HDR vs. 'Tonemapped' single image

[jpeters0]

After watching Trey Radcliff's talk at Google, it got me inspired to do a little HDR, I have been using a single image and pushing the dynamic range for a 'faux hdr' look but decided to try a couple shots both ways to see what I got. Here are the results... What are your thoughts?

[paulziets]

Nice images. I assume the first image in each case is pseudo HDR and the second is full HDR.

There is a softness in the second boat image (image 4) which looks classic Photomatix and while the sky in the second image looks great, there is an element of smoginess over the buildings. There are many experienced Photomatix users on this site who I am sure will guide you on how to get the images a bit cleaner/sharper.

Regards,

Paul

[Stiga]

#2 is too dark and all of them need some post processing e.g.

#1


#3


The main tools used to achieve this were Photoshop Levels and Curves.

Remember, don't expect your images to be picture perfect straight out of the can.

Secondly, pseudo HDR from a single RAW file is usually only acceptable when the
scene is evenly lit.

Martin

P.S. What software did you use?

[jpeters0]

Thanks Paul, i'm certainly more comfortable with lr4 than photomatix.

[jpeters0]

Originally Posted by Stiga

#2 is too dark and all of them need some post processing e.g.

#1

#3

The main tools used to achieve this were Photoshop Levels and Curves.

Remember, don't expect your images to be picture perfect straight out of the can.

Secondly, pseudo HDR from a single RAW file is usually only acceptable when the
scene is evenly lit.

Martin

P.S. What software did you use?

Stiga, I used lightroom for the pseudo and photomatix for the hdr. Unfortunately, I don't have ps yet. I

[Stiga]

Originally Posted by jpeters0

Stiga, I used lightroom for the pseudo and photomatix for the hdr. Unfortunately, I don't have ps yet. I

Thanks - I dont have LR but:-

LR's Exposure slider is the rough equivalent of the right triangle in Levels -- use that to set your white point.
LR's Blacks slider is the rough equivalent of the left triangle in Levels -- use that to set your black point.

You can probably do most of what I did using LR Tone Curves.

Martin

[jpeters0]

Thanks Martin! This is what I shot this morning. I hope to try again when I have a better situation. Also, I was trying to figure if I should do the noise reduction in LR before going to photomatix, of course if I had proper lighting I wouldn't need the NR...

[mistermonday]

J, you have a bit of an apples and orange comparison going on.
I would recommend that you try PhotoEngine from Oloneo.com. Aside from it being an excellent HDR program, it is a fantastic single file / RAW processor / tonemapper. It is better at single file processing than any other app I have tried.
Cheers, Murray

[jpeters0]

Thanks Murray, I'll check it out!

[Pebal]

HDR allows you to better reproduce the shadows.