My First HDR

Sydney - Rushcutters Bay (5), originally uploaded by mindy_w.

Hello,

This is my first HDR - High Definition Range.

I used PhotoMatrix to create this image, what you need to do is actually take the same shot 3 times but at different exposures. One should be very dark, second should be neutral and the last one should be very light. This is to get the greatest variety of colours. Some people do more than 3 shots, so you can choose how many you do.

What i also find useful is to use to the bracketing functionality that comes with most SLR's that takes multiple shots at different exposures based on your settings.

The post processing work is quite a labourious task, Photo Matrix is a v. intuitive program to use but here is my take on it:

1. Select 'Generate HDR' and select the bracketed photos that you wish to combine to make your HDR
2. When aligning your source images, you need to select carefully. Sometimes aligning based on horizontal and vertical shifts is not the best if its a moving target or you have not taken it with a tripod.
3. Have a play around with the 'Detail Enhancer' settings, the slider bar is useful to see the effect it creates. Settings will depend on what type of photo it is
4. Don't forget to go to the Tone Mapping tab and update the settings
5. Once you select 'Process' it combines the Tone Mapping settings and the Details Enhancer settings

Anyways, this was a beautiful dusk day at Rushcutters Bay. Thanks to my friends Lowell & Nelisa for being the models at the end of the bridge.

l8s
mw