Our articles about the LA-based pop band “Lights Over Paris” have attracted a lot of attention. Read the articles below to see why.
To HDR, or Not to HDR
A few months ago, I bought my first DSLR camera and became intrigued with HDR (high dynamic range) photography. It’s the method of shooting multiple exposures of one subject to achieve a unique look.
The idea is to use bracketing, which is commonplace with most of today’s fancy cameras. You shoot one image at the correct exposure, then at least one overexposed (to see detail in the shadows), and at least one underexposed (to see detail in the highlights – typically the sky). I usually work with just 3 exposures, but I’ve seen some people use up to 7… and of course, more exposures = more detail.
HDR imagery seems to be the new trend. A lot of people are getting into it… but then again there are a lot of people who hate it and think it’ll eventually phase out. I personally like it. It’s fun and the results are usually pretty cool. The style can range from super realistic, highly detailed scenes to fantastical, painterly dreamworlds. I tend to dig it all.
Here are some of my recent attempts while on vacation in Atlanta:
LEFT: original, MIDDLE: HDR, RIGHT: HDR B&W using red color channel
LEFT: original, RIGHT: HDR
And these are some older shots I took while in Albany. Because of the dirtiness of the area, I tone mapped these images to be a bit gritty and added some grain to complement:
I still have a lot to learn about HDR and how to achieve those mystical dreamworld images. I also I need to get a tripod so my images are sharper. So stay tuned for more to come in the future.
Anyway, here are some of the HDR masters:
Comments
I think it’s interesting how bracketing is a cross-media aesthetic. I’ve done recording experiments where I’ll record three versions of a single track – one at the original speed, one double-time/octave up, and one half time/octave down. Do a little pitch-shifting, combine, and you get an aural effect similar to the HDR aesthetic.
Might I suggest a ‘thing’ – one week, perhaps the week starting on June 1st, everybody attempts an experiment in their chosen media that expresses the bracketing aesthetic. WHO’S WITH ME BITCHES?!?!?
I sort of miss the days when one could take good photos without post-processing the hell out of them. That said, I also like HDR. I’ve never attempted it myself, because I don’t have a still camera that’s really awesome. I think that there’s a time and a place for that type of photography. I really like how the bug turned out above, and the shots of Albany. For instance the clouds in the first shot. Without that detail there, the photo is definitely not the same.
I agree with you Novachord. And that was originally the meaning of this post (hence the title) but I sorta lost track of what I was trying to say. Yeah there’s something to say about images that don’t require any post-processing at all. It demonstrates the strengths of the photographer. If it doesn’t require any color-correction or tweaking, then great. But then there’s a whole field of photography like HDR or the lomo cross-processing method Salvatron posted about. We’re in the digital age where post-processing is at our fingertips and it’s so easy to make tiny adjustments such as color balance or cropping or clone stamping zits. When is it ok to do that? And how much is too much? I think it’s one thing when you’re over-tweaking a “normal” image because you didn’t get it right when you shot it. But I view HDR as another type of photography and would never do a direct comparison of the two different styles.
There is no “right” when you shoot. It’s whatever your personal aesthetic is/want it to be. I heavily post-process my images, but that’s not to say theyre not good to begin with. I shoot with contrast and composition in mind. Using technology is a means to enhance what I’ve done.
There’s also a level of time and money I’m saving by not wasting hours on expensive slide film with regular SLRs trying to match what I can do on my mac in minutes.
I worked in the darkroom for 3 years.. and yeah.. messing with enlargers and playing with chemicals is fun, but I prefer the advancements of digital photography for the real-time adjustments.
[...] I wanted to test out some HDR photography again… however this time just using the technique to keep all the details in the shot. The first [...]