Hdr Panoramic Photography

[Kan Win]

Photo taken last week-end in Kanchanaburi at the Prommitr Film Studio, Lat Yai, Pano (4 shots), and then tried to make it as a HDR with Photomatix Pro.

Just playing around as Pano in HDR are very hard to create.

Your thoughts please.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[The Vulcan]

HDR means High Dynamic Range. That is, maximum detail in ALL areas. With this in mind I feel you've failed.

Here we have blocked up shadows and blown highlights with very little detail in the mid-tones!

Sorry mate - back to the drawing board

[Nordlys]

I was also wondering which part of this photo makes it HDR.

[Kan Win]

HDR means High Dynamic Range. That is, maximum detail in ALL areas. With this in mind I feel you've failed.

Here we have blocked up shadows and blown highlights with very little detail in the mid-tones!

Sorry mate - back to the drawing board

Thank you "The Vulcan" for your very good comments.

As for "back to the drawing board", will do, can you help me?

It was one pano photo that I took and made it look like a HDR.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[Kan Win]

I was also wondering which part of this photo makes it HDR.

Thank you "Nordlys",

My thinking was to convert a simple photo into a HDR, by changing some of the settings in one photo (make a copy or two). May be a crazy idea, but at least one did and will try once again.

Yours truly,

Kan Win "back to the drawing board"

[The Vulcan]

The Pano actually looks ok as a seamless stitch. What kills the image is the total lack of detail.

Have a real look at Photoshop CS3/4 - study curves, levels and shadow/highlights. Believe me, it'll pay off.

Good luck

[Kan Win]

Hi "The Vulcan",

Thank you once again for your comments and tips.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[Buki]

this a very good thread. I've been trying to do HDR. But instead of having three photos of different exposures, I used the curves on one photo and made multiple copies. It didn't turn out well when I use them in Photomatix. Is that recommended? or do i need to go out and do the three photos? Any suggestion would help. Thanks.

[baahjun]

this a very good thread. I've been trying to do HDR. But instead of having three photos of different exposures, I used the curves on one photo and made multiple copies. It didn't turn out well when I use them in Photomatix. Is that recommended? or do i need to go out and do the three photos? Any suggestion would help. Thanks.

Use a tripod and do (at least) 3 exposures, if there is a lot of difference in shadows and highlights, do more. I get the best results with 7.

The one in OP also has a lot of grain, something I tend to get when making 3 different psd'sf rom one raw shot and then turn them into an HDR.

Most cameras have a bracket option, even if you don't do HDR a good option to get the right exposure.

agreed with vulcan, levels and curves. Curves I would do in LAB color mode. Shadows/Highlights are not really needed when you do "real" HDR

two more things:

- your sensor needs cleaning

- black background shows right bottom and left side

[Kan Win]

two more things:

- your sensor needs cleaning

- black background shows right bottom and left side

Thank you for your comments "baahjun",

The Original Pano photo does not have the 'black background' must have been the software that I used to change the settings. Will look out for that next time I try it.

Attached is the original Pano

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[NordicMan]

this a very good thread. I've been trying to do HDR. But instead of having three photos of different exposures, I used the curves on one photo and made multiple copies. It didn't turn out well when I use them in Photomatix. Is that recommended? or do i need to go out and do the three photos? Any suggestion would help. Thanks.

Hi Buki,

The recommended method that gives best quality but takes most effort, is to shoot 3 or 5 exposures of each scene. I normally set my camera on the tripod, choose bracket +/-2 EV and trigger it with a remote control. Shooting panoramas then requires you to move the camera to the next position and shoot another 3 (or 5) exposures etc.

Using Photomatix and the Align photos function, I have successfully combined photos taken without tripod, using my camerabag for support.

If you have steady hands, it may be possible to handheld for the 3 shots and use Align. See attached (from Paris)

I do not recommend using the curves on the photo and use multiple copies.

Make sure you shoot in RAW, not JPG.

cheers

nm

[Buki]

this a very good thread. I've been trying to do HDR. But instead of having three photos of different exposures, I used the curves on one photo and made multiple copies. It didn't turn out well when I use them in Photomatix. Is that recommended? or do i need to go out and do the three photos? Any suggestion would help. Thanks.

Hi Buki,

The recommended method that gives best quality but takes most effort, is to shoot 3 or 5 exposures of each scene. I normally set my camera on the tripod, choose bracket +/-2 EV and trigger it with a remote control. Shooting panoramas then requires you to move the camera to the next position and shoot another 3 (or 5) exposures etc.

Using Photomatix and the Align photos function, I have successfully combined photos taken without tripod, using my camerabag for support.

If you have steady hands, it may be possible to handheld for the 3 shots and use Align. See attached (from Paris)

I do not recommend using the curves on the photo and use multiple copies.

Make sure you shoot in RAW, not JPG.

cheers

nm

Thanks. I will try to experiment this weekend. I'm fairly new to photography, so this would be a real challenge for me.

[NordicMan]

Thanks. I will try to experiment this weekend. I'm fairly new to photography, so this would be a real challenge for me.

I suggest you practice on creating panoramas and creating HDRs separately first.

Try creating HDRs of a single scene (not panoramas) first. A good subject to practice on is outdoors with sun and clouds. The dynamic range will usually be much too high for a normal photo, but with HDR you can see both the details in the clouds and the details on the ground.

You do shoot in RAW ?

cheers

nm

[Buki]

Thanks. I will try to experiment this weekend. I'm fairly new to photography, so this would be a real challenge for me.

I suggest you practice on creating panoramas and creating HDRs separately first.

Try creating HDRs of a single scene (not panoramas) first. A good subject to practice on is outdoors with sun and clouds. The dynamic range will usually be much too high for a normal photo, but with HDR you can see both the details in the clouds and the details on the ground.

You do shoot in RAW ?

cheers

nm

I don't, I usually use jpeg for my photos. I know that it's better to shoot in RAW but I still don't have the skill or the time to work with RAW on a good editing software.

btw, great photo. I do see your point on learning to do panoramic first.

[NordicMan]

I don't, I usually use jpeg for my photos. I know that it's better to shoot in RAW but I still don't have the skill or the time to work with RAW on a good editing software.

btw, great photo. I do see your point on learning to do panoramic first.

You will get significantly better HDR results with RAW than jpg. You don't need to learn anything new or put in any more time, all you need is to take the photo as raw instead of jpg. You don't need to edit or modify the raw file before you create the hdr.

If you use Photomatix to create your hdr, the operation is identical whether you use raw or jpg, only the quality of the result differs.

When you have generated the hdr, you save it as a jpg anyway.

Try it on something simple with high contrast - for example, during daytime, take an indoor shot where you can also see out through your window. The brightness outside should be much higher than that inside. If you get it to work, you should see details both indoor and outdoor.

cheers

nm

[Kan Win]

The Pano actually looks ok as a seamless stitch. What kills the image is the total lack of detail.

Have a real look at Photoshop CS3/4 - study curves, levels and shadow/highlights. Believe me, it'll pay off.

Good luck

Hi 'The Vulcan' ,

I used ACDSee Pro 2.5 for this

To all, any better ?

Yours truly,

Kan Win