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Create an HDR image in Photoshop CS5. Creating HDR in Photoshop's RAW converter

Automatic creation of HDR photos is possible in Adobe Photoshop since version CS2. If you're using earlier versions of Adobe Photoshop, you might want to try making an HDR photo manually using the partial layer erasing method I described in Better if the original images were taken using flash bracketing on a tripod, otherwise you'll have to come up with some way to mask the overlapped layers. plots or will be engaged in the manufacture of pseudo HDR

What is HDR and pseudo-HDR photography

You probably got photos in which there is either a very light (whitened) sky? Sometimes it turns out the other way around - the sky is worked out normally, but the landscape itself is dark ... The fact is that the matrix of a modern digital camera is far from always able to adequately convey the entire scene being shot and the photographer often has to sacrifice some details - or the sky comes out completely white without clouds, or the dark parts of the scene being shot are sacrificed: o (

A long time ago, when there were no digital cameras, and the photo-exposure meter was far from being available for every photographer, beginners (often experienced photographers) took several frames of the same subject with different ones, so that later, after developing the film, choose the best frame. Modern digital cameras allow you to automate this process - such a function is called automatic (AEB) or exposure bracketing.

4. Convert to HDR

Now it remains to click OK and start creating an HDR photo. In this case, Photoshop will return the finished HDR photo to its usual window.

So, we got a 32-bit image with extended dynamic range. Before saving, we convert the image to 8 bit:
Image > Mode > 8 Bits ⁄ Channel...
Photoshop offers us some settings for the photo (hover over and get the translation):

This window provides four methods for converting a snapshot from 32 bits to 8 bits. Some methods allow you to correct curves, but this is for advanced users. For beginners, I advise you to limit yourself to the option shown in this illustration - in extreme cases, move the engines a little Exposure (Exposure) and Gamma (Gamma)

Saving an HDR photo with 8-bit color depth
You can apply all the features of Photoshop to it.

The Merge to HDR Pro command merges multiple images with different types single scene, capturing the full dynamic range in a single HDR image.

The Merge To HDR Pro command combines multiple images with different views of the same scene, capturing the full dynamic range in a single HDR image. The merged image can be output to a file with a color depth of 32, 16, or 8 bits. However, HDR image data is only fully preserved in files with a color depth of 32 bits.

HDR merging produces optimal results when photos are specially prepared for such processing.

Options for 32-bit images

Move the slider below the histogram to adjust the appearance of the white point in the merged image. When you move the slider, only the image preview is adjusted. All HDR image data is saved in the merged file.

The preview adjustment is stored in the HDR file and applied each time the file is opened in Photoshop. The white point preview can be re-adjusted at any time by choosing View > 32-bit Preview Options.

Options for 16 or 8 bit images

HDR images contain luminosity levels that far exceed the available dynamic range of 16 or 8 bit images. To create an image with the required dynamic range, adjust the exposure and contrast while converting the image from 32-bit to lower bit depth.

Choose from the following tone matching methods.

Local adaptation corrects HDR tonality by adjusting local areas of brightness throughout the image edge glow The radius determines the size of the local areas of brightness. Intensity determines how far the hue values of two pixels must differ so that they are not defined as belonging to the same luminance region. Tone and details Dynamic range is maximized when Gamma is set to 1.0. Lower values emphasize midtones, while higher values emphasize chiaroscuro. Exposure values reflect f-stops. To adjust sharpness, drag the Detail slider, and to brighten or darken these areas, move the Shadow and Highlight sliders. Color Vibrance adjusts the intensity of delicate colors by reducing clipping to clipping of very saturated colors. Saturation adjusts the intensity of all colors from -100 (monochrome) to +100 (double saturation). Toning Curve displays the curve being adjusted on a histogram representing the luminosity values in the original 32-bit HDR image. The red markers on the horizontal axis indicate one-stop steps (approximately one f-stop).

Note. By default, the toning curve and histogram limit and equalize point-to-point changes. To remove the constraint and apply more extreme adjustments, select the Angle option after inserting a point on the curve. After inserting and moving the second point, the curve becomes a polyline.

Adjusting the Toning Curve and Histogram with the Angle Option

A. Set point and select Angle. B. Setting new point bends the curve at an angle at the point where this option is used. Histogram equalization Compresses the dynamic range of an HDR image while maintaining contrast. No further settings are required, this method is automatic. Exposure and gamma Manual setting brightness and contrast of an HDR image. Move the Exposure slider to adjust Gain, and move the Gamma slider to change Contrast. Backlight Compression Compresses the brightness values of an HDR image to the image range of 8 or 16 bits per channel. No further settings are required, this method is automatic.

Moving object compensation

If images have different content due to the presence of moving objects such as cars, people, or tree leaves, select the Remove Ghosting option in the Merge To HDR Pro dialog box.

Photoshop displays a green outline around the thumbnail with optimal balance tones, indicating the base image. Moving objects found in other images are removed. (If movement is seen in very light or very dark areas, it is recommended that you choose a thumbnail with good exposure of the moving objects for best results.)

If the merging process in HDR Pro originally created a 32-bit image, you can then convert it to 16-bit or 8-bit.

In Photoshop, open a 32bpc image and choose Image > Mode > 16bpc or 8bpc.
Adjust exposure and contrast to obtain an image with the required dynamic range.
To convert a 32-bit image, click the OK button.

This lesson will tell you about the new hot trend in photography. HDR! You'll learn how to capture, mix, and tonemap to expand the dynamic range and create a paint-only look.

Lesson for working in Photoshop CS3 and above.

Photo
Convert to HDR
Tone mapping / Tone mapping
Image fusion
Curves

Click on the screenshot to view the image in real size.

Step 0 (Introduction)
In this tutorial we will look at HDR photography. HDRI (High Dynamic Range Imaging) was originally used in 3D and is now being used fully in photography. Simply put, it is the process of shooting with different exposure and reduction of images into a single 32-bit image. So, I will clarify: the camera is able to capture a limited number of tones in one photo. Usually we sacrifice some elements of the photo during its shooting. For example, we have a landscape with clouds and rocks. If we expose the clouds, the rocks will become dark. If we set the camera exposure to the details of the rocks, then the bright sky will dim and the details will be lost. This is because the human eye can perceive a wider range of tones than what a camera can capture in a single photograph.
The solution to this is to take more than one photo and merge the photos.

Take a photo at normal exposure, then take a photo with less exposure to make it brighter, and then more exposure to capture shadow details.

Ultimately, these shots need to be brought together to create a single image with a wide range of tones that can now show all the details in highlights and shadows. This lesson will show you how to carry out this process without fuss.

First we need to get the original images (you can use a 32-bit 3D image and skip straight to step 6). We will shoot such an image with a camera. You need to take at least two shots with different exposure settings.
Adobe recommends limiting bracketing in increments of one exposure stop, which will help reduce the range.

Bracketing - Also called a "fork". Shooting by the camera of a series of frames (three or more) that differ in parameters with a specified interval of values (exposure, white balance, etc.).

You can also take 5 or more shots with shorter bracketing intervals. Personally, I get good result from three pictures. I like to increase and decrease the shutter speed by two steps. I know it's a bigger frame than most people are used to, but for the HDR type of image I like to create (cityscapes), it's very suitable. If you are a photography enthusiast, you can even reduce the bracketing to 3 stops.

(Note: For true HDR, you can't use one raw photo and change its exposure several times, as some people suggest. This effect is known as pseudo-HDR. Photoshop won't let you merge these images because they don't capture the right tones.)

Step 1. Let's start with three images. One with a normal exposure, a second with a lower exposure, and a third with a higher exposure. IN this case I use 2-stop bracketing because I mostly shoot flat surfaces. If you are shooting rounded and uneven surfaces, then it is better to lower the bracketing for a smoother transition.
I set the bracketing on my camera to 2 steps. Then I set the shooting mode to the timer. After that I get three photos. I shoot in RAW mode to be able to get a wider dynamic range. You can also create HDR even if your camera doesn't support RAW.

Make sure you are shooting in Aperture Priority mode or in manual mode. You need to set the exposure time, but not the aperture. If you change the aperture, the depth of field will not be compatible with the settings and you will end up with a blurry image. Also, avoid moving objects in the photo, otherwise you will get a "ghost" effect.

Step 2 It's time to bring the photos together into a single 32-bit image.
Select file- Automates - MergetoHDR(File - Automation - Merge intoHDR). It works in Photoshop CS2 and CS3 versions (CS2 doesn't have auto-align).
Select all images or a folder. I put each set of photos in a separate folder, so I choose the option Folder(Folder). Highlight your photos for reference. Check the box for AutoAlign(Auto Level) in Photoshop CS3. Click OK (Photoshop CS3 uses new technology auto leveling, which even allows you to create HDR without using a tripod!).

Step 3 Your images are now consolidated into a single photo. You can move individual photos by unchecking the boxes next to them in the left column. If you end up with a slightly blurry effect on one as a result of camera movement during a long delay, you can disable that photo.

Step 4 The flattened result is a highly customizable bitmap. You can completely change the tones by moving the white slider on the right. Just take it easy with it - the slightest movement of the slider gives absolutely excellent results.

Step 5 Click OK to flatten the photo into a 32-bit image. Now is a very good time to save the image.

Step 6 To work properly with photos, you need to convert them to 16-bit or 8-bit images. Once you've converted them, we'll start creating what I call photo interpretation. The reason I say this is because of the unlimited number of ways we can use to transform a photo. As long as we have a huge 32-bit image with a wide dynamic range, we can't use it for further processing. Always start with a 32-bit image, then convert it and save other variations (your own interpretations). Avoid overwriting 32-bit images, they are our lifesaver, we can come back to them many times.

Select Image - Mode - 16 bit (Image- mode-16 bit) (or 8 bits (8 bit)). Now let's play with interesting parameters. Now you have moved on to the process of the so-called tone mapping (tonal compression). This is the place for creativity.

(If you want to make a correction without conversion, select View - Preview Options 32 bit (view- 32 Bit Preview Options). You can also use several photoshop tools from the menu Image - adjustment(Image - Correction). The most important of the presented parameters is the control parameter exposure (exposure)).
You will see a dialog box HDRconversion(Conversion/CorrectionHDR). The default options are Exposure (exposure) and Gamma (Gamma) (approx. degree of contrast). How can you better understand how they work? Set gamma first and then exposure as shown in the example. If you want the image to have more contrast, reduce the gamma value. Raise the gamma value to decrease the contrast. Finally, adjust the exposure to get the desired brightness. If you want more transformations, read on, if not, click OK.

Step 7 Replace method (method) on local adaptation (localadaptation). (There are 4 available methods, but only two are subject to user influence.)

With this method, you can correct curves (curves). Work with them as you are used to working, but don't be afraid to trim them a bit. This is acceptable because you are working with a larger dynamic range than you are used to. Pull out the details of the image, but don't forget to overlay the shadows where they will be a bit blurry or ugly. Once you understand the curves, adjust the position of the sliders radius (radius) And threshold(threshold), to avoid the appearance of halos in the photo. (A badly converted HDR image has some glow around it in places of contrast). The radius is responsible for masking the blur, while the threshold decides what gets blurred and what doesn't.
Click OK to convert.

Step 8 Before us is a combined image from HDR. The second image is a variation. In the second variation, I applied the exposure (exposure), curves (curves) and sharpness settings (sharpening) in 32 bit mode ( Highlight Compression Method). Photoshop is just great for creating very realistic HDR images.

Step 9 If you want to achieve more surreal results, use various plugins. My favorite plugin is Photomatix Pro from the HDRsoft website. You can use this tonemapping plugin for Photoshop, it works great.

Using the Photomatix tonemapping plugin will allow you to fine-tune the texture in your photos. Combine them in Photoshop as shown in this tutorial. Then select Filter -Photomatix, to apply tonemapping. Convert and save normally.

Step 10 This image shows how the photo looks after tonemapping in Photomatix pro.

Step 11 Here you can see the comparison between a single image converted with Photoshop HDR and a radical effect in Photomatix. Regardless of the result you got, I hope this tutorial has helped demystify HDR creation.

Step 12

Here is another HDR shot of mine. This is a night shot converted to grayscale.
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

I express my gratitude to Evgeny Kartashov for consultations on terminology.

Hi all!

IN Photoshop of the Creative Cloud family, the Adobe Camera RAW application is used as a built-in filter. It is constantly being improved and acquires more and more new and interesting features. So in version 9.1 of this application, interesting features appeared for creationHDR images and stitching panoramas.

Very interesting direction in photography is the creation of HDR images. The abbreviation HDR comes from High Dynamic Range and means "high dynamic range" in English.

In the material about the main stages of RAW conversion, I tried to tell in detail about the tonal range of the scene being shot and the dynamic range of the photosensitive element of the camera.

In short, the point is that when shooting a real high-contrast scene, our camera is not able to capture the entire wide tonal range.

In this case, an unpleasant moment arises - the dark parts of the photo, the tonality of which did not fit into the dynamic range of the camera, will turn black, and the light parts, which are lighter than the camera can fix, will be lightened to a bright white color. All detail in these areas disappears.

In such cases, you can compromise and take a picture with correctly exposed shadows or highlights, depending on what is more important, or you can use the capabilities of specialized programs or Photoshop, which allow you to create images with a high dynamic range - HDR images.

There are three techniques known to me that expand the tonal range of an image.

Mixing frames shot with different exposures in Photoshop, one shot exposed in bright areas, and the second in dark areas. After that, both frames in the same document are opened in Photoshop on different layers, a layer mask is applied to one of them and on it, for example, for an image with detailed shadows, normally displayed light areas from another image are shown.

tone compression. The point is that monitors, and even more so photographic paper, have an even smaller breadth of the tonal range than cameras. To convert pictures to a format that can be displayed on the specified media, i.e. into an 8-bit or 16-bit image, and this technique exists.

Well, the actual creation of HDR itself - images with a dynamic range greater than in conventional 8/16-bit images. The boundary at which HDR starts is 13.3 exposure stops (brightness range 1:10,000)

What is needed to create HDR images?

We need to take several frames in which the necessary real scene will be captured, but each frame will have its own section of the tonal range, that is, individual shots will be exposed to different areas in terms of brightness.

In modern cameras, there is a shooting function with automatic exposure bracketing. In this case, taking into account the special settings of the camera, at least three frames are taken - the main one, this is a frame with a normal exposure, and the rest are automatically fixed with an exposure of a certain number of steps in "plus" or "minus", for example +/- 1 EV.

To demonstrate processes in this material I borrowed photographs of my very good friend, Photographer with a capital letter, professional landscape painter - Oksana Ermikhina. Oksana often uses the HDR method in her work, you can easily find her excellent work on the Internet. The only thing is that she uses a specialized program Photomatix, and we will look at the principle using the example of the Camera RAW application in Photoshop.

So, we need to combine three images with different exposures into a single whole.

It is best to use the HDR method of creating images on RAW files, as they contain the maximum information recorded by the photosensitive element of your camera. Open them in Camera RAW.

After that, press the key combination " Ctrl + A"Or left-click on the icon with lines in the upper right part of the "Filmstrip" window and select the "Select All" line in the menu that appears.

The process of merging images and generating a preview preview is started.

Upon completion of this operation, a preview window for the combined images appears.

The settings are minimized, but the main tasks here can be controlled. The Deskew Image option allows you to eliminate possible movement in the frame. If you turn it off, then with the “Remove ghosting” function turned on, the program will show which parts of the image were shifted during the shooting process.

By enabling the Align Image command, this module eliminates mismatched elements in the image using a special algorithm. It does not always cope with the task and then retouching is required, but this is mainly due to the movement of large objects in the frame.

The Auto Tone option helps you automatically equalize the brightness and contrast of the resulting image.

Without using the "Autotone" function.

With its application.

You want it, turn it on, you want it, don't. That in the first case, that in the second you will still be able to make a correction in the future.

Click the "Combine" button. The program asks where to save the linked file. Saving takes place in the DNG (Digital Negative Specification) format, an open format for RAW image files used in digital photography.

In the process of assembly and saving in the application, the final HDR image is formed.

After working with the adjustments on the “Basic” tab, we get the following picture.

Let's see - this is how we had a normally exposed photo at the exit from the camera.

And this is what we got as a result of assembling an HDR image by combining three frames taken with exposure bracketing.

In principle, you can say that you can achieve such results simply by resorting to the Highlights and Shadows adjustments in Camera RAW. In principle, YES, but this is if the tonal breadth of the scene being shot is not so large, that is, the difference between light and dark areas of the image can be fit into the dynamic range of the image displayed on the monitor using a converter. But even in this case, the creation of HDR takes place, since when raising the brightness in the shadows using an ordinary conversion, it will cause sharp increase noise, and the HDR creation method frees you from them.

Due to ethical reasons, I, unfortunately, cannot provide you with the RAW files of the author, but I think you can easily check the effectiveness of this method on your own works.

CreationHDR it's very simple and effective!

Happy creative success!

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The HDR effect is achieved by superimposing several (at least three) photos taken at different exposures on top of each other. This method gives more depth to colors and chiaroscuro. Some modern cameras already have a built-in HDR function. Photographers who do not have such equipment are forced to achieve the effect the old fashioned way.

But what if you have only one photo, but you still want to get a beautiful and clear HDR shot? In this tutorial, I'll show you how to do it.

So let's get started. First, let's open our photo in Photoshop.

The next step will be the development of small details and the overall sharpening of the image. To do this, go to the menu "Filter" and look for a filter there "Colour contrast"- it is in the section "Other".

We set the slider to such a position that small details remain, and the colors just begin to appear.

To avoid color defects when applying a filter, this layer must be desaturated by pressing the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+U.

Now change the blending mode for the filter layer to "Bright light".

We get sharpening.

We continue to improve the photo. We need a master copy of the layers of the finished photo. To get it, hold down the key combination CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E. (Train your fingers).

During our actions, unnecessary noise will inevitably appear in the photo, so at this stage it is necessary to get rid of them. Go to the menu "Filter - Noise - Reduce Noise".

Recommendations for settings: The intensity and preservation of details must be set so that the noise ( small dots, usually dark in color) have disappeared, and the fine details of the image have not changed shape. You can view the original image by clicking on the preview window.

My settings are:

Do not be too zealous, otherwise you will get a "plastic effect". This image looks unnatural.

Then you need to create a duplicate of the resulting layer. How to do this, we have already said a little higher.

Now back to the menu "Filter" and apply the filter again "Colour contrast" to the top layer, but this time we set the slider to such a position that we can see the colors. Like that:

Desaturate the layer ( CTRL+SHIFT+U), change the Blending Mode to "Chroma" and lower the opacity to 40 percent.

Create a merged copy of the layers again ( CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E).

Let's look at the intermediate result:

When setting up the filter, we look not at the car, but at the background. Small parts should disappear, only the outlines of objects should remain. Do not overdo it…

To complete the effect, we also apply a filter to this layer. "Add Noise".

Settings: effect 3-5%, Gaussian, Monochrome.

Hold down the key ALT and click on the mask icon in the layers palette.

As you can see, the blur and noise have disappeared completely from the whole photo, we need to “open” the effect on the background.
We take soft round brush white color with opacity 30%(see screenshots).

Be sure to click on the black mask in the layers palette to paint on it, and carefully paint the background with our white brush. You can make as many passes as your taste and intuition tell you. All by eye. I walked twice.

Particular attention should be paid to the pronounced details of the background.

If a car was accidentally touched and blurred somewhere, then you can fix it by switching the brush color to black (key X). We switch back to white with the same key.

Result:

I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'm sure you will do it neater and better.

Let's sharpen the photo a little more. Let's go to the menu "Filter - Sharpening - Unsharpening".

When setting up the filter, we carefully look at the boundaries of light and shadow, colors. The radius should be such that "extra" colors do not appear on these borders. Usually it is red and/or green. Effect put no more 100% , Isohelium remove.

And one more touch. Apply an adjustment layer "Curves".

In the layer properties window that opens, put two points on the curve (it is still straight), as in the screenshot, and then drag the top point to the left and up, and the bottom point in the opposite direction.

Here again, everything is in sight. With this action, we add contrast to the photo, that is, we darken the dark areas and lighten the light ones.

It would be possible to stop at this, but, upon closer examination, it is clear that “ladders” appeared on the rectilinear details of white color (shiny). If it's important, then we can get rid of them.

Create a merged copy, then remove the visibility from all layers except the top and original.

Apply a white mask to the top layer (key ALT do not touch).

Then we take the same brush as before (with the same settings), but black, and go through the problem areas. The size of the brush should be such that it covers only the area that needs to be corrected. You can quickly change the brush size using square brackets.