Elmansy, Rafiq - How to Create HDR Photos in Photoshop CS5

7/30/2019 Elmansy, Rafiq - How to Create HDR Photos in Photoshop CS5

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How to Create HDR

Photos in Photoshop CS5

By Rafiq Elmansy
http://www.graphicmania.net/author/admin/http://www.graphicmania.net/author/admin/http://www.graphicmania.net/author/admin/


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The new Photoshop CS5 comes with new revolutionary features that willchange how Photoshop users work. These changes make their projects

become easier, faster and it helps them to integrate with other Adobe

products in the Adobe Creative Suite 5.

The new Photoshop CS5 includes new features such as Mixer brushes,

Content-aware, 3D Repouss, 3D materials, enhanced raw plug-in and the

improved MergeHDR Pro feature. In this article, we will cover the MergeHDR

Pro feature in Photoshop CS5 and how to use it to create HDR photo effects

with simple steps. Before we go into the tutorial steps, let us briefly tackle

some information about the HDR photo concept.

What is HDR imaging?

High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging is a technology that allows images to

include a wide range of colors compared with normal images. This wide range

of colors support high ranges of light and color contrast; making the images

look like the real environment while giving the scene a more dramatic feel.

This is done by using the highest range of luminance in the images light and

shadow areas.


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HDR imaging is produced by merging multiple photographs of the same

object or scene photographed with different exposure values.

Below are some tips on how to take your own photos in sequence in order tocreate HDR photography:

o Add the camera to a tripod to make it stable.

o Take around five to seven photos with different exposure values,

the minimum number of images that Photoshop can accept is

three images.

o Use different shutter speeds to create different exposures.

Changing the aperture changes the depth of field and can

produce low-quality photos; while changing the ISO may cause

noise in the image.

o The variation between exposure values should be one or two

steps between each image.

o Make sure that the light is the same as well as the objects in the

images because Photoshop only calculate the changes in the

exposure.

In this tutorial, we will convert multiple images into one HDR image using the

improved Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5.


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Working with the Merge to HDR Pro

The Merge to HDR Pro is one of the enhanced features in Photoshop CS5

and it allows you to import multiple photos into the Merge to HDR Pro dialog

box so, you can apply different effects on the produced image. You can

apply this example to the HDR sample provided in Photoshop CS5s

directory: Program Files>Adobe>Adobe Photoshop CS5>Samples>Merge to

HDR.

In this example, we will load into Merge to HDR Pro three images that have

been taken with different exposures and settings as below:

1. Open Photoshop CS5 and choose File > Automate > Merge to HDR

Pro.

2. In the Merge to HDR Pro dialog box, you can either load the images by

selecting the images separately or select the whole folder through the

Use drop-down list.

3. Click Browser and go to the HDR default example in the Photoshop CS5

folder :\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS5\Samples\Merge to

HDR.

4. The images are loaded to the list, select all the images by click the

image while holding the Ctrl key (Command in Mac). And click ok to load

the selected files


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The Merge to HDR Pro dialog box appears to let you edit the HDR settings.

The dialog box includes three main parts. The preview part, the images

sequence part and the settings part. In the preview part, you can see the

results of the different settings and zoom the preview in and out by using the

preview drop-down list on the bottom left of the preview part. The image

sequence part shows the images that are used to create the HDR image and

its aperture.


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Also, you can check those images to include or exclude from the sequence.

The settings part includes the different options to set the HDR image

parameters to create different effects as below:

Preset

This drop-down list includes a ready-to-use HDR effects that you can apply

by choosing it and then previewing each effect in the preview image. You can

also save your custom preset from the icon next to the Preset list as HDT

format, or you can load external presets as well.

Remove ghosts

When you apply multiple images, some images may have little changes in

their positions. The Remove ghosts check box removes these unwanted

ghosts keeping the image clear.

32 bit images

From the Mode list, you can choose the images mode from the supported 8,


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16 and 32 bit images. Each mode has its own options and setting; generally,

the 32 bit mode has a limited option to only modify the image histogram.

When you select any of the 8 or 16 bit modes, you get the following options:

Local Adaptation

This option changes the tone of the HDR by changing the bright areas in the

image.

Edge Glow

This value lets you set the bright areas regain settings. The radius value sets

the size of the bright areas and the strength sets the distance required to

differentiate the bright and the non-bright areas.

Tone and Details

These values let you set colors and tone details through a set of options such

as Gamma, Exposure, Details, Shadow and Highlight.

Color

You can set the intensity of the subtle colors through the Vibrancy; and you

can set the color saturation through the Saturation value.

Tone Curve

The tone curve lets you set the lamination of the image through the histogram

curve where you can add points and drag it to adjust the image lamination.

You can add as many points as you want; every point presents a change in

the curve values that affect the image.


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Now, let us go back to our example and set the HDR values as follows:

5. Select the mode to be 16 Bit and choose Local Adaption.

6. In the Edge Glow, set the Radius value to 360 and the Strength to 4.

7. In the Tone and Details, set the Gamma value to 3, Exposure to -50,

Detail to 88, Shadow to -100 and Highlight to 82.

8. In the Curve graph add two points and set their location as seen in the

figure below:


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9. Click Ok to open the result as an image.

You can change the above values based on your desires and how you would

like the HDR photo image to end up looking like.

Conclusion

The HDR images include a wide range of settings and each setting

produces a different effect. The example above shows only one of these

effects and you can always practice more effects and tones. The best

practice for the HDR imaging process is to start by taking some images

based on the guidelines mentioned above and use it to create your own

HDR images

Documents

Elmansy, Rafiq - How to Create HDR Photos in Photoshop CS5