HDR Files - Saving

SciurusNiger

I decided to mess around with HDR a bit and wondered how to save them for viewing in places like, for example, right here? I ended up reducing the image to 16-bit and saving it as a PNG (the only all-'round viewable option; the original is HERE.). Is that correct?





I've used the D2Xs' in-camera image merge many times and took the same photograph with it (original of this one is HERE):



Slightly different post-processing on the JPG (more CS2 options make it easier to adjust shadows, etc.) but I guess my question boils down to this: just what does HDR buy me? I used a wide range of f-stops for both (9, 13, & 18) and can end up with what looks like (on the monitor) essentially the same photograph.

Thanks!

PJ.

kdog

To answer your first question, for viewing on the web, you can save finished HDRs as regular JPG files.

As to what does an HDR buy you, it buys you increased dynamic range. That can be leveraged in different ways to either balance extremes of lighting in a scene, or to add micro-contrast details to give special effects.

I take lots of HDRs, because I like the way they turn out. Here are links to a couple of random shots of mine that I feel demonstrate the point.

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/az_landscape/IMG_2115_6_7.jpg

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/dgrin_moab/IMG_9629_30_31_32_33.jpg

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/dgrin_moab/IMG_1105_6_7.jpg

Bottom line is that there are many ways to take pictures. HDR is just another tool that you may choose to utilize if you like the effects that it can give you.

Cheers,
-joel

SciurusNiger

kdog wrote:

To answer your first question, for viewing on the web, you can save finished HDRs as regular JPG files.

...snipped....

Cheers,
-joel

Thanks, Joel. How exactly do I do that when CS2 only gives me the option for Photoshop (.PSD), Large Document Format (.PSB), OpenEXR (.EXR), Portable Bitmap (.PBM), Radiance (.HDR), or TIFF? The processing options for HDR are so simplified, I think I'm missing something.

And your landscapes are terrific! It makes the reason to use HDR much more clear. Thanks!

kdog

Yeah, the JPG thing is a little odd, but simple. You have to convert the image to 8-bit first. Image->Mode->"8-Bit". Then magically, the JPG option will appear in the save menu.

Thanks for the kind words on my images. Just between you and me, HDR opened up a new world for me.

Here are a couple more.

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/dgrin_moab/IMG_1123_4_5.jpg

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/dgrin_moab/IMG_9757_8_9.jpg

http://www.jacara.com/cpg144/albums/dgrin_moab/IMG_0992_3_4.jpg

In many of my images, the effect is pretty subtle. I typically don't even mention that they're HDRs when I post them.

Have fun!
-joel