39
CAMERA SKILLS
NO FILTERS? NO PROBLEM
Mimic ND grads and extend dynamic range
with HDR and image-merging techniques1
SELECT THE SETTINGS
Set the camera up on a tripod and
select standard landscape settings;
so that’s Aperture Priority, ISO100 at f/11
or f/16. It’s imperative that all settings
except shutter speed stay the same, and
distance into the scene.2
SET AUTO BRACKETING
All modern cameras offer Auto
Exposure Bracketing (AEB) that
allows you to set the number of shots and
the exposure difference between them.
The middle exposure will be the one you
set the camera to. Set AEB to three
frames, two stops apart. Use a remote
control of Self-Timer to take the shots.3
USE LIGHTROOM
Load exposures into Lightroom (or
Photoshop) and find the thumbnails
while in the Develop module. Click on the
first, hold down the Shift key and click on
the third to select all three images. Now go
to Photo>Photo Merge>HDR and a
dialogue box will appear, generating an
image preview to show the likely result.4
CHOOSE SETTINGS
When the preview generates make
sure Auto Align and Auto Settings
are ticked. The auto settings provide a
starting point only. Assess how much
movement there was and set Deghost
Amount accordingly. When Show
Deghost Overlay is ticked, it highlights
where it has taken place.5
APPLY ADJUSTMENTS
The HDR Merge window will close,
and the HDR image will be
produced, appearing in the thumbnail
bar. Apply the settings that recover the
most detail and suit your editing style.
Apply Shadows and Highlights strongly,
and boost Whites and decrease Blacks
to avoid low contrast.THERE will always be those occasions where either the dynamic
range of a scene is so large that even stacked ND grads can’t cope
with it, or you’ve simply not got any grads with you. Fear not! High
dynamic range (HDR) imagery is the perfect solution.
Take a set of three exposures that cover the correct exposure for the
foreground, then one two stops underexposed and another two stops
overexposed. These are blended together in software to reveal detail in all
parts of the scene – from the shadows all the way to the highlights.