Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography (A Lark Photography Book)

EAN:9781600591969 Label:Lark Books Author:Ferrell McCollough Binding:Paperback

One thing is definitely true of HDR processing: There are lots of sliders, controls and options The best book on this subject I know of. Knowing which ones are useful and which to avoid is half the battle2009-02-19 Rating 5. And since HDR software uses terms like Highlight Smoothing and Micro Adjusting local contrast, the topic needed a little demystifying. That is what this book does. As one reviewer here points out, this book does lean heavily toward Photomatix as the HDR processor of choice, but there is plenty here for users of FDR Tools and others. The real trick is finding one or two packages and learning which controls you need to get the images you want. The software makers themselves don't really tell you what each of these various adjustments actually does. McCollough could do more in this area, but he does a pretty good job. I fault the book in one small detail. McCollough refers often to a technique in Photomatix called Highlights and Shadows --Adjust. It's a good technique for more realistic images and the author uses it to good effect. However he completely fails to mention how to find it, how to use it, what the controls are or anything else. He goes into tone mapping in great detail, but offers nothing on this. It isn't even in the idex. In fact, this important technique doesn't use an HDR image at all, but rather blends the exposures of a series of images directly into another standard DR image. All in all, this is a great book to help you feel more comfortable with all the aspects of this interesting photo technique. You will still have to discover a lot on your owm. HDR works in mysterious ways. But this book is never obscure and is very readable. Highly recommended. What a great resource book! Before I purchased this book my HDR technique left much to be desired This makes HDR Imaging Easy. I was using Photomatix Pro and basically moving sliders this way and that and never really understanding how the workflow of HDR manipulation should proceed2009-01-28 Rating 5. As pointed out by one reviewer, the tips on how to reduce noise, particularly in the sky are worth the price of the book. In addition, the best tip of all is to make sure you never shoot at greater than ISO 100. . this in and of itself does more to improve your final HDR images. Further, the print quality and selected photography in the book was top notch in getting across key points! From my experience, you should know your camera well before venturing deep into the HDR "pond". Example, if you have the latest and greatest D-SLR that has fast continuous shooting (greater than 3fps) combined with AEB (auto exposure bracketing) you can ignore the limitation of a tripod and shoot HDR handheld most of the time. In conclusion, this book has opened up a lot of spontaneous HDR imaging opportunities for me. The only recommendation I'd make is I'd have liked more direction on some post-processing tips. The HDR software does not in all cases give you a 100 percent final product. But, overall, this book is a must have and I guarantee it will reduce the learning curve in creating stunning HDR images. . it did for me! Outstanding book for HDR Step By Step.......... Great Step By Step explanation of reaching your goals to present the best photo possible2009-01-07 Rating 4. Awesome before/after photos that show the power of HDR. Only down side (and sometimes humorous) was the gross mis-spelling of some words. Nobody used Spell-Check? Grammar aside, this is an excellent walk-through reference for jumping into HDR!. Although I'd read three books on HDR, I needed this one to bring everything together Now I get it.. I couldn't figure out how many exposures it is best to take, and how much to bracket, let alone how to combine them all into one finished HDR shot2008-12-24 Rating 5. This book has everything you need to learn HDR, and the examples are great, too. However, you should also check out Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers. I found this book to be useful, as well. It's only a beginner's book, and has just 175 or so pages, but it explains things in a very clear way. Once I'd absorbed the basic material, I was ready for Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography (A Lark Photography Book). If you're a beginner, you need both. Like most books called complete guide to whatever it falls way short complete guide to high dynamic range digital photography book. The book favors phto matrix2008-12-20 Rating 1. , and leaves you hanging if you use another brand. Showing mostly after shots and little how to get there. . It’s the latest and hottest technique, made possible only through digital High Dynamic Range photography is the process of taking several pictures of a scene at various exposures, then merging them into one file. So the entire photo can look crisp and detailed, from highlights to midtones to shadows—and photographers needn’t sacrifice any part of their image