HDR - useful!!!

[mbg0333]

Took a RAW file and created 3 different exposures, PHOTMATIXED IT, then a little PP in Photoshop and I feel like I have a pretty decent picture...

Before:


After:

[The Philos]

Not bad, the top of the trees to the right of the frame are still pretty dark and there's a strong yellow color below her bust that's distracting.

[rockin-photos]

I think it looks a lot better now. But a question or two. When you brought it into PS, did you use the HDR in PS to bring it in? If so, you said you "Took a RAW file and created 3 different exposures". I thought PS used the exif info in the file to manage the exposures.
Just curious, I have no experience with the Convert to HDR option in PS, only what I've read.

[barP]

you didn't need hdr or photomatix to do any of that. the original is close enough that a curves adjustment and a layer mask would have made short work of it.

wp.

[The Philos]

Originally Posted by rockin-photos

I think it looks a lot better now. But a question or two. When you brought it into PS, did you use the HDR in PS to bring it in? If so, you said you "Took a RAW file and created 3 different exposures". I thought PS used the exif info in the file to manage the exposures.
Just curious, I have no experience with the Convert to HDR option in PS, only what I've read.

A program called Photomatix was used for the HDR conversion, you can manually adjust EV values in Photomatix - I'm not so sure about the HDR converter built in to CS3.

[CaptainTom]

Actually, if you take the original, pull it up in PS>Image>Adjustments>shadows/highlights.

play with the sliders. If you want to get fancy you can make layers and then use this shadow/highlight function on each layer independently. That is pretty much what HDR programs do, except they do them on individual images and then try to flatten the layers and register the final image. With individual exposures that are several stops apart, you can use this process, layer each image, combine it until you are happy.
There's more than one way to skin the cat. It just depends on what you are comfortable with.