HDR Tip (or cheat)

[Karen]

I love HDR . I use photomatix. It has a good function which cuts out ghosting

[ABERS]

The problem that I have with HDR is that it is over used. I have always believed that when HDR is employed it should never be noticed, it is primarily to enable detail to be visible both in areas of highlight and shadow in a particularly contrasty scene.

There are a myriad of filters available that go some way to replicate the sometimes strange effects that arise when HDR is overemployed, but each to his/her own.

[Hinfrance]

I agree with Alan, mostly, although as sometimes a little bit of surrealism is not inappropriate.

I tend to find HDR is better for indoor shots, especially in dim old buildings like these.



and



Although actually neither of these are 'real' HDR. They're each from one jpg run through the Redynamix plugin

I am not a fan of the current vogue of over the top 'Harry Potter' processing that I see so many landscapes suffering from.

[donoreo]

The problem that I have with HDR is that it is over used. I have always believed that when HDR is employed it should never be noticed, it is primarily to enable detail to be visible both in areas of highlight and shadow in a particularly contrasty scene.

There are a myriad of filters available that go some way to replicate the sometimes strange effects that arise when HDR is overemployed, but each to his/her own.

I prefer my HDR to look real as well.  The concept of HDR was to get a greater range of exposure than what the camera sensor would pick up.  That is, to make it closer to what we can see with our eye.   

[hssutton]

The problem that I have with HDR is that it is over used. I have always believed that when HDR is employed it should never be noticed, it is primarily to enable detail to be visible both in areas of highlight and shadow in a particularly contrasty scene.

There are a myriad of filters available that go some way to replicate the sometimes strange effects that arise when HDR is overemployed, but each to his/her own.

I prefer my HDR to look real as well.  The concept of HDR was to get a greater range of exposure than what the camera sensor would pick up.  That is, to make it closer to what we can see with our eye.

I'm in full agreement with Don. In the early days of digital I and many other photographers would take 2/3 exposures and manually blend them in Photoshop. This gave us the detail in shadows and highlights without the over processed images we constantly see these days.

Harry

[DigiDiva]

I have issues downloading upgrades as my MacPro has an ancient processor and theres not much I can upload. Will have a word with my son ans see what he thinks, he's the IT geek of the family

Yours is a PowerMac G5 (I am assuming a G5 and not a G4), if I recall correctly.  A MacPro is the Intel based version.  I have meant to mention this before as people try to help you but they think you have a different machine when you call it a MacPro and they give incorrect advice.

If I am wrong, just tell me, but I think I recall this from when you got it over on the DCW forums.

I don't have an intel processor. Its another processor the name of which I always forget to the despair of my son. My machine used to be used by the kids show Byker Grove in the editing suite. When Byker Grove was scratched, it ended up at a place called Dene Films which is where my son works. He got me the machine for a really stupid price (£100 I think, maybe £200) when Dene Films upgraded.

[Reinardina]

"I don't have an intel processor. Its another processor the name of which I always forget to the despair of my son."

A Post-it sticker, with the name of the processor, on the side of the computer, or somewhere close, could solve this problem.
It's worth it, if it saves your son from despair.

[Oldboy]

I don't have an intel processor. Its another processor the name of which I always forget to the despair of my son. My machine used to be used by the kids show Byker Grove in the editing suite. When Byker Grove was scratched, it ended up at a place called Dene Films which is where my son works. He got me the machine for a really stupid price (£100 I think, maybe £200) when Dene Films upgraded.

Isn't it a ARM processor? 

[donoreo]

I don't have an intel processor. Its another processor the name of which I always forget to the despair of my son. My machine used to be used by the kids show Byker Grove in the editing suite. When Byker Grove was scratched, it ended up at a place called Dene Films which is where my son works. He got me the machine for a really stupid price (£100 I think, maybe £200) when Dene Films upgraded.

Isn't it a ARM processor? 

No, it is a PowerPC processor.  Macs used them from the 1990s to mid 2000's.  That is why it is called a PowerMac.  Photo right at the top here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh  Apple kept the same design case for their MacPro line when they switched to Intel.  IBM still uses the PowerPC processors (newer and more powerful versions) in their AIX (UNIX) servers. 

[DigiDiva]

Its a G5 I have, and camera raw 4.0...I need to maybe add a plug in but tried and it didn't work.