My Camaro in HDR!!!

[Iwantone2]

My co-worker does photography on the side and he asked if he could take some pictures of my car. Sure you can!!!!

http://www.prcreativeimage.com/?p=17

Before HDR


HDR


What do you guys think??

[jcamere94z28]

I prefer the original...

[Edrock]

I like the 1st one the best. Looks a little brighter and more realistic. The HDR one almost looks like it has been photoshopped into the picture...doesn't look quite real to me...

[Michael_Js]

Well, I like most of the HDR (whatever that means). The wheels I don't care for at all in HDR though. The hood has much more definition, which I like.

Cool!

[WCFB-Russ]

yea the tone mapping on the HDR pic is kinda off... I took a few shots of teh Camaro SS I Rented in HDR and they came out like this:



(this one is my fav :-D)


and finally:


The first and third one unfortunately look like theres too much flash and the second one i could have added some vignetting on - but I'll go back and touch that up later.

tell them to recreate the photo and add some vignetting and reduce some of the "fill" (what makes it look like the flash was used and adds more washed out tones) -- might wanna increase the blacks in that pic too..

but overall looks good (very defined - the whole point of HDR is to see "all" (or at least a lot more than normal) of the colors in the shot.)

good times - find a nice park and get that coworker to take more pics!!! :-D

[Iwantone2]

Thanks to all the replies! I agree, the wheels and the front just don't look right. Black34v6, I like the second one as well!! Hopefully my co-worker doesn't get offended or anything by giving him your tips. Thanks guys!

[TJ91]

like the pics, whats HDR stand for, i see the effect but would like to know more about it

[WCFB-Russ]

High dynamic range imaging
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances (amount of light) between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods.

This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to represent more accurately the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

High-dynamic-range photographs are generally achieved by capturing multiple standard photographs, often using exposure bracketing, and then merging them into an HDR image. Digital photographs are often saved in a camera's raw image format, as 8 bit JPEG output clips the dynamic range.

and heres an awesome link to some HDR photography.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008...-hdr-pictures/

BUT BASICALLY:
A camera sees a range of light and color. Your eyes have a wider range of processing color and light and therefore images taken with a camera can often distort color or "leave out" shades and variances in shadows and lights that you might have seen with your own eyes. It's a limitation of the standard model camera design (just built in.)

Here's a comparison.

HDR (closer to what your eyes see)


This is what your camera normally sees:


if you notice - in the HDR photo the hoodline is much more defined and the shadows pop, while not losing the highlights and reflections in the paint. HDR images also have the ability to bring out far more detail in pictures and make more of a HD (High Def) looking image. (its not HD..just looks more detailed).

Of course you can do some crazy things with HDR - like this:


and (this is an "assembled" HDR photo):

[SS Mike]

With the red SS, the HDR makes it look like it's from a video game or somethin. Definitely cool looking, but it doesn't look real too me anymore haha. Cool though!!

[Ferrarimk13]

i love how the wheels show up in the hdr, i like that matte look to them,

[jcamere94z28]

Originally Posted by TJ91

like the pics, whats HDR stand for, i see the effect but would like to know more about it

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.


Dynamic Range can be defined as the range of light that your eye or camera captures. The human eye plus the brain can capture and understand a very high dynamic range. More than what the camera can see.

HDR has been taken and abused by amateur photographers as a way to stand away from the rest but a HDR image doesn't equal a great image. This is a trend that has been popular since Photoshop CS2 as it had a function to create this type of images.

The way you go around creating a proper HDR image is to take 3 or more sometimes 10+ different exposures of the same image.



the 1st one would be a very UNDEREXPOSED image in order to get the most details in the hightlights. The 1st image to your left from the series.

a whole bunch of images in between... and then the last one would be OVEREXPOSED. To get all the details in the shadows.

and HDR software (or photoshop CS2 or later) will get the information from all of these images and create a single file where the highlights and shadows have a lot of details. Some photographers take it to an extreme where EVERYTHING is midtones. Where you get really fake looking HDR because the eye is not used to NOT seening highlights and shadows.

Then there is the poorly done HDR where you see halos all over the place.

Personally I like HDR when you don't notice that it is HDR.. . but I like HDR even more when it is used on an photograph that is strong and GOOD to begin with... and add some HDR to make it a bit better. Not hope that a BAD photo can be made GOOD with HDR.

And yes I have done my share of HDR. There is a time and place for it...

I hope that answers some questions about HDR. Now don't go abusing HDR.. i'll be the 1st one to tell you it sucks if it does. Or i'll just tell you that I like the original better

[AZCamaroFan]

I like the original. The HDR pictures remind me of Chevy's brochures. I feel like i'm looking at cartoons.

[TJ91]

wow, thanks for the info guys. I definitly understand it now. I need to get some shots of my baby in HDR!

[Doc]

The poor man's explanation is essentially this: In a typical photo the camera is making adjustments to the exposure so it's not too dark or too bright. It makes a compromise between those two extremes to try and come up with a decent looking picture that it generally tries to balance in the middle favoring the midrange tones and brightness.

As a result you may lose shadow detail and/or the very bright areas might be dimmed so they don't overwhelm the midrange. In the first picture you see the detail in the front area of the Camaro is murky because the camera can't open up the exposure to reveal that area without the brighter areas overwhelming the exposure. If it closes up the lens to allow it to balance the bright areas, the dark areas just disappear to blackness. So the typical camera tries to find the middle point where it gets some shadow details but not too "hot" in the bright areas. That's the first pic up above.

What others explained HDR allows is for a photographer to take multiple pictures setting the camera for let's say 3 exposures. The first might be open for seeing shadows, knowing that the bright areas will be wiped out with brightness. The second might be the normal compromised photo that takes midrange. The third might be tightened down so the bright areas are clear even though the darker areas are completely dark with no detail visible.

Then in a program like Photoshop you can take all three exposures and composite them into one with the dark areas in the first shot that are clear and detailed replacing the dark areas in the midrange shot; and the bright areas in the third shot that are clear and detailed replacing the bright areas in the midrange shot. Thus the description of a high dynamic range image and a photo that no camera can take by itself in a single shot.

The problem is people get carried away with it and usually over-saturate the colors and everything and make it look like a comic book or cartoon just because they can, not because it improves the image. The best HDR pics are ones that you think are just a great photo without realizing it's been modified as an HDR. But that takes skill and a good eye just like taking a good photo in the first place does.