Even if you don’t know exactly what the hdr, or even if you have never heard of him, I assure you that you know him directly or indirectly, because you will have seen him in the many images that you have surely devoured.
The name may sound a bit like a foreign language to you. Normal, because the acronym stands for High Dynamic Range Or what is the same, high dynamic range. Don’t you know what I’m talking about? Don’t worry, it’s very simple, I’ll explain it below.
Let’s start at the beginning… What is dynamic range?
The Dynamic range It is the ability to capture the detail in the lights and shadows of a scene. Our eye, for example, has a great dynamic range, infinitely better than any camera that exists today. That is, we are able to see detail in both lights and shadows in the same scene without any difficulty.
On the other hand, the cameras have infinitely more difficulties in capturing the details in scenes where there are different lights, surely you have noticed it, surely you have thought more than once, how can it be that that image that I have in my head is incapable of reproduce it in image?
Simply, today and with the dynamic range that cameras have, no matter how good they are, it is impossible to reproduce reality.
Now, we have photographic techniques that help us get very close. One of them is HDR.
What is HDR?
HDR or high dynamic range It is the ability to have detail in both lights and shadows. That is, a low dynamic range means giving up detail in the highlights or shadows. On the other hand, a high dynamic range will try to preserve it in both.
The HDR photographic technique allows, therefore, to get closer to human vision and, in this way, to obtain images, in principle, closer to reality. And I say, in principlebecause HDR must be used in the right measure.
Abusing it too much can take us to the opposite pole, to images far from reality, too retouched and exaggerated. For example this:
Of course, it is a matter of taste, a while ago it was Fashion this type of HDR so exaggerated, although it has been lost until looking for a more realistic effect, that takes advantage of the detail in lights and shadows but without being so exaggerated. But what has been said, about tastes, colors;).
How to get a good HDR image step by step?
Nowadays, most smartphones have this option automatically, so there is no mystery and you don’t have to go beyond having it activated or not and, if necessary, compare the image in HDR and the normal one, and choose the one that suits you best. we like the most.
Now, in SLR/mirrorless photography, etc, which is the one that requires work and gives us the best results, the one that we love and makes us lose our minds in equal parts… ahem, I’m deviating.
As I said, in this type of photography, in which we want the best results and the best quality in our image, the way to achieve an HDR step by step is simply the following:
- Find a scene preferably static, because we are going to take several photos with the same frame.
- Therefore, a tripod It will be essential (since you are going to use it, remember to deactivate the image stabilizer because you no longer need it).
- If you have a remote Switch, Use it.
- Set the camera to manual mode.
- Set a diaphragm aperture according to the image you want to take (a lot of depth of field, a narrow aperture and vice versa).
- Set the white balance manually and don’t change it.
- Use as low an ISO as possible.
- Try to work in RAW.
- Fix the focus point and don’t move it.
- Make a total of 3 identical images in terms of composition, because then you will stack them.
- Each of these photos will have a different Exposure, to do this, adjust the speed of each of them so that:
- The first image is correctly exposed for the highlights.
- The second image for the darker areas of the image.
- The third image for the intermediate areas of the image.
- If you want more precision, you can combine more exposures, but 3 usually works well, at least to start practicing.
- With this, what we get at the moment is detail in each of the types of light separately.
- Once we have our images, what we do is overlap them with an editing program like PhotomatixPhotoshop or Lightroom. In the next section I show you the step by step with the latter.
And that’s it, it’s very simple, right? By adding all the information from the different lights, the result is an image where all the areas of the photograph have detail.
How to make an HDR in Lightroom step by step
Once you have the three images taken with a tripod with different exposures, we continue with the following steps in Lightroom to achieve an HDR:
- You select the three photographs. In our example, we have these three (underexposure, overexposure, and exposure correct).
- In the menu follow the path: Photo > Photo Combination > HDR
- A dialog like the following will open. I recommend you click on auto align in case there had been any involuntary movement in the shot. You also have to select the Ghost Elimination Amount. This refers to the elements that can be moved in the shots and create a difference between one and another. Here the water is in motion so we would select Medium either Tall. If there is no moving element in the scene put None. To preview them, you can mark in the tab Show ghost removal overlay.
- Click on the button Combine.
- Wait a bit for the HDR to be created and voila.
This is the result of mounting an HDR with the three initial images:
From here you can continue editing the image however you want (starting with tilting the horizon 😜 ), because you still have a RAW . Keep in mind that in photos with moving elements like this (the ghosts) the result may not be perfect. Look at the lower left corner. The program refines a lot but it is not miraculous.
HDR Applications
As you may have already deduced, the main application of HDR It is for scenes with a lot of contrast between light and shadow, in which it is impossible for us to preserve the detail of the different areas through our camera.
This situation occurs and obtains the best results mainly in:
- Landscapes: one of the most classic applications. It allows to preserve information of the sky and the ground without having to give up the detail of either of the two parts. If the sky has clouds, better than better.
- Interiors with an entrance of natural light (interiors illuminated by light from a window, tunnels with access to the outside, etc.). In these cases, the difference in light is also noticeable and an HDR will help you.
- Macro: will allow you to reveal and preserve image details that would otherwise be lost.
- Metallic elements: cars, cutlery and, in general, any metallic surface gives very good results in HDR.
- Night urban photography.
Tips for making a realistic HDR
To get realistic results, it’s best not to overuse the editing settings once you’ve done the HDR. You already know that the more an image is retouched, the more artificial it tends to appear to us.
For it:
- Do not abuse the color saturation. If you work in Lightroom it is preferable to play a little with the Intensity that saturates less saturated tones somewhat more subtly.
- Take care when adding texture or clarity to the image. Too much will result in a very artificial image.
- Do not abuse the contrast, it is preferable to slightly adjust the whites and blacks separately, which already generate contrast and offer you greater control of the result.
- Try to make the colors true to reality, however tempting it may be to exaggerate them, it does not usually give good results. It is better to work with the luminance and saturation of each color separately if you work with an editor that has this option.
In general, as you can see, it’s just about trying not to be exaggerated in the editing and staying true to our vision of the image. It is always good to play with the different settings to find the moment when the image in our heads and the one on our screen coincide.
Now, it is clear that you can use HDR as one more creative function, so investigate, tinker, try, and keep the result that you like the most, because perhaps you intend, precisely, to obtain an image far from reality 😉
I hope this article has been useful to you, that it encourages you to practice this simple and effective technique. Because you already know that photography is about that, about practicing, learning, enjoying! 😉 Feel free to share this article if you think someone could benefit from it. Thank you and see you next time!