13 April 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
11
Applyautotoning
This feature applies an automatic fi x
to HDRs within the HDR Merge box. It’s similar
to clicking the ‘Auto’ button in the Develop
Module’s Basic Panel. The setting is non-
destructive in that it simply alters the basic
tonal settings (usually by lifting shadows and
dropping highlights), but these settings can be
changed afterwards.Technique
8
Don’t waste time
on adjustmentsDon’t bother making adjustments to fi les
before merging, as some will be discarded
during the process. For panoramas and
HDRs, local adjustments, upright settings,
crops and spot healing won’t be carried
over. In addition, HDRs discard exposure,
shadows, highlights and contrast.
1 3
Localadjustments
Aftermergingphotosto HDR,the
resultscanlooka littleunderwhelming.
Butbymakinglocaladjustments,youcan
teaseouthiddendetails.Forexample,we
usedtheGraduatedFiltertoolto darken
andenhancea sky;wethenswitchedto
thebrush(Shift+T)anderasedpartsof
themaskthatcoveredthelandlikethis.9
Shoot panoramas around
the nodal pointWhen shooting panoramas where there
are objects close to the camera, parallax
can be a big problem as the swing of the
lens causes the misalignment of objects.
Rather than swinging, it’s best to rotate
around the nodal point of the lens. Buy
a dedicated tripod head for this.
1 2
Alignmismatched
frames
TheAuto-AlignfeaturewithintheHDR
Mergedialogboxfixessmalldiscrepancies
betweenframes,causedbynudgingthe
cameraortripod.Toanextent,evenbigger
misalignmentscanbefixed.Soit is possible
toshoothandheldHDRs– setyourcamera
tofastdrivemodeandfireofftheframes
quicklywhilebracingthecamera.10
Warp messy edges
A common problem with panoramas
is that the edges will often bulge and contract,
which means you have to crop them off for a
tidy frame. But this could result in the loss of
important details. One solution is to use the
‘Boundary Warp’ slider with the Panorama
settings. This automatically fi lls in messy edges.