As we discussed in last week’s introduction to taking your HDR Beyond the Ordinary, using the HDR and Tone Mapping software is only one step in what should be a much bigger workflow. In today’s video tip, we look at ways of preparing your images for the HDR process – there are a lot of image artifacts and problems that can be removed from the equation before we even open up Photomatix, or HDR Efex Pro, or Photoshop’s Merge To HDR Pro.
.
Next week, we’ll look at life after tone mapping – what to do with your images to make them pop without going over the top. Happy Photoshopping!
Some other posts by Michael Hoffman
- 3D Text Video Animations in Photoshop CS6 (pt. 2)
- 3D Text Video Animations in Photoshop CS6
- Creating Dashed and Dotted Lines in Photoshop
- Type Tips for Photoshop CS6
- Photoshop’s Enhanced Filters in CS6 Beta
- Color Lookup Adjustments with Photoshop CS6 Beta
- Introduction to 3D features in Photoshop CS6 (beta)
- Photoshop Compositing with 3D (Part 2)
- Photoshop Compositing with 3D (Part 1)
- Solids of Revolution with Photoshop CS5 Extended
- Simplify Your Lightroom Interface
- Mixer Brush Tips
About the author
Mike is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop and Acrobat, and is well versed in Lightroom and Photoshop Elements, as well as Illustrator and InDesign. He has also contributed his time and efforts to the excellent work being done by Operation Photo Rescue, in restoring photographs damaged by natural disasters. As an active member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, he continues his quest for excellence in art, excellence in design, and excellence in education.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Can I recommend you also have a look at Oloneo. Out of the box, it avoids much of these problems while giving realistic images more like exposure blending than tonemapping. It has been the main input to much of my recent architecture work and clients lie the results so much they never mention HDR
Mike, Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I will definitely have a look at Oloneo. I’ve seen some of the demo videos, and it looks very interesting, especially the ability to add lighting and tweak the lights individually. It’s on the list
But, with Oloneo or any other HDR processing software, the moral here is that the HDR software is a tool that is part of the workflow, it is not the workflow itself. So the preparation before-hand, and the post-work afterwards, are of equal or greater importance compared to the HDR processing software you choose.
mh++
I like the natural look of your HDR pictures. You finished copter image looks great and real. I also like the dramatic images of landscapes that many make. But they look too photoshopped for my taste. I am not very photoshop literate and want to learn a stand alone HDR program that is easy for a beginner, any suggestions…?
I am a Nikon shooter. Thanks for the info