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So you’ve probably heard about HDR photography, and you may be wondering what you can do with it and why it’s so cool. By Gavin Seim

This is not a short article but it will explain a lot about HDR photography and why its so neat. Today we’re going to talk about the editing techniques I used to create “Look To The Wind” the bride on the beach image that you probably have heard mentioned on Pro Photo Show, and maybe seen on the net. Also here are some links for things relevant to HDR.

More HDR portraits, on my website and Some of my HDR nature work. Photomatix is my favorite tool for converting HDR & Seim Effects Actions help me get the final look.

Also read the HDR portraits article, and check out the two feature podcasts I recorded where I talk a more about creating HDR images. High Dynamic Range Part 1, and High Dynamic Range Part 2

HDR is a method of taking multiple images and combining them in a high dynamic range file. Lets say you take three images of the exact same scene, at various exposure levels. Standard images are only around 8 bits each, basically meaning that their ability to correctly expose dark scenes while keeping bright scenes from getting overexposed is limited (or visa versa)

So to make an HDR you might take one image that’s two stops underexposed, one image two stops over, and one with correct exposure. Then using software you can combine the shadow and highlight details from all the images into a single image is called an HDR. An HDR is the combined bits of these images, and is usually a 32 bit image when converted. What does 32bit mean to you? It means it can contain far more shadows and highlights. Even though the actual resolution of the image is not increased the details inside it are much higher. The HDR Photography technique is most often done with nature or still life images, but I have been doing extensive experimenting with this technique in portraits as well with good results, as we’ll see today.

So lets look at an example. In this image I took three shots of the bride on the beach using continuous shooting mode with auto exposure bracketing. This along with a model holding as still as possible, and a fairly wide angle scene made “Look To The Wind” Possible possible (click for a larger version) You can read more about HDR portrait techniques in my HDR portrait article.

There a a few ways to take the three images and make an HDR from them. First take your images in unedited raw form. You could do it with jpegs, but raw will give you the best results. Don’t correct the raw files before converting to HDR. There is a very basic tool in Photoshop for converting the images called Merge To HDR (File/Automate/Merge To HDR) This allows you to select you images, and it will combine them into and 32 bit image. You then can use tools to adjust the levels, and curves of the image mix to try and get a good result.

Continue reading ‘How To Make An HDR Portrait. Behind The Scenes:’