Pixiq

It’s not unusual for a company to come out of the blocks in a full sprint and leave the competition in the dust. Look at Google, Ebay and the iPhone; they lead the industry in their categories and everyone else plays catch-up. When it comes to HDR software, it’s Photomatix created by HDRsoft. Each new version of Photomatix incorporates new tools giving us more control over the final image, and Version 4.0 is no disappointment.

This Photomatix tutorial covers Version 4.0 and will take you through its most popular tone mapping tool, Details Enhancer. So let’s get started.

In Bermuda I used a Nikon D2x with a fish-eye lens and a tripod to capture the source image set of 5 images, each a different exposure: 0EV, -2EV, -1EV, +1EV and +2EV. These beach huts are made of canvas, and when you sleep at night you can hear the waves crash under your bed. Pretty cool place!

Let’s jump ahead and see the final HDR image. If you take a moment and think about sunlit scenes you realize pixels in the shadow areas come from the overexposed images, and pixels from the bright areas, like the sky, come from the underexposed images. These images are the building blocks of the 32-bit HDR file.

You can download a trial version of Photomatix from www.hdrsoft.com. The trial version applies a watermark to the final image, and if you decide to buy the program the code “beforethecoffee” will get you a discount. Once installed, double-click on the Photomatix icon and a small window opens with 3 choices.

Load Bracketed Photos - This is the place to BEGIN. It will require an image set which may be three or five images.

Batch Bracketed Photos - Batch processing is used when you shoot HDR image sets all day long and have about 50 images and you’d prefer to go get a bowl of ice cream while the processing is done. The advanced feature now allows different size image sets in the same folder, three or five for example.

Batch Single Photos - This will allow you to do single-image tone mapping on a folder of selected images. If you prefer to tone map one image file go to File>Open.

Tip: Batch processing is fine for creating 32-bit HDR files. I avoid batch processing that includes tone mapping. Tone mapping adjustments are image specific so I prefer to apply adjustments to one image at a time.

Notice I clicked Load Bracketed Photos, then Browse, then selected five TIF files, then clicked Select. This image set consists of five images taken at 1EV spacing.

RAW to TIF conversion? Notice that the images I’m about to load are TIF, yet the camera was setup to record RAW files. Should I convert my RAW files to TIF first? YES, the present thinking is to convert your RAW files to 16-bit TIF for better results. However, if I have lots of different compositions of the scene, I typically process and tonemap the RAW files, then I decide which composition is best, then I go back and convert the image sets to TIF.

Save 32-bit HDR file? There is a check box that allows me to view and save the 32-bit HDR image. Why would I want to save the 32-bit HDR image? The 32-bit HDR file is an intermediary file, so you don’t look at it or print it. Having this file on hand saves you a little time if you decide to tone map the image again with different settings. I normally don’t save this file.

HDR formats? If I decide to save the 32-bit HDR file, what about the various formats? The default format is .HDR, the two others are .EXR and TIF (floating point TIF). They come in handy for research and testing. I always accept the default .HDR and move on.

Once you select your image set you are presented with this box. I recommend checking the “Align source images” as a routine setting. Keep the next three boxes unchecked for now, create a “Dry Run” tone-mapped image, save it and inspect it for ghosting, noise and chromatic aberrations. If the problems are beyond what you want to repair in post-processing then re-run the image set with the needed boxes checked and save it. This will allow you to compare the “corrected” image with the original.

Reduce ghosting artifacts - Most of my ghosting corrections take place manually during post-processing so I rarely check this box. In Photoshop, I create layers and blend one of the single exposures into the tone-mapped image. Typically, I FIRST tone map the single image before I blend it into the tone-mapped image for a similar look.

Ghosting in your image? Who ya gonna call? The new ghost-buster tool in v4.0 is much more sophisticated than previous releases so I recommend giving it a try. First choose the “Semi-manual” option. Then draw a selection around the ghosted area using the lasso tool, right click to select it, then right click again to set the photo you want as the source image, e.g. -2, -1, 0, +1, +2.

Tip: Ghosting is the result of a moving object. When I use a single image to blend into the tone-mapped image I like to use the -1 or -2EV exposure. Why? Because the shutter speed is faster, thus the moving subject is sharper, but watch for noise.

Reduce noise - v4.0 has high-quality noise reduction with a new algorithm applied on the source images. Remember noise is part of your image at the time of capture as opposed to grain which is caused by excessive compression of the pixels, i.e. overly high-strength settings.

Reduce chromatic aberrations - Results can vary when this box is checked. I like to have the the “Dry Run” image for comparison.

If the 32-bit image appears just click Tone Mapping / Fusion.

A new window will open and now the fun begins.

The tone mapping portion of Photomatix can be considered the goose that laid the golden egg. The program has three tone mapping operators: Details Enhancer, Tone Compressor and Exposure Fusion. Each is accessed as a drop down in the top left portion of the window.

Images tone mapped using Details Enhancer (above) can be very surreal. Details Enhancer is by far the most popular tone mapping tool. However, if Details Enhancer is too much for your taste, then Tone Compressor is an excellent choice for maintaining a natural look. If shadows are your preference, Tone Compressor can generate dark foreboding shadows with subtle noise-free details. Version 4 has improved rendering of Tone Compressor and also added range of the sliders.

Exposure Fusion is another operator but doesn’t work with the 32-bit file. It blends the exposures and outputs an image with a very natural look. I sometimes refer to the “single-shot look” of Exposure Fusion to see how extreme my tone-mapped image looks.

One of the obviously new features of v4.0 is the Preset Thumbnails Panel. It can be placed on the bottom or the right side of the tone mapping window. It not only allows you to click on a variety of built-in presets. but it also has a toggle to show all your saved presets. The built-in presets give you a nice flavor of what can be done to the original image. Your personal presets can have many variations: for example, you might want to save presets for different lighting conditions. A night scene may benefit from desaturated shadows, and a scene with a bright blue sky may benefit from greater highlight saturation.

Version 4.0 also embeds the tone mapping settings in the processed image. Now you don’t have to worry about finding the settings file that belongs to the image, just click on “View Settings” from the main window and they appear.

While you are tone mapping you’ll notice 3 tabs that expand for more adjustments. These adjustments can drive you bonkers so begin with the default setting. Experiment and play with them, try small and big changes, but always watch how it affects all parts of your image. Keep in mind that a particular setting may work for one image and not at all for another. The yellow boxes below give you some tips on working with each individual slider.

Tip: When making slider adjustments keep an eye on the histogram window. You'll notice which sliders add contrast, i.e. pixels spread left and right, which sliders move all pixels and which sliders lock down pixels while moving others.

Just like most things in life the best way to become proficient at tone mapping is to practice, practice, practice. It helps to photograph a variety of scenes even at different times of day to learn the pitfalls of HDR tone mapping. Before you know it you’ll be viewing images that you’re proud of. Here’s a few of mine that I enjoyed creating.

Skyline views from the world’s tallest residential tower in Australia make for nice city views but get close to the glass to avoid reflections. This is a straight out of Photomatix with no post processing.

Down low in the Gazebo at National Catherdral in Washington DC with a fish eye, I had to take seven images at 1EV spacing to capture the dynamic range of this image. This is straight out of Photomatix.

This image taken in Bermuda required ghost repair of the beach swash (I used the -1EV image) and ghost repair of the splash in the distance. I also went through the aches and pains and manually used the rubber stamp tool to remove the chromatic aberrations in the rock face on the left.

After Photomatix tone mapping I opened the image in Photoshop and increased the luminosity of the lighthouse light. I also brightened a few of the rock faces and darkened others for more contrast.

Black-and-white HDR can be very appealing — just watch out for the same pitfalls like halos around objects that have a uniform sky as the background.

Adding this model to the HDR image required a detailed plan on how to light her and the balloons. There is a strobe just camera left (note the reflection in the balloons), I had her walking on the edge of a picnic bench placed on a hill. I had to shoot her from a low angle so the hill was essential. I moved her from the original scene to the HDR scene.

This is straight out of Photomatix except for some added leaves to cover hot spots and some dodging in the central part of the scene to give a subtle vignette. What I like is the small detail at the end of the road, a tire swing.

This is straight out of Photomatix followed with a layer of texture over the entire image. Nothing too fancy, but it adds to the painterly look.

Here’s another with texture added. In this image I also added light to the street light by brightening it. This is one of those traveling carnivals that you had fun at but swear you’ll never let your children go to.

It only takes a small commitment of time each day to become proficient at HDR tone mapping. As you explore the possibilities, your unique style will begin to emerge that portrays your vision. I know when you analyze your surroundings, use your camera to express and find your vision, you will capture the full range life has to offer.

Happy Shooting!