Rather than try to explain it, here’s Wikipedia’s description of HDR.
“…a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.”
Basically, take a bunch of exposures of the exact same scene with different levels OF exposure and layer them. It’s pretty easy to overdo but, when it’s done well, it’s almost impossible to tell. Here are my first attempts at HDR compositing.
These were built out of three and four exposures each, respectively. They were shot during sunset on August 20, 2011 from a footbridge over an inlet on Lake Bomoseen in Vermont. They’re not the most perfect examples but I think they’re pretty damn good for a first attempt. Definitely gives me some ideas to work toward!
