The image to the left is my original post-processed image. I was pleased with this original rendition at first, but as I looked at it more I saw several areas to improve upon. I decided to go back in and take another look.
Priority #1 should always be to get the correct exposure out of the camera – period. Anyone that has dabbled in the dark arts of post processing has an idea of the magic you can sometimes wield. There are limits though and that is the line you walk if you depart a scene with an iffy capture. This is further complicated if that particular location; that exact moment in time had any sort of significance. These are the trials and tribulations of the ever-passionate and somewhat restless photographer I am. I’ll catch the light in a fleeting glimpse and know that there is something there that I have to capture. I’ll frame it up, take the shot, glance at the preview and histogram, and then move on to the next shiny thing that catches my eye.
Again – I fully support the concept and encourage correct exposure out of the camera, but sometimes that isn’t possible for any number of reasons. Reasons that may include the marginal one I just detailed. Sometimes the light can be extremely challenging as well. Shooting into the sun over bright snow can present its challenges. The one truth that holds true every time is that the histogram doesn’t lie. You need to know what it is telling you and what you can do with it. It provides you with all the info you need to know as the preview on your LCD screen hardly tells the full story.
I have spent a considerable amount of time pushing every button, moving sliders to their extremes, testing all the limits while going too far, and other times falling short of all that is possible in post processing. In my experience it all comes down to knowing what can be done and how long it will take and whether you want to spend that time in the field or at your PC. There are other consideration however. I was reminded earlier today of another important truth with digital photography in an advanced exposure class. You may be able to produce an image that is pleasing to the eye on-screen, but printing it can be a very different story.
The following imagery is the journey of the Sleepy Hallow Road photo I shot on January 18th and the different processes I applied to produce three more images in addition to the one above.
Here is the RAW file straight out of the camera. You can see by the histogram that the image in underexposed. It’s always been my experience, that if you are going to error one way or the other – underexposed you can work with; overexposed is almost impossible to recover from depending on the severity.
A few adjustment made in Lightroom to begin. No longer black with no detail. This is also the iteration I chose to begin to replicate bracketed exposures to use in HDR.
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I barely took sufficient time to capture the scene, I certainly didn’t take the time to set up the tripod and bracket the exposure the right way. Right, wrong, or otherwise – I fabricate the bracketed exposures in Lightroom for HDR from time to time. I think this works well if you don’t have bracketed exposures to begin with.
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+2
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Most often when working with HDR I will use 3 or 5 exposures; sometimes 7; it all depends on the exposure and where the detail is at and how far you have to go to pull it out. I use both PhotoMatix and HDR Efex Pro for combining the exposures depending on the result I am looking for.
The first HDR version was done in PhotoMatix and corrected further in Silver Effects Pro to correct the sky in the upper right and pop some other features.
HDR 1
PhotoMatix
Final after Silver Effects Pro
The second HDR version was done in PhotoMatix and further corrected further in Viveza to correct the sky in the upper right, pop the detail on the moss on the trees on the left, detail and shadows on the road, and saturate the brush middle right.
HDR 2
PhotoMatix
Final after Viveza
The third HDR version was done in HDR Efex Pro and finished exactly the same as the previous version.
HD3
HDR Efex Pro
Final after Viveza
It I have to pick a favorite here it would be between HDR 1 & 2. All three have qualities that I enjoy, but I love black and white photos. HDR1 will most likely be the one committed to paper.
Some things are possible with post processing, but don’t rely on the wiles of software to save you when it counts. Put the time in and do it right. I now need to take my own advice and concentrate more afield. Photography, like life in general, is a learning experience. The more you venture out and reach for all that is possible, the more you will understand and continue to grow.
