High Dynamic Range
HDR...you either love it or hate it
Some love the surreal over saturated and often psychedelic look that can be achieved. Others hate it because of that same unrealistic manipulated look.
There is a middle ground to the love / hate relationship as you will see as you read on. It should be noted that an unskilled person can move around a bunch of sliders and come up with the surreal psychedelic look that is often associated with the “HDR look”. That is often the reason given for those who hate HDR.
But this tool in the hands of a skilled artist can achieve an incredible range of detail, contrast, and color which was previously unobtainable using the now “traditional” digital tools.
The examples here will show how we use both HDR and Exposure Fusion techniques to create realistic dynamic images for our clients.
Yes we can also give you the wild, surreal, super saturated, HDR images if that’s your goal.
You can see that used in this manner, HDR / Exposure Fusion can provide a greatly expanded tonal, contrast, and color range while still looking like a real world photographic image.
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Lighting and composition are key elements when working in the studio with basically shades of grey, reflective objects, and soft skin tones. By utilizing the additional element of our HDR technique, we can really bring a simple setup to life.
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Highly reflective dark colors in a studio set can be a challenge. The client gave us a blank slate with the instructions “make it look WOW” Our goal was to show the clean lines and rich colors featured on this Porsche 911. Using our HDR skills made this a real head turner.
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The clients budget didn’t allow for a grip truck with HMI lighting and generators, plus the time and hassle to keep the crowd in check and avoid tripping on cords and equipment.
Yet we were able to capture the full range of tones and expanded contrast seen here using only available light. No auxiliary lighting of any kind was employed. One just needs to know how to work with Mr. Sun and HDR exposures.
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Harsh sunlight results in photos that don't reproduce well, unless combined with proper use of HDR and Exposure Fusion techniques.
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Hazy sunlight produces images that are flat and lifeless. When combined with proper use of HDR and Exposure Fusion techniques, we make ordinary become extraordinary.
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Even colorful subject nature can benefit from the extended tonal range of HDR. Enhanced colors and tonal range look like they're from a different time period or galaxy!
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Interiors... our Exposure Fusion technique allows us to capture the true ambiance of what you would see if you were there in person.
Our eyes / brain are able to see detail that cameras can't without supplemental lighting.
We capture interiors and all their subtle detail using their natural light with little to no supplemental lighting; saving you time and money.
No additional lighting was used in these two extreme examples.
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