HDR Tutorial
Follow this simple tutorial and you´ll be on your way to become a pro at HDR Photography and get pics like this one (Tutorial starts after the pic) 
This is a basic, standard, step by step tutorial of how to make an HDR Image.(Note: this tutorial is based on building an HDR image from 7 differents shots. My camara doesn’t shoot RAW. More on building an HDR image from a single RAW file, soon!)
The materials for this process are as follows:
Hardware:
* Digital Camera (Obvius, but hey you never know )
* Tripod
Software:
* Photomatix (used for Generating HDR and Tone Mapping) You can buy it with 15% discount here
* Photoshop CS2. (But for this tutorial any version of Photoshop will do. We’ll be using it for retouching only)
Ok, let’s get going!
Taking the pictures:
Put your camera in the tripod. Place it firmly because you’ll have to touch the camera to change the speed and this can make you move it, and then, well you wont be able to get the HDR you were hoping for.
After selecting the subject you wish to shoot, prepare everything as if you were only going to take one picture. Prepare it to your taste or what ever is you want to acomplish.
Set your primary exposure and speed. We are going to call this master setting 0. After this is complete and you have everything set up you are going to take let’s say 7 pictures:
3 pictures up from 0 and 3 pictures down.
Dude what do you mean?? Don’t panic is quite easy:
If the settings for picture 0 is: 1/125 and f/4.5
The settings for the remaining pictures are as follows:
* Picture +3: 1/250 f/4.5
* Picture +2: 1/200 f/4.5
* Picture +1: 1/160 f/4.5
* Picture 0: 1/125 f/4.5 (YOUR MASTER SETTING)
* Picture -1: 1/100 f/4.5
* Picture -2: 1/80 f/4.5
* Picture -3: 1/60 f/4.5
You’ve may noticed that the F/ stays the same. This is quite simple: if that value changes also will you Depth of Field which will cause you focus to change also.
Now that you have taken all your pictures is time to go and kick some Photomatix but!
Ok, so you got to your computer, opened up Photomatix, and oh well you have no idea what to do. No problem becouse this part of the process has litle pictures in it, so you wont have any excuse not to make HDR pictures!!
Photomatix:
Open Photomatix and look for the HDRI tab. Click on it. After you will see GENERATE HDR. Go ahead click some more.
When you do that something like this comes up:
Now you click on the BROWSE button and select the pictures you want:
After you you click the SELECT button a screen like this come along:
Ok. Now your pictures are selected and you click OK. Now you have to choices: to Align Input Images or not to let the software do it. I personally always let the software do it. Is up to you:
Now you’ll get this screen. Depending on you computer memory this may take a while, but not to long. I’ve notice that when one of the picture is to dark or to bright, in Auto Align, Photomatix has a hard time aligning the images. I usually cancel and deselect the image I think is causing the problem:
If everything is ok, this should come up:
After Photomatix is done, it shows you your new Generated HDR Image:
But you want it like does cool ones out there! Wait, there’s more: ToneMapping!
Now you go to the HDRI tab and select Tone Mapping. Here is where the fun begins!
The first thing you may notice is the difference in the picture. Here you have 7 important options:
- Luminosity
- Strength
- Color Saturation
- White Clip
- Black Clip
- Smoothing
- MicroContrast
I could go on and explain what all those sliders and buttons do, but we’ll do something better: You try!
Move them up, down, put some more here, take some less there. The idea is for you to experience it for yourself. Trust me, is really fun that way!
So after moving around the sliders i get to a point where i like the results:
I go click on OK, and we go back to the first screen but with the final version of the photo:
Now i want to take it to Photoshop for aditional retouching but first i have to save it. I preffer TIFF format:
Choose your name, location and format:
Now go open Photoshop, and open the TIFF you just saved:
Now go to the IMAGE tab, ADJUSTMENTS. Now you have to play and have fun with each and every other option in there. Try everything and if you do something you don’t like, don’t worry UNDO! (Also play with some filters, they can help to!)
After playing a litle bit, i got to this point which i like:
Now save it again in any format you like. I always save them on TIFF:
Voila! Your first HDR Image. Kind a cool, insn’t?
Hope this helps! If you get into HDR, join us on Flickr or if you are already enjoying HDR on Flickr keep them coming!
Cheers!
