Practical HDR: A complete guide to creating High Dynamic Range images with your Digital SLR |  | Author: David Nightingale
Publisher: Focal Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 15579
Media: Paperback
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 9.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0240812492
Dewey Decimal Number: 778
EAN: 9780240812496
ASIN: 0240812492
Publication Date: September 14, 2009
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Product Description
HDR is both a technical solution to the limitations of digital camera sensors, and a creative tool that can give any image much more impact - but it is not without its pitfalls, and it's essential to understand these if you want to take full advantage of this innovative technique. Practical HDR provides you with an abundance of step-by-step examples that will quickly make you an expert on the theory and practice of shooting and processing HDR images, allowing you to get the best possible results every time.
As well as practical advice on shooting and processing, the book also contains a global showcase of inspirational HDR images - you will quickly find that HDR offers unparralleled opportunities for indulging your creative instincts, from photo-realistic to hyper-realism.
*Create stunning HDR images - from photorealistic to the hyper-real
*Covers in-camera image capture and digital darkroom techniques
*Combines sound, step-by-step advice with an inspirational gallery of images
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Getting More Dynamic Range October 26, 2009
Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA)
36 out of 36 found this review helpful
A physicist acquaintance who specializes in digital imaging tells me that increasing resolution or reducing noise in digital sensors are much easier problems to solve than extending the range of light of sensors to equal the human eye. In the unlikely event that you are a serious photographer who has been waiting for the dynamic range of digital sensors to increase rather than deal with high dynamic range (HDR) it would be better to get over it. This book is an excellent place to start.
Nightingale's book is divided into chapters that include understanding dynamic range, shooting for HDR, merging bracketing sequences, creating photo-realistic and hyper-real HDR images, and post-processing.
The author recognizes that there are many HDR software packages on the market and rather than try to describe them all, he only touches on three. They include Photoshop, which at least as far as the CS4 version he dismisses as not very useful, and the quirky but occasionally useful FDRTools. The lion's share of the instruction is devoted to Photomatix Pro, which is rapidly becoming the standard for HDR. Unlike several other texts, he explains what each of the sliders and buttons in Photomatix does and what compensating adjustments have to be made if you select one of the more specialized sliders. He also covers post-processing of HDR images in Photoshop at a level of detail sufficient for those familiar with Photoshop to clean up the HDR image, rather than just suggest the tools that might help. He also provides several examples that give detailed step-by-step explanations of how he used the options available in both HDR software and post-processing and the reasons he selected those settings. Sprinkled throughout the book are HDR examples created by several expert photographers.
Nightingale writes concisely and clearly. I particularly liked that he distinguished between images where the range of light was extended but the images remained realistic, and HDR images that seem almost surrealistic and more like illustrations than photographs. The author shows you how to create both types of image, and clarifies which controls lead to which results.
Although this is one of the best books about HDR that I've encountered it is not perfect. For example in capturing images, I've found that it pays, not only to insure that the bracketing images are made by varying the shutter speed rather than aperture, to keep the same depth of field, but also to turn off auto-focus and auto-white balance to prevent too much variation from image to image. Moreover, when it comes to processing, other than to refer to FDRTools' capabilities to deal with motion between bracketed images, there is little other discussion of the motion problem. On the nice-to-have level, it could have been useful to deal with tools like Photomatix Pro's Lightroom plug-in which extends the utility of the software. Similarly, providing images that were downloadable or on a disk might have made it even easier to follow the examples, especially with available trial versions of the HDR software.
Nevertheless, I still find this one of the best books available on the subject, and I intend to keep it in the small library of books next to my computer to which I regularly refer.
Likely the Best HDR Book to Date November 10, 2009
Michael K. Milauskas (Maryland, USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I just started experimenting with HDR some months ago, and wish I had more time to do more. Frankly I have yet to explore shooting "raw," as is recommended. At this point Photomatix processes even jpg images that simply stun me.
I read "Practical HDR" in one sitting - odd for a "technical" book. It is easy enough to do so, as it is loaded with great HDR photographs. I must agree with Mr. Obregon's comprehensive review that this is, perhaps, the best book currently available on the subject.
I found that the first book I purchased on HDR, Ferrell McCollough' s "The Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography," equally as interesting. Yet if I had to choose one, it would be "Practical HDR."
Each book provides unique insights, and each leaves some questions unanswered. "Practical HDR" seems a bit more precise on the post-processing end, which to the new user is a black art. I wish one HDR author would focus on Photomatix only, as comparing and contrasting three software packages tends to water the content down.
In summary, I am too newly in awe of the HDR process to write an objective review. If your budget allows the purchase of one book on the matter, this should be it. Ah, but there's one caveat to that statement: it will be interesting to see if Trey Rattcliff's soon-to-be-released "A World in HDR" raises the bar.
Great introduction to HDR photography November 27, 2009
Michael McKee (Port Townsend, WA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you want to get into high dynamic range (HDR) photography, you'll find this an excellent introduction. Not only does it describe how to take HDR shots and process them, it explains why the techniques are used. There's even a short section on the history of HDR photography. I didn't know that the basic ideas behind the process go back to the 1850s!
After the context section, there's a chapter on how to take HDR shots, how to exposure bracket and what kinds of camera settings work. Especially useful is the part on using your camera's histogram to make sure that you capture the entire dynamic range of light.
There's a short discussion of three HDR processing programs, Photoshop, Photomatix and FDR Tools Advanced. I've used Photoshop and Photomatix a lot but didn't know about FDR Tools, which the author explains is best for combining shots that contain motion in them. I'm trying out the demo of that program now.
Then there are a chapter each that describe the process involved in processing an image in each of the programs. A bonus is that the author includes all the program settings he used to achieve his results. Chapter 4 details working for a realistic view. Chapter 5 describes how to make what he calls "hyper-realistic" images. Those are the HDR shots that look more like illustrations or that were taken on some other planet. Enough of the settings, modes and sliders are explained to get you started.
The writing is clear. Subjects are introduced in logical order and there are plenty of gorgeous images throughout the book.
If there's any quibble with this book, it's the word "complete" in the subtitle. The volume is 160 pages long, covers 3 processing programs, and at least half the pages are taken up with photos. That doesn't leave a lot of text to "completely" cover the subject. However, there's more than enough to get you started. I highly recommend this as a first HDR book. If you want a more complete coverage, try The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists +DVD. Though, in this new field there isn't what I'd consider a definitive book on the subject.
Solid reference for HDR photography December 6, 2009
Busy Executive (Long Island, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been working with High Dynamic Range photography for a while now, and this is the best overall guide I've found.
The author covers a variety of topics, ranging from the mechanics of digital sensor design and why HDR is useful, to practical shooting technique suggestions, to working with the most popular HDR software products. It's a fairly quick read with plenty of useful examples, photographs and screen shots. If you're new to HDR, or if (like me) you've been at it a while but are a little haphazard about your approach, this book has lots of essential information that can help you become more proficient.
Inevitably, these types of books are tied to the underlying software, and the author focuses on what I think of as the "big three" in the HDR field. Photoshop (CS4) is discussed, although clearly the author believes it to be less useful than a special-purpose tool such as FDRtools or Photomatix, at least for HDR image creation itself. FDRtools is also discussed, but the majority of the examples and content in the book are focused on Photomatix, which I suppose is appropriate since this seems to be the leading HDR tool out there today. Still, if you're using some other software for HDR, you might not get at much value out of certain sections of the book (although much of it applies no matter what you're using), and of course, many of the examples will need translation.
The author also stresses using the right tool for the job, and often this means using multiple applications to create high quality HDR images. You might start with a tool like Photomatix, following up with further adjustments in Photoshop. This happens to be exactly the technique I use, and I think the author's suggestions are all very valuable.
In my opinion, about the only topic I'd like to see covered in more detail is color management for display and printing. Some of these items are mentioned, but not in a lot of depth. Since HDR pushes the limits of what we can print or display, I feel it's really important to be getting the most out of our digital darkrooms - and that includes proper calibration, as well as knowing what the limits of our systems are.
Highly recommended for anyone looking to do high quality HDR photography.
Well done book by a master photographer January 18, 2010
Stephen Kalman (Hawley, Pa USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been using HDR techniques for more than a year, but when I look at the images of really talented photographers who have mastered this process I realize that I still have a lot to learn. That's why I was delighted to learn that two books by two masters were recently released. The other, A World in HDR by Trey Ratcliff (ISBN 0321679446) is the other, and has its own review. They are related books with different strengths and weaknesses. I encourage you to look at both reviews (and by myself and others) if you have to choose only one. However, both get 5-Stars and if you can buy both your resulting prints will be better for it.
This book is a broad overview of HDR. The opening chapters say what it is about, how it works, and how to create and series of bracketed images for HDR processing. David takes the time to explain the difference between tonemapping and HDR and looks at the pros and cons of various artistic interpretations.
After those basics are covered, he goes into three programs that can be used to merge the images, Photoshop, Photomatix Pro and FDRTools. He looks at the strengths and weaknesses of each, such as the ability to manage small movements (such as camera shake or slight breezes on leaves) via alignment options or the ability to handle artifacts such as halos or grey skies.
Chapter three goes into more details on these three programs, looking at individual sliders and features. A few images are used as examples, with the original 5 bracketed shots shown for comparison. (Note: Most Nikon cameras can be set to do a bracket of 5, but a series of 3 is more common for other brands, including Canon. Again, strengths and weaknesses of each are explored, especially in areas where one program has a feature that isn't available, or easily available in the other(s). For example, FDRTools can be told to use something that moves (like clouds) from just one image. Photoshop can do that with masking. Photomatix has no equivalent.
Chapters 4 and 5 examine the artistic questions that go into post production. It is easy to make HDR images that look like bad 1960s drug trips. The decision on photo-realism vs hyper photo realism is up to the artist/photographer and David examines the techniques and results without bias. Both of these chapters end with a gallery of images from many HDR photographers (including Trey Ratcliff, the author of the other HDR book mentioned above) in order to display a wide variety of interpretations.
David ends the book with a section on post production, dealing with issues such as reducing noise and halos enhancing contrast and even using the tools on a single RAW image to create a simulated HDR effect. The last few pages include another HDR gallery.
The book is produced on high quality paper which showcases the images. They're a pleasure to look at and you could even leave this book on the coffee table for browsing like an Art-of-photography title. It is very well written, clear, easy to understand and contains many useful insights and techniques. Coupled with strong, captivating images, this book is highly recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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