Sigma HDR attempts

lattiboy

Regular
So,

I took the DP1 with me to University of Washington's "Reading Room". It's a grand hall with beautiful architecture and lighting. I did a bunch of 3-shot bursts and here's what I could get so far. I'm vacillating between wanting more "pop" and not wanting HDR to be evident at all. The shots below illustrate this.

I also got a lot of really nice single shots, but I'm having issues processing them to my "vision" (sorry to be trite!)

Any helpful hints about doing HDR with the DP1 are GREATLY appreciated. It's a bit infuriating at the moment.

SPP to Lightroom to Photoshop (HDR Merge) BACK to Lightroom. 16bit tiffs all the way.


1)

5613948333_4633067c9e_b.jpg

Reading Room HDR by lattiboy, on Flickr

2)


5614598502_9e62d21734_b.jpg

Reading Room HDR 2 by lattiboy, on Flickr
 
Very good - lovely detail and quite nicely restrained.

I would probably look at increasing the contrast just a little as they have a very slightly washed out look that some HDR processing techniques apply (although it could be my crapply laptop screen). For added impact, you might also look at straighting the converging verticals as this would then be a very powerful image.

Overall, very well done and a great start in HDR.
 
@bilzmale: I think "painterly" is a good word for these! Thanks! Also, I used a tripod, so I wonder where you're seeing the softness. It is most likely focus related or ghosting. I'll have to take a closer look

@PeterB666: Thanks for the tips! I really went back and forth with these in Photoshop. I want the deep blacks, but then the whole picture gets so dark it almost makes HDR seem redundant. I dunno, I'll try your suggestions out.
 
Download a trial version of Photomatix Pro 4 and give it a go. I find it a lot easier to use compared to Photoshop and it combines "conventional" HDR and photo fusion in one product. The best bit is that it provides thumbnail previews of about a dozen standard options.
 
Latti, I no zilch about HDR, but what a "reading room"! I could be very happy sitting in there for a long, long time.

Please keep this thread going and let us see and read how your photos evolve. It will be a great way for many to learn, as well as offer support with how to's and more.(y)

P.S. And thanks so for adding tags to your threads - it is a big help to the site and to others who might want to "search".
 
The last one in Photomatix does look very good indeed. I am a little surprised that the colour has been lost from the windows at the far end (compared to #2) but you are right, it looks very natural indeed.
It has lost the slight milkyness from the pervious HDR shots. :bravo-009:

You might try boosing the saturation just a little - playing with the slider controls.

Anyway, great job - I would be very pleased with that result.
 
@bilzmale: I think "painterly" is a good word for these! Thanks! Also, I used a tripod, so I wonder where you're seeing the softness. It is most likely focus related or ghosting. I'll have to take a closer look.

On looking again it is the person in the lower left and he was probably moving. The Photomatix image has more 'pop' and looks good.
 
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