I am continuing with some experiments that have been spawned by my interest from the sunset pics a couple of weeks ago. In that experiment I toyed with the idea of minimizing my exposure brackets for HDR from 5 to 3, staying within the +/-2 EV range but throwing out the +/-1. I found it pretty well received and although there are some great reasons for reducing my brackets to 3, I have yet to practice it. I am still addicted to the 5 exposure bracket capturing for the simple fact that, what happens if I don’t get those +/-1 EV brackets? I know the world will not come crashing down and humanity will still progress, but I just can;t seem to let go.
For this weeks experiment I am throwing around the idea of the +/-1 and +/-2 EV’s being created in Photoshop. You can very easily take a single RAW file and successfully turn it into five 16 bitt TIFF files and merge them for HDR in Photomatix or the like, but is there any difference in quality from 5 bracketed exposures from the camera?
The Experiment Details:
The Control Group
- To conduct the experiment accurately, I photographed the following image using Auto Exposure Bracketing @ 5 exposures with a +/-2 EV range @ 1 EV per exposure (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2 EV) in RAW format.
- I then processed them in Photomatix Pro 4.2.
- Finally,I processed the tone mapped image in Photoshop CS 6.
- I took the 0 EV image from the bracketed set.
- I brought it into Photoshop CS 6 and bi-passed the ACR interface.
- I ran an Action on the image that would break it down into 5 separate TIFF images at different exposures using the Exposure Adjustment Layer (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2 EV).
- I then ran them through Photomatix using the same settings as the Control Group.
- Finally, I applied the same processing techniques used in the control group as well.
Variable #2
- I took the 0 EV image from the bracketed set.
- I brought it into Photoshop CS 6 and applied a generous Clarity (+100) and Noise Reduction adjustment to it..
- I ran the Action on the image that would break it down into 5 separate TIFF images at different exposures using the Exposure Adjustment Layer (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2 EV).
- I then ran them through Photomatix using the same settings as the Control Group and Variable #1.
- Finally, I applied the same processing techniques used in the previous images, with the exception of the High Pass sharpen layer as the Clarity slider took care of that pretty well for me.
Here are the results:
The Conclusion:
Based on this experiment, I am thinking option #3 may be the best. I did not want to come to that conclusion, but look at the highlight control in the mortar, the blowouts are at a minimum. The shadows look much more realistic. My only complaint, the saturation in the reds got a little out of hand, but that could have been handled easily enough with the hue saturation adjustment layer. However, modifying it for the saturation would have thrown off the control group. Also notice the detail in the metal, the sculpted forge marks are impeccable!
So what have I learned from this experiment? Instead of pulling my hair out trying to get the perfect bracketed series of exposures, I have other options. This will be especially important with scenes that contain a lot of movement. Or how about those incredible shots you have of animals at the zoo? This method would seem to suit those quite well.
You can be sure that I will continue to experiment with these “pseudo” methods. In the past I never would have paid them any mind, I was an avid advocate that anything but brackets was cheating, fake, and not true HDR. Since then, my mind has matured about what HDR really is, it is the extraction of a higher level of dynamic range from any one scene. Does that mean that you must shoot brackets? No, it alludes that you can do whatever you can within your means to extract that higher level of dynamic range.
What do you think?
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
Thanks Blake, I too have experimented using pretty much a simular test. I have to agree, that not always a bracketed image is HDR, the single image or Psuedo works and can work well. The knowledge of knowing what HDR is achieving and having the tools at hand to achieve the look can allow the photographer this choice when taking images.
Very true, having and knowing your tools well is the best option of all. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to drop my stubbornness!
Fascinating. Option #3 is definitely the best rendering.
As far as what is a “true HDR” I think that whatever can be done to an image or group of images to bring out as many of the dimensions that are in the actual scene is a valid and valuable use of the digital darkroom technology that we are fortunate to have available.
I have shot RAW with my Olympus E-30 for years, processing in Lightroom and Photoshop. I belong to a wildlife refuge photo club where even the mention of Photoshop brings howls of outrage and anguish. This from folks with cameras and lenses 2-3 times more expensive than mine, who shoot JPGs on the automatic setting.
To each his own, just want to say I am glad I found your blog, I am equally curious about pushing the limits of the technology and am learning a great deal from reading your postings!
Yeah I always find it amazing how photogs shudder to the sound of the word “Photoshop”. I think their misconception is that anything brought into Photoshop for processing is in turn Photoshopped. Sometimes that verb has a negative connotation, it has been ingrained in our society to believe that anything brought into Photoshop is made to look unrealistic. In actuality the opposite is true, I edit in PS to make my work realistic looking.
Holler back for another E-30 shooter! I love my E-30 and sick Zuiko lenses! I am glad EverydayHDR is a valuable resource for you! Take care my friend!
I totally agree, the opposite is indeed true, I edit in PS and LR to make my work more realistic. It is why I like HDR also, I see multiple dimensions in the layers of light, and the only way to bring that back is to work around the LIMITATIONS of the camera by shooting RAW and doing subtle, creative post-processing.
You are an E-30 shooter too, that is awesome!! Wonderful camera, and the lenses are fantastic, amazing glass with the added features of smaller and less costly!
I am watching what Olympus does to replace the E-5, if their next iteration improves significantly on
the noise-in-low-light issue I am tempted to make the jump, how about you?
Take care too, it is super to connect with another OLY photog!
I love my E-30! My Mom recently purchased the E-5 which is also an incredible camera, while their is no boost in megapixels, the quality of the pictures is incredible and it shoots much better in low light conditions! I am like you, however, I would like to see what happens after the E-5. With the advent of the OM 5 the new mirrorless camera, they have increased their pixel count to 16 and polished the sensor a bit more. I am hoping they use that technology in a new DSLR.
I have a love hate relationship with Olympus. They continually push the mold by inventing new digital technology, they were the first to go mirrorless, they were the first to make live view shooting. However, they create the technology, release it to the public and are immediately 3 steps behind the competition. Nikon and Canon grab a hold of it and run with it with their immaculate ISO sensors. One day Olympus will hop on the ball, at this point it is too late to turn back as I have invested well over $5000 in lenses, bodies, and accessories. Would I really convert though? Probably not as I like to stay neutral in the Nikon Canon pissing contest!
Good to get the feedback on low light issues improving with the E-5, it is my only issue with the E-30. And I too feel the same way about Olympus. Their glass is just wonderful, and the lighter overall weight is a huge plus for me as I have function issues with my hands. I also have invested too much money in it to want to change, plus, I too have no interest whatsoever in the aptly named “pissing contest” with Nikon and Canon users. My husband wants to upgrade to my E-30 if I do go with the new “E-7?” we both want to stay with Olympus, since it means that we can share lenses also.
In my view, they are all really good cameras, the quality of the final image at this level of camera comes down to the vision and skill of the individual photographer.
I am hoping that Olympus will announce a new flagship model before Christmas, that would be terrific. If they do, and you get one I will look forward to your blog post sharing your experience with it!
If your camera can capture the entire dynamic range of a scene without any shadow or highlight clipping (and you don’t have a lot of pixels bunching up at the bottom of the histogram), I’m not sure how much you really gain by bracketing vs building multiple exposures from a single raw file. In this case, all of the data you need should already be contained in the original raw file, but the HDR process will do a killer job of bringing out texture and giving the photo that vibrant look. The bricks and mortar picture above is a good example of this. However, if you’re shooting a scene with a wide dynamic range that your camera can’t fully capture in one click of the shutter (for example, shooting an interior/exterior shot), I can’t really see how you can get to a suitable HDR image without clipping unless you bracket. To some degree, it really depends on the range of lights and darks.
Very true Nick! I guess many people do not know that regardless of the light setting in a scene I shoot HDR. I HDR everything, I don’t care about the light or the technical reasons for HDR, I just dig the HDR process and love the look! But you are very correct, this image was probably over kill to shoot 5 exposures for. On the other end of the spectrum, it would be interesting to try this experiment on a trickier lighting condition. Sounds like I need to do another one!
I would like to see this experiment with a landscape, especially one with extreme contrast, maybe the sun and some dark shadows. With this photo I am not quite sold.
I can see that. I am going to work that one too, maybe something really ugly and difficult, like the 2 o clock Mid West sun on a summer day open sky landscape… that should do!
I’ve been playing around a lot lately with the concept of “less is more” myself in an effort to gain greater clarity. Your findings here are really, really interesting Blake, and are great food for thought. I still do believe that there are instances where bracketing is the only real solution to full dynamic range, however with that being said, these are tools and techniques that should be applied how and where they make sense. Some of our photos are just -1, 0, +1 shots and we are very happy with those results. Great article, my friend!!
Thanks Toad! I agree with you, as Paul mentioned before, some scenes, like a blown out sky, may not work this way with the single image extraction. However, I HDR everything and for instances like this one, the single exposure RAW seems to be not only fine but ideal! Thanks for your additions Toad! There is a new concert up, posted today that is all about this experiment here. I would love to see your addition! Take care Toad!
I follow the process you describe here when I want to bring out detail in an action shot or when I don’t have a tripod and also don’t have enough light for 3 handheld brackets. I took a trip to West Virginia this year to shoot steam trains and almost every shot I made was processed like this and turned out great. I typically make clarity, vibrance and noise adjustments in ACR and produce 3 to 5 exposures, leaving those settings the same in all exposures. Great article exploring and explaining the options.
Very smart moves Donnie. I noticed if you mess with the Highlights or Whites in ACR it will really mess your day up in tone mapping, which makes complete sense to only adjust the clarity, noise reduction and vibrance. I would tend to leave vibrance alone as you can always boost that later in Post. Thanks for the comments, very helpful!
I’ve done that experiment too and it works fine for some scenes but not others. Sunsets or interiors with bright windows, not so much.
Thanks Darlene! that seems to be what I am gathering, those exposures from the camera are essential. Sometimes you can get away with the exposure that is exposing for the bright areas. However I tend to agree with you on the not so much! In a pinch, maybe, but you are much better off bracketing in those circumstances.