HDR mode

[bawboh86]

Most HDR-Photos just look awful. It's more for the Kids on Facebook.

So, I took this in HDR mode on my SLT-A77: City Hall by *bawboh86 on deviantART

There's no way I could have captured half that detail without HDR mode. And if I had, it would have messed up the mood of the image because I would have had to use such a slow shutter speed to get it, that other parts would have blown out. There's a time and place for any tool, and saying that one of them is "just for kids on Facebook" is ignoring a valuable asset you can utilize. It just takes experience to figure out when it's best to take an HDR shot, and not blow out the picture with weird colors and lighting.

Sorry, this post bothered me so much as a professional photographer, who is also coming to realize the usefulness of HDR, that I couldn't let it slide.

 

[lce123]

HDR is cool look at HDR zombie on instagram and tell me that isn't cool.. everyone has their own style

 

[gkrew]

Not a fan of HDR. too time consuming to create on the computer and I do not like the end result. It looks too fake to me. I may try an app but I may not like the results either.

 

[Muessig]

Not a fan of HDR. too time consuming to create on the computer and I do not like the end result. It looks too fake to me. I may try an app but I may not like the results either.

I'm inclined to agree. I like the idea of using dynamic range to bring out details you otherwise wouldn't normally see across exposures, but I wouldn't use an app to do it personally. I prefer to do it manually.

 

[Nesdam1981]

I see so many people complaining about HDR not being real photography... Try telling that to a photographer (like me)... True photography is not about point and shoot. That's just a photo, an image, a picture... True photography is about creating art, in any way that fit into real life still image processing. HDR is a photography style and there are literally hundreds if,not thousands of different ways to introduce an HDR image. While some may look like a "Pixar" computer image (rest assure they are not) some can also look very lifelike due to the huge amount of detail captured in each exposure. So please, if you don't know anything about photography other than point and shoot, don't comment. Its as if I would say I'm a mechanic because I know how to change my cars headlight...

 

[DalekSnare]

My iPhone from 3 years ago had HDR in the built-in camera, and it took them instantly. They looked good and I didn't have to hold the phone steady for ages like with the HDR apps. What did Apple do that the apps aren't doing?

 

[Ed Boland]

Wow.. Some people

 

[Nesdam1981]

Probably the same as any other smartphone with a built in HDR mode. The only thing it it does is adding a "HDR" filter. It is not taking pictures in different exposures which will leave out a lot of detail. It's hardly an HDR image to be honest but i guess they have to call it that for the sales argument, "now we have revolutionary hdr mode"... Or not ;-)
Many photo manipulation apps for smart phones have an HDR filter, but it doesn't come near a true HDR picture.

 

[Smyrna5]

Pro Cam
http://i.imgur.com/vZjQLO0l.jpg

HDR Photo app
http://i.imgur.com/jm7w4Vfl.jpg

At least in that photo, HDR appears a lot like what a photographer might do if they positioned lights or reflectors to get light on the underexposed areas of the picture, and post processed over-exposed areas. The effect is pretty natural to my eye under the roof, Im not sure about the countryside behind it, which would certainly requre some pretty fancy auxiliary lighting to achieve. I think saying HDR is not true photography is like saying more than one light source (including reflectors) is not true photography. I may have to see if there is an HDR app for my lowly 521.

 

[Bicpug]

HDR app lightens it nicely but it makes the background look incredibly flat.

 

[Smyrna5]

HDR app lightens it nicely but it makes the background look incredibly flat.

Yeah that background treatment bothered me. I think if I were doing it manually with 3 images, I would have left the background woods alone, but an app would have to be pretty smart to do that.

 

[Nick_1020]

Pro Cam
http://i.imgur.com/vZjQLO0l.jpg

HDR Photo app
http://i.imgur.com/jm7w4Vfl.jpg

Is that from this HDR app?