RAW and HDR Class Notes
RAW and HDR Processing
by John Ross The Art of Retouching Studio http://www.TheArtofRetouching.com
Introduction This section discusses some advanced concepts behind Camera Raw, as well as the power of HDR processing. For what it’s worth, I do not use HDR to create wildly artistic imagery. I use HDR Software to open up the Tonal Range, and fill in certain areas with masking. HDR allows you to use at least three versions of your photo, taken at different exposures (overexposed, underexposed, and normal exposure), in order to add more “dynamic range” to your image and make it look better. This technique is called “Exposure Bracketing”. We will into detail about the various techniques inside Photoshop and Camera Raw when it comes to dynamic range, and also touching on the various other third-party software in the market today for HDR Processing.
RAW Processing Various Software - There are a lot of raw processors in the market, but it all depends on your need and budget. There are free options like Raw Therapee and GIMP. You can also get Apple’s Aperture for a price. However, in our experience, we’ve had some issues with cataloging images to our liking, so Aperture has simply become outdated. CaptureOne is also good for its professional features and usability. If you’re looking to catalogue images and apply more advanced techniques, go with Adobe Lightroom. It lets you do corrections and adjustments to raw images individually or as batches. Its main advantage is its ability to catalogue images into folders along with metadata and other comments for archiving. You can also export all your photos out at the same time after you’ve made your changes. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - Camera Raw is the built-in raw processor in Photoshop. Simply drag and drop an image into Photoshop and it automatically opens up in Camera Raw. You can then adjust your sliders according to your preferences, mainly for global adjustments throughout your whole image. The most important advantage of Camera Raw is that it allows you to easily and seamlessly edit your photos by jumping back and forth between Photoshop and your RAW processor. Because Camera Raw is integrated with Photoshop, you can use Smart Objects and make your alterations on the raw file and then jump back into Photoshop in a more streamlined workflow. v. 1
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Exposure - When you adjust sliders in Camera Raw, pressing the “U” key will show you the underexposed clipping in your image. On the other hand, pressing “O” shows you the overexposed areas. You can also achieve the same by holding down the Alt key and adjusting the sliders to see which areas are overexposed and underexposed.
Histogram Spikes - The histogram has Black Tones on the left, and White Tones on the right. When the little triangles at the top are Black, then all is well, no spiking. When there is a White triangle, it means there is a Total Spike in the Black or White Tones (left and right sides). When there is a Color Spike, then it means that specific color is spiking. In the top example, it is Red, so the Red Channel is blowing out in the Whiles. In the lower example, Magenta is spiking in the Whites, so it is the Magenta Channel that is blowing out.
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Below your image in Camera Raw, you will see a line of blue text that tells you specific details about your picture. Clicking on this blue text opens up the “Workflow Options” dialog box. Check the tickbox that says “Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects”. Once you click OK, the “Open Image” button changes into the “Open Object” button by default.
Open as Object - By default, ACR will open images in Photoshop as, well, images. But if you hold down the SHIFT key, the “Open Image” button will change into the “Open Object” button. Clicking on this new button opens up your raw file into Photoshop, where you’ll see in your image layer an icon that tells you your image is now a Smart Object. This will allow you to jump back into the Raw Processor at a later point in time. Inside Photoshop, you now have a Smart Object as a layer. When you double-click on the layer, it’s going to open up the original raw image again in Camera Raw. On your Smart Object, you can also apply Smart Filters. Smart Objects and Smart Filters will give you the ability to go back and forth between ACR and your Filters, without permanently damaging your photo. This is one way you can achieve a Non-Destructive Workflow.
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Camera Raw Preferences - Under Edit – Preferences – Camera Raw Preferences, you can set up JPEG and TIFF handling. You may choose “Automatically open all supported JPEGs” so that when you open up a JPEG image in Photoshop it opens it up in Camera Raw for your initial global changes. It’s also possible to choose “Automatically open all supported TIFFs”. These maybe preferable because Camera Raw gives you that functionality of going back to your original image in Camera Raw. If you prefer not to work this way (I do not), you can choose to use the Camera Raw Filter instead. It will give you all the same features. There is no commitment either way, just 2 different ways to the same end goal.
Local Adjustments - Another powerful tool within Camera Raw is the efficiency of Local Adjustments. You can easily isolate a specific area of your image without bothering the rest of your picture. Simply pick up the adjustment brush and paint a mask over an area of your photo. You can then make adjustments without affecting the other parts of your image. After applying the mask, you can adjust the sliders in your palette to your liking. Looking at your palette, you can see that you can Add to your existing mask or Erase it. Simply click on that pin that appeared after applying your mask and click “Add” or “Erase” in case you made a mistake with your mask. You can always see the actual mask that you’ve created by ticking the “Show Mask” box in your palette. Then, to move on to a new area, simply click “New” on your palette and apply another mask.
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Save and Load Settings Let’s say you had already did ACR corrections on an image, and now you need to do the same thing, to a similar image. While you could open one, write down the settings, open the other, and then type in the previous settings. There is an easier way though. Click on the side pullout menu, and Save Settings. this will allow you to save all the settings from the image. You can now open up the second image, and this time, Load Settings. While this seems like a huge time saver, I just hope you don’t have any local Adjustments that you want to save too. They do not seem to work. Neither will Cloning. I mean, it makes sense, kinda. My problem was, I needed to apply ALL the settings, but only certain ones are saved. So, while this is better than nothing, it wasn’t perfect. For me, it just cause me extra work, not being able to save out the Local Adjustments.
WaterMarking in ACR Let’s say you want to include a Copyright Watermark on your image, before Importing the Image into Photoshop, or Saving to a JPG or something. Well, you can’t. The powers that be have decided you need to pay for Lightroom instead. So, you will either need to do that, or go into a parallel universe, and use thier Camera Raw. Because yours won’t do it. I’m not trying to be mean. But someone at Adobe is just laughing their head off right now. And really, it’s not funny. ACR should have Watermarks. Seriously.
Blowing Up in ACR or Photoshop? Use ACR when possible. It just makes sense that you blow up like 200% based on RAW information, rather than in Photoshop based on pixel information. For those worried, don’t be. Photoshop blowing up has come a long way, and does a very nice job. Either way is fine, really. v. 1
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HDR Processing The concept behind High Dynamic Range imagery is to take the same picture with multiple exposures. Generally, you would have 3-5 images with 1 F-Stop Exposure difference. They will then combine the different exposures in various ways, to get more detail out of the highlights and the shadows. In a perfect world, you will have used a tripod and the lowest ISO with many exposure brackets. It is also recommended to turn of Auto Focus and Image Stabilization, as these can affect the results. As software has advanced, they have created work-a rounds to expand the dynamic range of single images, creating much more detail than ever before. For what it’s worth, in my own world, I usually use a single exposure, and run it through HDR software a few times, and manually composite in Photoshop. but, that’s getting ahead of myself. HDR Software uses 32-Bit, which is often referred to as Beyond RGB. They try to eek out every last bit of detail, before sending it back to Photoshop as 8-bit or 16-bit. Remember that when you’re working with HDR and evaluating your results, try to focus on the problem areas and not on the whole image. For example, if you are fixing exposure under a table, do not worry about what’s outside a window. It can all be masked out in Photoshop. Your purpose should be to fix lost information in your images, so always experiment with different settings. Various Software - There are several different programs in the HDR space. When it came to Raw, it really didn’t matter which one you picked, they were all mostly the same. HDR, however, is a very different beast. If you want to use HDR effectively, you simply need to own two or three of them. The reason is that each program will give you wildly different results. It’s up to you to try each one, every single time, and choose the image you like. It seems silly, but when I need to use HDR Software, I kinda cringe at the project. I may get what I want the first time, and sometimes I am trying them all, to see which one I like best, when merged with the final file. Photomatix - The most popular is easily Photomatix. However, I did not like versions before v5. I just though the results were not what I was looking for. After v5, it’s become my favorite. Dynamic HDR - I used to really like the results, but somewhere along the way, I just find it too forced. While it’s not a bad program, I just really find the small window claustrophobic. It could be a better program in coming versions I think. Nik Effex - Owned by Google, this one is very stylized. Nothing really negative to say, just that it takes the right image to render the right results. Expose - This is easily my least favorite. They advertise quite a bit, I just don’t usually care for what it comes up with. Given the option, I usually only try this is in a worst case. Photoshop’s HDR Pro - I don’t think I’ve ever seen an image I have actually liked coming out of this. In fact, when I teach this part, students will often agree that the RAW image is better than the HDR counterpart. So, um, yeah... I’m not a fan.
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In this example, two different programs gave me two completely different results. When I actually use HDR Software, I am usually making multiple passes. I will go for Highlights, and then again for Shadows. In this example, I am trying to pull out as much detail as possible from the background. This is generally interesting, as the left example has plenty of detail in the water, but very little on the top. The second image on the right has the exact opposite issue. Strangely, the best overall version I came up with, was a black and white variant. We will talk about this again in a little bit, but this is how I sometimes pull out super details, and apply it in mask for a Curves Adjustment. One of the worst ones I came up with, was one that was too light in the highlights, and too dark in the shadows. I point this out, because at the time, it didn’t look all that bad. It wasn’t until I brought them all together afterwards, that I was able to compare what I created.
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Now that you have had a chance to see what I come up with, let’s try and a apply it. While bracketed exposures is great, the images that come across my desk are usually single shots. This often means someone is moving in the scene, or it was otherwise just a normal shot as the photographer was moving. HDR was not a thought at the time. I simply have an area that is either too dark, or too light, and I want to take it an extra step in hopes of fixing it.
Using Camera Raw to Create HDR for single images If you have just a single image that you can’t play around with too much, you can recreate your photo to make multiple exposures and do double processing. Open up your image in Camera Raw. In the Exposure slider, set a value of +1, and save your raw file. Set a value of +2 for the Exposure and save it as another raw file. Do the same for an exposure value of -1 and -2, so that you now have four different exposures of the same image (plus a 5th one, of normal exposure).
You can do the same when inside Photoshop. Go to the Exposure palette and adjust the values to +1, +2, -1, and -2. This way is pixel-based in case you have a JPEG file. But given the choice, I would rather do it in Camera Raw, as multiple layers combined into a single document. In either case, once you have multiple exposures, and have them saved out, you can open them all up in the HDR Program of choice, and see what you get.
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HDR Toning in Photoshop for single images Another trick when you have just a single image to work with is to go inside Photoshop and select Image – Adjustments – HDR Toning. Set the values similar to this example. What we’ve done, is taken the detail in this image and cranked up the contrast as well as grayed out the picture, so as to create a Tone Map. Click OK, and Photoshop will create this HDR image where we just want to have the most detail as possible. Once done, drag and drop this image onto your original file, so that it now appears as a layer on top of your raw file.
Set the layer as an “Overlay” (or similar) so that Photoshop blends the two pictures together. You can also adjust the opacity of your layer until you find what works for you. Every image is different. Experiment. Another way to use this Tone Map, is to mask out sections of it, so only some of it gets seen.
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Various HDR Processors HDR processors are all different because of the way their algorithms work. Photomatix is the de facto industry standard. We also recommend NIK and Dynamic HDR. Each one handles images differently, whether stylized and artistic or very realistic. Not each software works on every photo either, so it’s important to define your style and your goal when choosing your HDR software.
Beyond RGB Color, basically just uses a higher resolution to get more detail out of your photo. These programs often use 32-bit when doing calculations, but then save down to 16-bit for use in Photoshop. Two reasons is that layers and 32-bit was way to slow to use in real time, and half of Photoshop does not even support 32-Bit images. As you can see, most of Photoshop either dooesn’t work, or options are simply greyed out. Inside Photomatix, open up your multiple photos using “Load Bracketed Photos”. This will show you your images along with their exposure values, which you can edit and organize better. Make sure to check the values as Photomatix might read it wrong. Once the images load, you can see on the right the different effects that Photomatix makes, and you have the option of adjusting your values to the right.
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NIK HDR EFEX PRO can sometimes give a better result than Photomatix. Let’s open up the same images we created. Inside, HDR EFEX PRO will create its combinations and you can choose which one best suits your style.
Manual HDR We now have a bunch of loose images that we ran through the Raw Processor, and HDR Software. Now what do we do with all this? Alright, let me try and sort this all out for you. At a base minimum, you have the following images available to you.
The right image is the Raw file as it best comes out of ACR. The right image was from one of the HDR Programs. My only goal is something that fills in the blownout background by the window. v. 1
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Drag and Drop the Tone Mapped file onto the base image. Hide the Tone Map layer, and select the base layer. Use Color Range to select the Blown Out White areas. Click OK. Follow up with Select - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. You can experiemwnt with the pixels for expanding and feathering. It will depend on the size of the image, and effect you are going for. At first, it will look very, very wrong. Your task now is to fix it by adjusting the Tone
Mapped Layer’s Opacity, as well as adjusting the mask. I will often start with a soft round brush, with a brush opacity of only 20%. I will start softening the edges, and removing areas that do not need the effect of it. After a few minutes, you will usually start to see a more balanced image. Do what you can, and don’t get crazy. You are trying for a realistic effect. Pull back on the areas that aren’t working.
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Double Processing - Lights, Darks, and Midtones Let’s run though this again, with one that is a little more complex. However you get there (ACR or HDR), you will be creating 3 layers. A base one, as naturally balanced as you can in ACR. Above that, place one that is over exposed, and one that is under exposed. Best reults with -2 and +2 exposure. Adjusting Shadows and Highlights slider can also help get the results you like. Even when I have bracketing out of the camera, I often just use one anyway. Otherwise, I am dealing with camera shake, camera moves, and other problems. Turn off the dark and light layers, and just select the base one. Use Color Range to select the blown out whites and general highlight areas. Follow up with Selcet - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. Select the uner exposed layer and apply the selection as a mask. You will now see all the areas that used to be blown out, now have some detail put back into them. Once again, hide the top 2layers, and select the base layer. Use color Range again, but this time, select the blacks, and shadow areas. Follow up with Selcet - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. Apply this mask to the over exposed layer.
At first, this will look very strange. Turn off one of the layers. I usually start by working on the blown out areas. Take a brush of 20% opacity, and begin painting on the mask. Blend in areas by adding and removing the tones in the mask. Follow by doing the other layer’s mask.
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It should only take like 5 minutes to put all kinds of detail back into the image. Once you get a baseline image that you like, you have two choices. You can either start using Adjustment Layers on top to ajdust color and contrast, or you combine all 3 layers into a Smart Object, and use Camera Raw Filter to adjust this, as if it came out of the camera this way.
32-Bit Processing in Adobe Camera Raw This section would not be complete if I don’t mention it, but similar to Content Aware, I just don’t always like the results. But let’s just give it a pass over, so I can say that we covered it. Sometimes It can work just fine. But like all other HDR method’s, it becaise a bit of hit or miss. Photoshop’s HDR Pro can not use Raw Files or Smart Objects. It’s can’t even work without saving flattened files to the computer. Right away, we are starting at a disadvantage. At the very least, be sure to save the files as 16-Bit. Go to File - Automate - Merge to HDR Pro and select the files you want to use. Either load from file, Load from Open Files.
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After it puts the images together, Select the Mode of 32-Bit, and Remove Ghosts if you want. The key here is to check the box at the bottom that says “Complete Toning in Adobe Camera Raw”. Finish by pushing “Tone in ACR”. It will then open the image in ACR. You can now move around the sliders, possibly with greater flexibility. Make sur eyou get it the way you like it, because it will only open the file as a flattened background layer. So, you only get one shot at it, no Smart Objects allowed. Once back into Photoshop, you will notice you are in 32-Bit Mode. This means most of Photoshop’s functionality will be broken. We need to change this by using Image - Mode - 16-Bit. This will open up HDR Toning Window. This will give you one more chance to adjust the image before finalizing the HDR Process. When you are back in regular 16-Bit Photoshop, you have a choice. Either the results were poor, in which case you need to try a different method. If it does work, you can covert to a Smart Object, and use Camera Raw Filter to further adjust the color and tone. As I said, it’s hit or miss. This image works out pretty well with this way, but I have another that looks so much worse than just using ACR alone. Your milage will vary.
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by John Ross The Art of Retouching Studio http://www.TheArtofRetouching.com
Introduction This section discusses some advanced concepts behind Camera Raw, as well as the power of HDR processing. For what it’s worth, I do not use HDR to create wildly artistic imagery. I use HDR Software to open up the Tonal Range, and fill in certain areas with masking. HDR allows you to use at least three versions of your photo, taken at different exposures (overexposed, underexposed, and normal exposure), in order to add more “dynamic range” to your image and make it look better. This technique is called “Exposure Bracketing”. We will into detail about the various techniques inside Photoshop and Camera Raw when it comes to dynamic range, and also touching on the various other third-party software in the market today for HDR Processing.
RAW Processing Various Software - There are a lot of raw processors in the market, but it all depends on your need and budget. There are free options like Raw Therapee and GIMP. You can also get Apple’s Aperture for a price. However, in our experience, we’ve had some issues with cataloging images to our liking, so Aperture has simply become outdated. CaptureOne is also good for its professional features and usability. If you’re looking to catalogue images and apply more advanced techniques, go with Adobe Lightroom. It lets you do corrections and adjustments to raw images individually or as batches. Its main advantage is its ability to catalogue images into folders along with metadata and other comments for archiving. You can also export all your photos out at the same time after you’ve made your changes. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - Camera Raw is the built-in raw processor in Photoshop. Simply drag and drop an image into Photoshop and it automatically opens up in Camera Raw. You can then adjust your sliders according to your preferences, mainly for global adjustments throughout your whole image. The most important advantage of Camera Raw is that it allows you to easily and seamlessly edit your photos by jumping back and forth between Photoshop and your RAW processor. Because Camera Raw is integrated with Photoshop, you can use Smart Objects and make your alterations on the raw file and then jump back into Photoshop in a more streamlined workflow. v. 1
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Exposure - When you adjust sliders in Camera Raw, pressing the “U” key will show you the underexposed clipping in your image. On the other hand, pressing “O” shows you the overexposed areas. You can also achieve the same by holding down the Alt key and adjusting the sliders to see which areas are overexposed and underexposed.
Histogram Spikes - The histogram has Black Tones on the left, and White Tones on the right. When the little triangles at the top are Black, then all is well, no spiking. When there is a White triangle, it means there is a Total Spike in the Black or White Tones (left and right sides). When there is a Color Spike, then it means that specific color is spiking. In the top example, it is Red, so the Red Channel is blowing out in the Whiles. In the lower example, Magenta is spiking in the Whites, so it is the Magenta Channel that is blowing out.
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Below your image in Camera Raw, you will see a line of blue text that tells you specific details about your picture. Clicking on this blue text opens up the “Workflow Options” dialog box. Check the tickbox that says “Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects”. Once you click OK, the “Open Image” button changes into the “Open Object” button by default.
Open as Object - By default, ACR will open images in Photoshop as, well, images. But if you hold down the SHIFT key, the “Open Image” button will change into the “Open Object” button. Clicking on this new button opens up your raw file into Photoshop, where you’ll see in your image layer an icon that tells you your image is now a Smart Object. This will allow you to jump back into the Raw Processor at a later point in time. Inside Photoshop, you now have a Smart Object as a layer. When you double-click on the layer, it’s going to open up the original raw image again in Camera Raw. On your Smart Object, you can also apply Smart Filters. Smart Objects and Smart Filters will give you the ability to go back and forth between ACR and your Filters, without permanently damaging your photo. This is one way you can achieve a Non-Destructive Workflow.
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Camera Raw Preferences - Under Edit – Preferences – Camera Raw Preferences, you can set up JPEG and TIFF handling. You may choose “Automatically open all supported JPEGs” so that when you open up a JPEG image in Photoshop it opens it up in Camera Raw for your initial global changes. It’s also possible to choose “Automatically open all supported TIFFs”. These maybe preferable because Camera Raw gives you that functionality of going back to your original image in Camera Raw. If you prefer not to work this way (I do not), you can choose to use the Camera Raw Filter instead. It will give you all the same features. There is no commitment either way, just 2 different ways to the same end goal.
Local Adjustments - Another powerful tool within Camera Raw is the efficiency of Local Adjustments. You can easily isolate a specific area of your image without bothering the rest of your picture. Simply pick up the adjustment brush and paint a mask over an area of your photo. You can then make adjustments without affecting the other parts of your image. After applying the mask, you can adjust the sliders in your palette to your liking. Looking at your palette, you can see that you can Add to your existing mask or Erase it. Simply click on that pin that appeared after applying your mask and click “Add” or “Erase” in case you made a mistake with your mask. You can always see the actual mask that you’ve created by ticking the “Show Mask” box in your palette. Then, to move on to a new area, simply click “New” on your palette and apply another mask.
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Save and Load Settings Let’s say you had already did ACR corrections on an image, and now you need to do the same thing, to a similar image. While you could open one, write down the settings, open the other, and then type in the previous settings. There is an easier way though. Click on the side pullout menu, and Save Settings. this will allow you to save all the settings from the image. You can now open up the second image, and this time, Load Settings. While this seems like a huge time saver, I just hope you don’t have any local Adjustments that you want to save too. They do not seem to work. Neither will Cloning. I mean, it makes sense, kinda. My problem was, I needed to apply ALL the settings, but only certain ones are saved. So, while this is better than nothing, it wasn’t perfect. For me, it just cause me extra work, not being able to save out the Local Adjustments.
WaterMarking in ACR Let’s say you want to include a Copyright Watermark on your image, before Importing the Image into Photoshop, or Saving to a JPG or something. Well, you can’t. The powers that be have decided you need to pay for Lightroom instead. So, you will either need to do that, or go into a parallel universe, and use thier Camera Raw. Because yours won’t do it. I’m not trying to be mean. But someone at Adobe is just laughing their head off right now. And really, it’s not funny. ACR should have Watermarks. Seriously.
Blowing Up in ACR or Photoshop? Use ACR when possible. It just makes sense that you blow up like 200% based on RAW information, rather than in Photoshop based on pixel information. For those worried, don’t be. Photoshop blowing up has come a long way, and does a very nice job. Either way is fine, really. v. 1
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HDR Processing The concept behind High Dynamic Range imagery is to take the same picture with multiple exposures. Generally, you would have 3-5 images with 1 F-Stop Exposure difference. They will then combine the different exposures in various ways, to get more detail out of the highlights and the shadows. In a perfect world, you will have used a tripod and the lowest ISO with many exposure brackets. It is also recommended to turn of Auto Focus and Image Stabilization, as these can affect the results. As software has advanced, they have created work-a rounds to expand the dynamic range of single images, creating much more detail than ever before. For what it’s worth, in my own world, I usually use a single exposure, and run it through HDR software a few times, and manually composite in Photoshop. but, that’s getting ahead of myself. HDR Software uses 32-Bit, which is often referred to as Beyond RGB. They try to eek out every last bit of detail, before sending it back to Photoshop as 8-bit or 16-bit. Remember that when you’re working with HDR and evaluating your results, try to focus on the problem areas and not on the whole image. For example, if you are fixing exposure under a table, do not worry about what’s outside a window. It can all be masked out in Photoshop. Your purpose should be to fix lost information in your images, so always experiment with different settings. Various Software - There are several different programs in the HDR space. When it came to Raw, it really didn’t matter which one you picked, they were all mostly the same. HDR, however, is a very different beast. If you want to use HDR effectively, you simply need to own two or three of them. The reason is that each program will give you wildly different results. It’s up to you to try each one, every single time, and choose the image you like. It seems silly, but when I need to use HDR Software, I kinda cringe at the project. I may get what I want the first time, and sometimes I am trying them all, to see which one I like best, when merged with the final file. Photomatix - The most popular is easily Photomatix. However, I did not like versions before v5. I just though the results were not what I was looking for. After v5, it’s become my favorite. Dynamic HDR - I used to really like the results, but somewhere along the way, I just find it too forced. While it’s not a bad program, I just really find the small window claustrophobic. It could be a better program in coming versions I think. Nik Effex - Owned by Google, this one is very stylized. Nothing really negative to say, just that it takes the right image to render the right results. Expose - This is easily my least favorite. They advertise quite a bit, I just don’t usually care for what it comes up with. Given the option, I usually only try this is in a worst case. Photoshop’s HDR Pro - I don’t think I’ve ever seen an image I have actually liked coming out of this. In fact, when I teach this part, students will often agree that the RAW image is better than the HDR counterpart. So, um, yeah... I’m not a fan.
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In this example, two different programs gave me two completely different results. When I actually use HDR Software, I am usually making multiple passes. I will go for Highlights, and then again for Shadows. In this example, I am trying to pull out as much detail as possible from the background. This is generally interesting, as the left example has plenty of detail in the water, but very little on the top. The second image on the right has the exact opposite issue. Strangely, the best overall version I came up with, was a black and white variant. We will talk about this again in a little bit, but this is how I sometimes pull out super details, and apply it in mask for a Curves Adjustment. One of the worst ones I came up with, was one that was too light in the highlights, and too dark in the shadows. I point this out, because at the time, it didn’t look all that bad. It wasn’t until I brought them all together afterwards, that I was able to compare what I created.
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Now that you have had a chance to see what I come up with, let’s try and a apply it. While bracketed exposures is great, the images that come across my desk are usually single shots. This often means someone is moving in the scene, or it was otherwise just a normal shot as the photographer was moving. HDR was not a thought at the time. I simply have an area that is either too dark, or too light, and I want to take it an extra step in hopes of fixing it.
Using Camera Raw to Create HDR for single images If you have just a single image that you can’t play around with too much, you can recreate your photo to make multiple exposures and do double processing. Open up your image in Camera Raw. In the Exposure slider, set a value of +1, and save your raw file. Set a value of +2 for the Exposure and save it as another raw file. Do the same for an exposure value of -1 and -2, so that you now have four different exposures of the same image (plus a 5th one, of normal exposure).
You can do the same when inside Photoshop. Go to the Exposure palette and adjust the values to +1, +2, -1, and -2. This way is pixel-based in case you have a JPEG file. But given the choice, I would rather do it in Camera Raw, as multiple layers combined into a single document. In either case, once you have multiple exposures, and have them saved out, you can open them all up in the HDR Program of choice, and see what you get.
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HDR Toning in Photoshop for single images Another trick when you have just a single image to work with is to go inside Photoshop and select Image – Adjustments – HDR Toning. Set the values similar to this example. What we’ve done, is taken the detail in this image and cranked up the contrast as well as grayed out the picture, so as to create a Tone Map. Click OK, and Photoshop will create this HDR image where we just want to have the most detail as possible. Once done, drag and drop this image onto your original file, so that it now appears as a layer on top of your raw file.
Set the layer as an “Overlay” (or similar) so that Photoshop blends the two pictures together. You can also adjust the opacity of your layer until you find what works for you. Every image is different. Experiment. Another way to use this Tone Map, is to mask out sections of it, so only some of it gets seen.
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Various HDR Processors HDR processors are all different because of the way their algorithms work. Photomatix is the de facto industry standard. We also recommend NIK and Dynamic HDR. Each one handles images differently, whether stylized and artistic or very realistic. Not each software works on every photo either, so it’s important to define your style and your goal when choosing your HDR software.
Beyond RGB Color, basically just uses a higher resolution to get more detail out of your photo. These programs often use 32-bit when doing calculations, but then save down to 16-bit for use in Photoshop. Two reasons is that layers and 32-bit was way to slow to use in real time, and half of Photoshop does not even support 32-Bit images. As you can see, most of Photoshop either dooesn’t work, or options are simply greyed out. Inside Photomatix, open up your multiple photos using “Load Bracketed Photos”. This will show you your images along with their exposure values, which you can edit and organize better. Make sure to check the values as Photomatix might read it wrong. Once the images load, you can see on the right the different effects that Photomatix makes, and you have the option of adjusting your values to the right.
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NIK HDR EFEX PRO can sometimes give a better result than Photomatix. Let’s open up the same images we created. Inside, HDR EFEX PRO will create its combinations and you can choose which one best suits your style.
Manual HDR We now have a bunch of loose images that we ran through the Raw Processor, and HDR Software. Now what do we do with all this? Alright, let me try and sort this all out for you. At a base minimum, you have the following images available to you.
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Drag and Drop the Tone Mapped file onto the base image. Hide the Tone Map layer, and select the base layer. Use Color Range to select the Blown Out White areas. Click OK. Follow up with Select - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. You can experiemwnt with the pixels for expanding and feathering. It will depend on the size of the image, and effect you are going for. At first, it will look very, very wrong. Your task now is to fix it by adjusting the Tone
Mapped Layer’s Opacity, as well as adjusting the mask. I will often start with a soft round brush, with a brush opacity of only 20%. I will start softening the edges, and removing areas that do not need the effect of it. After a few minutes, you will usually start to see a more balanced image. Do what you can, and don’t get crazy. You are trying for a realistic effect. Pull back on the areas that aren’t working.
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Double Processing - Lights, Darks, and Midtones Let’s run though this again, with one that is a little more complex. However you get there (ACR or HDR), you will be creating 3 layers. A base one, as naturally balanced as you can in ACR. Above that, place one that is over exposed, and one that is under exposed. Best reults with -2 and +2 exposure. Adjusting Shadows and Highlights slider can also help get the results you like. Even when I have bracketing out of the camera, I often just use one anyway. Otherwise, I am dealing with camera shake, camera moves, and other problems. Turn off the dark and light layers, and just select the base one. Use Color Range to select the blown out whites and general highlight areas. Follow up with Selcet - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. Select the uner exposed layer and apply the selection as a mask. You will now see all the areas that used to be blown out, now have some detail put back into them. Once again, hide the top 2layers, and select the base layer. Use color Range again, but this time, select the blacks, and shadow areas. Follow up with Selcet - Modfy - Expand by 4 pixels, and Select - Modfy - Feather by 4 pixels. Apply this mask to the over exposed layer.
At first, this will look very strange. Turn off one of the layers. I usually start by working on the blown out areas. Take a brush of 20% opacity, and begin painting on the mask. Blend in areas by adding and removing the tones in the mask. Follow by doing the other layer’s mask.
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It should only take like 5 minutes to put all kinds of detail back into the image. Once you get a baseline image that you like, you have two choices. You can either start using Adjustment Layers on top to ajdust color and contrast, or you combine all 3 layers into a Smart Object, and use Camera Raw Filter to adjust this, as if it came out of the camera this way.
32-Bit Processing in Adobe Camera Raw This section would not be complete if I don’t mention it, but similar to Content Aware, I just don’t always like the results. But let’s just give it a pass over, so I can say that we covered it. Sometimes It can work just fine. But like all other HDR method’s, it becaise a bit of hit or miss. Photoshop’s HDR Pro can not use Raw Files or Smart Objects. It’s can’t even work without saving flattened files to the computer. Right away, we are starting at a disadvantage. At the very least, be sure to save the files as 16-Bit. Go to File - Automate - Merge to HDR Pro and select the files you want to use. Either load from file, Load from Open Files.
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After it puts the images together, Select the Mode of 32-Bit, and Remove Ghosts if you want. The key here is to check the box at the bottom that says “Complete Toning in Adobe Camera Raw”. Finish by pushing “Tone in ACR”. It will then open the image in ACR. You can now move around the sliders, possibly with greater flexibility. Make sur eyou get it the way you like it, because it will only open the file as a flattened background layer. So, you only get one shot at it, no Smart Objects allowed. Once back into Photoshop, you will notice you are in 32-Bit Mode. This means most of Photoshop’s functionality will be broken. We need to change this by using Image - Mode - 16-Bit. This will open up HDR Toning Window. This will give you one more chance to adjust the image before finalizing the HDR Process. When you are back in regular 16-Bit Photoshop, you have a choice. Either the results were poor, in which case you need to try a different method. If it does work, you can covert to a Smart Object, and use Camera Raw Filter to further adjust the color and tone. As I said, it’s hit or miss. This image works out pretty well with this way, but I have another that looks so much worse than just using ACR alone. Your milage will vary.
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