Exploring HDR Photoshop, Photomatix, & Topaz Adjust

188 Pages·2013·9.28 MB·English

by  Blake Rudis

Exploring HDR
Photoshop, Photomatix, & Topaz

Adjust

By: Blake Rudis
Copyright 2012 © Blake Rudis
All Rights Reserved

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks
or service marks have been appropriately capitalized.

Adobe® Photoshop CS 6® is a registered trademark of Adobe
Systems, Inc.
Adobe® Camera Raw 7® is a registered trademark of Adobe
Systems, Inc.
Photomatix Pro 4.2® is a registered trademark of HDRSoft.
HDR Efex Pro 2® is a registered trademark of Nik Software Inc.
Topaz Adjust 5® is a registered trademark of Topaz Labs, LLC.
Macintosh® and Mac® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
Olympus® is a registered trademark of Olympus America Inc.
Canon® is a registered trademark of Canon Inc.
Nikon® is a registered trademark of Nikon Inc.

Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from
Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Photomatix screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from HDRsoft.

Topaz Adjust 5 screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from
Topaz Labs, LLC.

Exploring HDR is a product of Blake Rudis Photography LLC.
Disclaimer

This book is designed to provide information for
photographers about High Dynamic Range Photography.
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete
and as accurate as possible at the time it was written.

This publication is not sponsored or endorsed by any of
the above listed companies. The views and opinions
mentioned are that of the author and are in no way affiliated
with the companies mentioned herein.
Dedicated to:

My beautiful, loving, & supportive wife,

Sarah,
who continually inspires me
to pursue my passion!
Table of Contents
Contents
Exploring HDR Photoshop, Photomatix, & Topaz Adjust
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction to High Dynamic Range and the
Theory Behind Exploiting It
Chapter 2 The Importance of the RAW File
Chapter 3 Method 1: Tone Mapping Multiple Exposures from
the Camera
Chapter 4 Method 2: HDR Extraction from a Single RAW
File
Chapter 5 Method 3: Multiple Exposures Extracted From a
Single File
Chapter 6 Method 4: 32 bit HDR Tone Mapping Using
Photoshop and Camera Raw
Chapter 7 Method 5: Multiple Exposure Merging
Chapter 8 Method 6: After Market Plug-Ins: Topaz Adjust 5
Chapter 9 Nine Post Processing Tips for HDR Images
1 Removing Chromatic Aberrations
2 Noise Reduction
3 Extreme Noise Reduction
4Straightening the Horizon Line
5 Bringing Back the Shadows
6 Three More Ways to Add Depth
7 Dodging and Burning
8 Fixing Electric Colors
9 Sharpening
Closing Thoughts
Bonus Chapter! Post Processing a Tone Mapped File in
Adobe Camera Raw
About Blake Rudis
Preface

About Exploring HDR
Once I experienced HDR photography, I could not stop
thinking about it. I would lose countless hours of sleep
recalling all the places I had previously shot normally and
how amazing they would look in HDR.
It is for that reason that I had to spill my knowledge of
HDR on paper and allow others the ability to see their
ordinary everyday scenes in HDR brilliance!
Through the use of Adobe Photoshop CS 6, Photomatix
Pro 4.2, and Topaz Adjust 5, Exploring HDR will not only
give you the knowledge you need to understand and create
HDR photographs, it will also show you the significance of
efficient post processing with your HDR images.
As you read through Exploring HDR you will see a lot of
diagrams and pictures. I have spent several hundred hours
hand selecting pictures and creating diagrams to help you
through your HDR journey. For this reason, I strongly advise
you to view this book on a color display.
I hope you not only enjoy Exploring HDR but that you
learn something along the way! Along the way you may see
some things duplicated from tutorial to tutorial. The tutorials
have been written so you can go to the chapter you would like
to read without missing anything in the previous chapters.
Be sure to check out all of the Bonus Content throughout
each chapter! I have added links to video tutorials that will
guide you through the methods discussed in each chapter.
Several chapters will also have downloadable images so
you can follow along with the steps. I strongly recommend
that you follow along with these images if you are not
proficient with the process being discussed.
Chapter 1
Introduction to High
Dynamic Range and the Theory Behind
Exploiting It

We cannot quite dive into High Dynamic Range (HDR)
photography without talking about Dynamic Range first.
The ability to control and exploit Dynamic Range are the
elements of photography that separate mice from men (or
women). So what exactly is dynamic range?
Simply stated, dynamic range is the ratio between the
values of light and dark in a given scene. That sounds simple
enough right? However, it is difficult to truly wrap your head
around it without understanding its effect on your
photographs.
Have you ever taken a picture of an awesome-earth
shattering sunset?
If so, did you storm home as fast as you could safely
travel to upload your images?
When they pulled up on the screen did you have a
washed out-over exposed sky that lacked the awe-inspiring
effect of the scene you just witnessed?
If you answered yes to one or all of those questions, then
this book is perfect for you!