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HDR and Photomatix

D

dick

New member
It seems that the last discussion on Photomatix ended three years ago and all the photos have gone....

and I think it was then a waste of time and effort.

has anything changed?

Is it possible to produce a good photo without the "HDR look"?
 
Last edited:
D

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

dick said:
It seems that the last discussion on Photomatrix ended three years ago and all the photos have gone....

and I think it was then a waste of time and effort.

has anything changed?

Is it possible to produce a good photo without the "HDR look"?
Click to expand...
Yes and you don't even have to have multiple files or leave raw. Assuming:
- you're using a camera with good dynamic range and low noise
- you're using Capture One :)

Capture One HDR

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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C

coulombic

New member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

dougpetersonci said:
Yes and you don't even have to have multiple files or leave raw. Assuming:
- you're using a camera with good dynamic range and low noise
- you're using Capture One :)

Capture One HDR

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
__________________

Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One Partner of the Year
Leaf, Leica, Cambo, Arca Swiss, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Broncolor, Eizo & More

National: 877.217.9870 *| *Cell: 740.707.2183
Newsletter | RSS Feed
Buy Capture One 6 at 10% off
Click to expand...
I haven't used Photomatix since 2009~ish, but last I checked, it was still about the same. The files it produced still had an ethereal "semi-translucent white film laid atop the scene" feeling which I don't really like. By the same, the local contrast felt all messed up, too. So, for my purposes, I didn't really see it as a viable option for dynamic range enhancement.

The way I see it, if you're going to bracket the scene, just do exposure-blending in Photoshop via layers. You'll turn out with a natural-looking image with highlights/shadows preserved.

Capture One, as Doug mentioned, does very well with extracting DR from the RAW files, however.
 
P

Professional

Active member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

I use Photomatix since 2006, and i still using it and got really nice results, i can have those overdone fake or cartoonish look, but i am able to have good naturally look results that HDR should be used for.
 
C

coulombic

New member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

Professional said:
I use Photomatix since 2006, and i still using it and got really nice results, i can have those overdone fake or cartoonish look, but i am able to have good naturally look results that HDR should be used for.
Click to expand...
Can you post an example of a natural-looking image you used Photomatix to create?
 
P

Professional

Active member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

dick said:
Thanks, Tareq - these are much better that any other HDR images I have seen.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much, but i feel they are not good enough as you and others would like to see or have, so i will keep trying to get better HDR more and more i hope.
 
ustein

ustein

Contributing Editor
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

What are we talking about? HDR or Photomatix HDR?

HDR





HDR with Photomatix





HDR Grunge for artistic reasons

 
J

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

coulombic said:
Can you post an example of a natural-looking image you used Photomatix to create?
Click to expand...
This was created from six exposures two stops apart in Photomatix:



It could be cleared up a little further, but it's not bad for a starting point.
 
ustein

ustein

Contributing Editor
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

>but it's not bad for a starting point.

Quite nice.

Talking about the "HDR Look" is kind of a misconception. The look is mainly created by certain processing and can also be produced using a single image.
 
B

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

I found photomatix to look very 'HDR' indeed and not to be that powerful with problem images. I recently bought SNS-HDR and it's incredible at outputting very natural looking images that do not look 'HDR', it's also very very good at what it does though slow. Give it a try!
 
P

Professional

Active member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

I use Photomatix most, but i tried few of another softwares, and i like Dynamic Photo, it gives a more natural looking over Photomatix and do a great HDR as well, but most of the time i do HDR for people who like that unrealistic results, most of the time i don't need to use HDR but my original shots are good enough to tweak/workflow.
 
G

gurtch

Well-known member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

coulombic said:
I haven't used Photomatix since 2009~ish, but last I checked, it was still about the same. The files it produced still had an ethereal "semi-translucent white film laid atop the scene" feeling which I don't really like. By the same, the local contrast felt all messed up, too. So, for my purposes, I didn't really see it as a viable option for dynamic range enhancement.

The way I see it, if you're going to bracket the scene, just do exposure-blending in Photoshop via layers. You'll turn out with a natural-looking image with highlights/shadows preserved.

Capture One, as Doug mentioned, does very well with extracting DR from the RAW files, however.
Click to expand...
Can you refer me to instructions as to exposure blending via layers in CS5? I am very intereste in trying it...my initial HDR trials were less than ideal.:mad::confused:
Thanks
Dave
 
C

coulombic

New member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

gurtch said:
Can you refer me to instructions as to exposure blending via layers in CS5? I am very intereste in trying it...my initial HDR trials were less than ideal.:mad::confused:
Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...
There are several different methods of creating high dynamic range images in CS5. There's the Automate, "HDR" function, but having tried it only a couple of times, I can't say I've ever managed to get a decent image with this method.

Next, there's the layer mask method of which I spoke before. Once you understand this process, it's pretty easy to create very natural-looking "HDR" images. I'm not much a fan of creating lengthy Photoshop tutorials, but I did find a link that, if you're not familiar with layers and masks, should point you in the right direction. If you have questions after this, feel free to post them or PM me.

http://www.tutorialized.com/view/tu...toshop-Creating-and-editing-layer-masks/66901

And, well, with respect to the images posted, I stand by my original statements. Perhaps 1-2 of them actually embody a "natural" feeling, while most all of the others have either crazy local contrast "halos" or diminished contrast with an "ethereal" feeling. The way I see it, Photomatix HDR is the modern day equivalent of the kitschy '70s velvet paintings.

To each his/her own, though.
 
P

Professional

Active member
Re: HDR and Photomatrix

Graham Mitchell said:
As usual, people seem to be confused about what HDR means. A true High Dynamic Range image just looks very dull and grey. Photomatix (n.b. not 'Photomatrix') is tone-mapping software. The look that some people call the "HDR look" is actually the "tone mapped look".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_mapping
Click to expand...
Non HDR normal shot:


HDR with tonemapping by Photomatix shot:


Any thoughts???
 
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