose) and a version with reduced functionality (HDR Express), the difference is $ 40.
• The program can be recommended to beginners, it is not difficult to understand it.

disadvantages

• The interface is not always convenient, at least in the version for MacOS - some labels overlap each other.
• A small number of ready-made processing presets.

Luminance HDR

Linux, MacOS, Windows, free.

This program is worth mentioning for the reason that it is probably one of the few developed for all three platforms and is the most popular HDR fusion program in the Linux operating system. The question of choosing an operating system is beyond the scope of this study, however, using the Luminance HDR program as an example, one can clearly demonstrate why photographers, and indeed creative people in general, prefer MacOS or Windows.

The interface, functionality and, in general, the principles of work in the Luminance HDR program are very different from those of competitors; The program has anti-lubrication algorithms, which, however, did not work out in practice - the program crashed.

Advantages

• The most popular HDR fusion software for Linux operating system.
• A large number of tone correction settings.
• Several different gluing algorithms.

disadvantages

• Very slow work (the test is carried out on a mid-range office laptop, Ubuntu 15.04 system). Simply put, the program slows down.
• The result of changing the parameters is not displayed on the photo in real time, you need to press the Tonemap button and wait.
• Step by step algorithm. In other words, it will not be possible to control the anti-blur method in the HDR fusion dialog box, this function can only be enabled before fusion, at the previous step, at the stage of selecting photos.
• Complex principles of operation, which even experienced users cannot understand without a description or instructions.
• Inconvenient confusing interface.
• This program can be recommended for beginners if there is a task to work exclusively under Linux, and also as a good puzzle.
• When trying to turn on the alignment of objects and the anti-blur function, the program thought for about 15 minutes and then crashed.

When working with the Luminance HDR program, there was a constant desire to end the torment and launch Lightroom 6, in which the same operations can be done an order of magnitude faster, several times more convenient and with more predictable results.

DSLR Remote Pro

Speaking of HDR stitching programs, one cannot but mention the DSLR Remote Pro program, which allows you to control the camera from a computer. With other undoubted advantages, the program allows you to automatically shoot with bracketing up to 15 frames in a series. Moreover, it is compatible with the aforementioned Photomatix Pro program, in conjunction with which it can automatically create HDR images. Of course, Photomatix Pro must be purchased independently of the DSLR Remote Pro and installed on your computer.

For the purpose of this study, it makes no sense to consider the DSLR Remote Pro in depth; a few years ago I wrote a long review of this program, it is a very interesting and unique product of its kind. I recommend to all those who are interested to visit the Breeze Systems website, find out the compatibility of the program with your camera and try the demo version in action.

Processing a single photo, or creating a "pseudo-HDR"

Almost without exception, HDR imaging programs, along with their direct function, also offer the function of creating the so-called "pseudo-HDR" image. The essence of this method is that the program allows a user who does not have a series of HDR images to create a photo effect with a wide dynamic range from a single photo.

The most common example is shooting in gray cloudy weather, shooting from under an arch, and so on. The sky in this case will almost certainly be the color of milk, and the foreground is dark. Of course, competent shooting with a tripod of a series of shots with subsequent gluing would save the situation, but often we simply do not have enough time, patience and perseverance to do such things. A group of tourists is leaving, friends are calling to keep up, the barbecue is getting cold, and walking companions are most often very annoyed by a satellite who is constantly fiddling with his tripod, isn’t it? Surely many have felt this on themselves, and more than once ...

Here it is appropriate to note once again that shooting in RAW format is needed specifically for the subsequent processing of images. The size and resolution of the camera matrix also matters, full-frame modern matrices give out a very wide dynamic range, often allowing you to “pull” lights and shadows over a very wide range.

HDR Effect Pro 2

The price is 5490 rubles for a set of programs.

The main purpose of the plugin, of course, is HDR fusion from several exposures, but you can also process a single photo.

The screenshot above shows an example of displaying two states of a photo on the screen at the same time - it was / became, which in the case of merging traditional HDR does not make sense, since the “was” state does not exist. You can choose one of the ready-made presets and modify it.

Topaz Adjust 5

MacOS and Windows, price $50.

Perhaps the most spectacular plug-in of a well-known software company. It is released for Windows and MacOS and can be purchased both separately and as part of a whole package of plug-ins.

The main advantage of the plugin is a huge number of ready-made presets, sorted by processing theme, one might say, for all occasions. Having chosen a preset, you can immediately refine its action with sliders-regulators. You should not expect special miracles from the plugin, but the processing capabilities are amazing. The disadvantage is the fact that the HDR effect in most of the ready-made presets is too strong, exaggerated, the processing immediately catches the eye.

HDR panorama

We often shoot both wide panoramas and breathtaking HDR, but what happens when these two techniques are combined? That's right, you get a beautiful panoramic photo with a wide dynamic range, that is, well-developed details in the shadows, midtones and highlights. Shooting such scenes is difficult, as you need to use your experience shooting in two different techniques at the same time.

Here the classic approach will come to the rescue - to shoot a panorama of three series, three exposures of each frame with a bracket of ±2 or ±3 EV, according to the lighting situation of the plot. You can take more series, but then it is very difficult to work with such a huge number of shots, in addition, the hard drive space is instantly eaten up, the computer slows down, nerves are at the limit, and the result is unpredictable.

The second difficult point is the presence of dynamic objects in the frame. And if you shoot a panorama of 5 HDR frames, each of which is glued from three, then you end up with 15 frames, in each of which tree branches move, cars drive, people walk. And a situation can easily arise in which the same object can appear in all five frames in different places. In this case, you can either rely on the fusion program, or carefully work with a stamp in each picture. In the example below, you can see that the person was moving and changing position, but Lightroom 6 did the job.

The example shows a panorama stitched together from 5 HDR photos, which in turn are stitched together from 3 exposures each. Lightroom 6.

Automatic HDR shooting methods

Many modern cameras allow you to shoot and glue HDR automatically. The camera in this mode, as a rule, will take a series of frames, after which it will glue the final HDR itself. In the vast majority of cases, you need to shoot in JPEG format, and at the output we will also get a ready-made JPEG, which will not be “re-pasted” anymore.

Some cameras allow, along with the glued JPEG, to record the original exposures on the memory card, which you can try to glue at home in your own way on the computer. Whether this or that camera supports this function, you need to look in the instructions or carefully read the reviews, as a rule, such subtleties are not reflected in the specifications.

For example, the Pentax k3 camera does differently - it glues three exposures into one RAW (DNG) file, the volume of which is close to 100 megabytes. Raw format and a large amount of data will allow you to edit the image in a very wide range if you wish. Moreover, the proprietary Digital Camera Utility is able to extract individual exposures from this file, after which the photographer will be able to “re-paste” them again using other algorithms than the camera used. Of course, it is impossible to check this functionality in practice without having the camera itself in your hands, it remains to take a word.

Active D-Lightning

This is a feature of all modern Nikon DSLRs. There is no particular drama in the photo, and when processing RAW in a graphics editor, you can easily achieve more interesting results. The six images below were taken with the Nikon D610.

ADL AUTO	ADL moderate	ADL normal
ADL reinforced	ADL Super Reinforced	ADL Off

And another strange moment: this function does not affect the raw file, only JPEG. Or rather, not quite so: when you open NEF in Nikon's program, Capture NX-D, information about Active D-Lightning will be read, and the file will be displayed according to the settings for this parameter. If you work with this NEF in any other editor, there is no point in using this function, it is better to turn it off so as not to waste energy.

HDR

Many cameras have an automatic HDR stitching mode, it is included in the menu and works only when shooting in JPEG - the camera itself will take a series of several frames and glue the finished file. In Nikon cameras, in order for the camera to remember the fact that this mode was turned on, you need to set the “series”, otherwise, before each next shot in the HDR style, this function will have to be reactivated in the menu.

Extra High	high	Normal	low	OFF

You can adjust the fork (in the menu it is called “Exposure Diff”) and the hardness of the processing (for some reason it is called “Softening”). As practice shows, special miracles from shooting in this mode should not be expected.

special effects

A special scene mode or special effect will allow you to take pictures in the HDR style, but they can hardly be interesting except for fun. Such a special effect can be called something like “HDR painting”.

Nikon D5300	Sony a5000

Shooting in automatic mode will help a novice photographer when choosing a shooting angle, and will also allow you to quickly decide whether it is worth shooting the selected scene with exposure bracketing at all. Seeing an interesting angle, you can quickly shoot an example, look at the screen, and if the result turns out to be interesting, set up a tripod and make a series slowly and thoughtfully.

Multiple exposure

This technique has its roots in film times, most likely, someone once forgot to translate the frame and got an interesting artistic result when one image was superimposed on another.

When shooting on film, the photographer could take the first frame in one place, then not transfer the film and take the second frame at the same place on the film, being in another city even after a week or a month, and so the number of times he needed. Of course, the result can only be seen when developing this film.

Most modern Nikon DSLRs, such as the D7200, Df or D610, can shoot multiple exposure style shots. An overlay of 2 or 3 frames is available (in Nikon DF - up to 10 frames), while you can shoot in RAW. By default, the maximum time between exposures is 30 seconds, this time can be extended using the user setting. As with HDR, the menu can be set to On. (series) or On (single shot) - in the first case, the camera will take one multiple exposure, and you can start shooting the next, while in the second case, after shooting one multiple exposure, the camera will automatically switch this setting to Off.

There is also such a parameter as "Auto Gain". This setting should be adjusted to your taste, the manual does not give any specific recommendations in this regard, except that it suggests disabling auto-gain if the background is dark.

Shooting in multiple exposure style is not an easy creative task. If in the case of HDR you can at least roughly imagine what the future frame will look like (for example, mentally darken the sky and brighten the shadows on the ground), when shooting Time Lapse, you can mentally speed up the movement of clouds in the sky or the course of any events, then in the case of multiple exposure to imagine the future frame is incredibly difficult.

Anyone interested in multiple exposure can be recommended to study the works

More and more people ask me how I get such HDR photos and why I have such a strange processing "algorithm". I decided to make a separate topic in which I will try to answer these questions.

1. Theory

What is HDR and why is it needed?

HDR - High Dynamic Range, or in Russian Wide Dynamic Coverage. dynamic range measured in " exposition steps" (EV). An exposure shift of 1 EV means a 2x change in the amount of light hitting the film or digital matrix. For example, if the shooting parameters calculated by the camera are 1/50 sec (shutter speed) and f/8 (aperture), then +1 eV exposure compensation will result in shooting at 1/25 sec and f/8 in aperture priority mode, or 1/50 sec and f/5.6 in shutter priority mode.

Very often I see photographs with broken highlights and failed shadows, and almost always the authors of these photos claim that " so it was". The problem is that the dynamic range ( DD) of the human eye (the ability to see details in both highlights and shadows at the same time) is (for different people in different ways) about 20 steps, which significantly exceeds the DD of digital camera sensors.

It's sad, but DD Canon"ov is a little behind Nikon"ov. In principle, this is not "fatal" if you shoot several frames for HDR"a, which is usually done. But, having a camera with a wide aperture, you can get a pretty high-quality pseudo-HDR from one frame and at least a couple of my last shots from Prague can serve as confirmation of this.

Why is HDR needed? Then, in order for the photo to be the same as the shot scene was seen by the eyes of the photographer, i.e. details were visible both in the brightest areas and in the darkest.

HDR "a has both fans and opponents ... some people like such photos, but some do not. In my opinion, high-quality HDR looks gorgeous! The undoubted master in this area is Trey Ratcliff. By the way, from birth he is blind in one eye, but this does not bother him in any way!

HDR or not HDR, that is the question! If the scene being shot has a lot of contrast in highlights and shadows, then it makes sense to take several photos with different exposures for the HDR assembly. Such an example could be a night city or abandoned buildings. If the dynamic range of the scene is not large, then HDR may be superfluous.

2. Practice

What is needed to create an HDR photo? It is necessary to find an interesting place and grab a tripod if handheld shooting is difficult due to slow shutter speeds. Many digital cameras can shoot what is called Exposure Bracketing, which will allow you to shoot a series of frames at different shutter speeds, the first of which (depending on the camera settings) will be very dark, the middle one will be normal and the last one will be very light.

I read somewhere that it is desirable for HDR image assembly programs to have, say, 5 bracketing frames in one stop steps, rather than 3 frames, but in 2 steps. Since the exposure step on my D800 is 1EV, I usually shoot 5 frames of bracketing.

For those who shoot Nikon it might be interesting to watch a video on how to set up a camera that will shoot the entire bracketing series by itself with a single press of the shutter button. This trick is indispensable when shooting at night at slow shutter speeds - even if you shoot from a tripod, the constant pressure of your finger on the shutter button at shutter speeds of 20-30 seconds can lead to a slight shift / shake of the camera and a damaged frame.

If the spread between light and shadows is large, then sometimes I shoot 9 frames in order to "capture" as useful information as possible, such as in the next two photos.

3. Processing

For those who speak English, I want to advise you to read the book, I read a lot of interesting things in it. Concerning " What is the best build program to use?"I think many will agree that Photomatix Pro is the best. Photomatix can work both independently and as a plug-in for LightRoom"a and Aperture. A big plus of this program is the ability to use presets, of which there are a sufficient number in the open spaces Internet.

I will try to describe my processing step by step.

1) All RAW "s (if someone else shoots in JPEG" ah - quit this business and switch to RAW "s) I import into LightRoom;
2) and setting the same White Balance for all frames (sometimes there is a slight discrepancy in WB);
3) Sometimes on some frames I move the Highlights & Shadows sliders;
4) I send all frames to Photomatics.

If HDR was made from several frames and there are moving objects, I control how well Photomatics "suppressed ghosts" (Ghost removal). There is an opportunity to manually specify "problematic" areas and usually Photomatics "crushes ghosts" very well.

5) There I get a result that suits me, I save it. LightRoom automatically "clings" the result, which is almost immediately "sent" to Photoshop;
6) In Photoshop I clean various "garbage", I correct the geometry;
7) I use it very often Nik Color Effect Pro -> tonal contrast and Darken&Lighten Center;
8) I often apply noise reduction to the sky Nik Dfine;
9) Save and return to LightRoom;
10) "Adjustment brushes" in LightRoom" are very powerful local correction tools. Therefore, I almost always finalize the frame in LightRoom "e using corrective brushes in various modes (darkening, brightening, Highlights, Shadows, Clarity (both plus and minus), Sharpness and Noise). I have a lot to do with them easier to work with than with adjustment layers and masks in Photoshop.
11) I export the result (usually 1400pix in width), look at it and periodically find some flaws, return to LightRoom or Photoshop, fix them, export again, look and... and often this process is "look-see-finish "It can drag on for a long time, until everything suits me.
12) Very often I wait until the next day and very often I finish something the next day.

Well, here is my process of processing photos ;-)

4. Video footage

This section will be of interest to those who are "friends" with English and those who want to "deepen" their knowledge in the field of HDR. I highly recommend watching all the videos.

All successful experiments in the field of HDR !!!

The cameras of the Pixel and Nexus smartphones have never been anything special, but over the past four years they have taken a powerful leap forward and now occupy the first lines of the ratings. Why did it happen? Because Google has implemented a software post-processing engine called HDR+. In this article, we will explain how it works and how to enable HDR+ on your smartphone, regardless of brand.

What is HDR

To fully understand how HDR+ works, you will first need to understand regular HDR.

The main problem of all smartphone cameras is the small size of the matrix (or rather, photocells) and, as a result, insufficient coverage of the dynamic range. To correct this shortcoming, the HDR (High-Dynamic Range) algorithm was developed, the principle of which is as follows: the camera takes a frame with a standard exposure level for a given scene, then takes an underexposed frame, on which only overexposed areas of the original image will be clearly visible, then An overexposed image in which only the dark details of the original image are visible, and everything else is overexposed. Further, the images are superimposed on each other and combined using special algorithms, the quality of which depends on the manufacturer of the camera software. The result is a picture with good detail in both the shadows and the brighter areas.

The disadvantages of HDR are obvious: a long shooting time leads to the fact that moving objects caught in the frame will double, and even a little shaking will blur the picture.

What is HDR+

Smart heads have come up with an algorithm devoid of the shortcomings of HDR. However, it has only one name in common with HDR.

HDR+ stands for High-Dynamic Range + Low Noise. He received his fame for a number of outstanding features: the algorithm is able to eliminate noise with virtually no loss of detail, improve the quality of color reproduction, which is extremely important in low light and at the edges of the frame, at the same time it greatly expands the dynamic range of photography. HDR +, unlike standard HDR, is almost not afraid of smartphone shaking and movement in the frame.

The first HDR+-enabled smartphone was the Nexus 5. Due to not the best white balance and small aperture (f2.4), the camera of this smartphone was considered nothing more than a strong middling. Everything changed with the release of the Android 4.4.2 update. It was it that brought with it support for the HDR + mode and the amazing quality of night shots. Although they were not very bright across the entire field of the frame, thanks to HDR + they practically did not contain noise while maintaining small details and had excellent (for smartphones in 2013) color reproduction.

History of HDR+

So how does a company that has never been into cameras come up with an algorithm that works wonders using conventional, by flagship standards, Nexus and Pixel cameras?

It all started in 2011, when Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Google X (now just X), was looking for a camera for Google Glass augmented reality glasses. The weight and size requirements were very strict. The size of the camera matrix had to be even smaller than in smartphones, which would have an extremely bad effect on the dynamic range and would lead to a lot of noise in the photo.

There was only one way out - to try to improve the photo programmatically, using algorithms. This task was to be solved by Marc Levoy, a lecturer in the computer science department at Stanford University, an expert in computational photography. He focused on software-based image capture and processing technology.

Mark formed a team known as Gcam, which began to study the Image Fusion method (fusion of images), based on combining a series of images into one frame. Photos processed using this method turned out to be brighter and sharper, with a small amount of noise. In 2013 technology debuted in Google Glass, and then, in the same year, renamed HDR +, appeared in the Nexus 5.

How HDR+ works

What about dynamic range expansion? As we already know, using a fast shutter speed saves us from overexposed areas. It remains only to remove the noise in the dark area using the previously described algorithm.

At the final stage, the resulting image is post-processed: the algorithm minimizes vignetting due to light hitting the matrix at an oblique angle, corrects chromatic aberration by replacing pixels at high-contrast edges with neighboring ones, increases green saturation, shifts blue and magenta hues towards blue, enhances sharpness (sharping ) and performs a number of other steps to improve the quality of the photo.

On the left is a photo from a stock Samsung camera in HDR, and on the right is a photo created in Gcam in HDR +. It can be seen that the algorithm sacrificed the detail of the sky to draw objects on the ground.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, for a more concise and convenient use of the English abbreviation, HDRI stands for High Dynamic Range. HDR is a type of photography that allows you to create images with more dynamic range than is normally possible.

To understand what it is and understand how to use it, you first need to understand what dynamic range is.

Dynamic Range

Dynamic range is a measure of the spectrum of illumination at various levels - from the darkest blacks to the brightest whites - that can be displayed on the camera. Dynamic range determines the amount of contrast that you can capture or display without losing detail.

The dynamic range that you can capture with a camera is much higher than what can be displayed on your monitor.

Why is it so important?

Some scenes may be too contrasty due to certain types of lighting. That is why experts advise avoiding shooting at noon in bright sunlight, as the cameras cannot cope with the full range of light. In low light, other problems may arise - the image will be too dim, with no contrast. As a result, the photo will have soft shadows, but the frame itself will be a little nondescript.

Image at midtones

Are there ways to avoid this?

With digital shooting, these problems are much easier to solve, since the result of the shooting is visible on the display instantly. Depending on the resulting frame, you can change the camera settings, or change the angle. We can also use a flash to reduce the contrast on a sunny day and use a special filter to balance out the difference in brightness between the sky and the landscape.

Moreover, there are processing techniques that can be used in Photoshop, especially if the shooting took place in RAW mode, which allows you to get pictures with maximum detail in the darkest and brightest areas of the frame.

How does HDR work?

HDR allows you to use a larger range of brightness in an image, and the range can be much larger than in a normal image. True Image HDR is created from multiple shots of the same scene, taken at slightly different exposures.

Each exposure captures a portion of the tonal range. Then they are combined into one image using special software.

What is meant?

True Image HDR contains a much larger range of tones - too much, in fact, to be displayed on a normal computer monitor or printed on paper.

They are typically stored as 32-bit files, which can transfer up to 4,300,000 shades of each color channel. In comparison, a standard JPEG file can transmit 256 (8-bit) shades per channel, and a RAW file transfers from 4000 (12-bit) to 16000 (16-bit) shades per channel.

So, what to do with this very large file?

The next step for most HDR images is tone mapping. In doing so, the program uses a 32-bit HDR image to create an image with a contrast range that can be displayed when printed or displayed on a monitor.

Each tonal value will be recalculated at a different scale. The result is a new image in which you can see all the details in both the bright highlights and the darkest areas of the shadows. That's the whole point of the tone mapping you can get from HDR.

How to creatively use HDR?

Many enthusiasts are not only using HDR in combination with software, they have gone further. They set themselves the task of not creating a realistic image, they strive to create an original artistic image that no longer looks realistic. The resulting effect is similar to that used in the hyper-realistic style in painting. Some people like it, and some don't.

Image at brightest exposure

What software is needed?

There are many programs that include HDR - including free ones. The most well-known program is Photomatix Pro, but the latest version of Photoshop (CS5) has a built-in HDR center.

Usually in HDR programs there are a number of sliders that will help you control the tone, and give you the opportunity to make the effect the way you like.

How to shoot with HDR?

Essentially, the process is the same as for bracketing. The number of shots you need depends largely on the actual tonal range of the scene you are shooting. The greater the contrast, the more frames you should take.

Usually three photos are taken, but depending on the shooting situation, you may need to take as many as nine shots, each one or two stops different from the previous one. Some DSLRs have AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) which will allow you to do this without any additional hassle.

Image at darkest exposure

What other settings should I use?

The sequence in your frames should be as close in content to each other as possible (although obviously the brightness will vary). Any changes caused by motion can create a halo that your software then has to deal with.