Arches and other Utah Nat Parks: a photo tip
(Dear Moderator -- I posted this item in the National Parks forum because it is about the particular problems I encountered when taking photos in the southwestern national parks. If it is in the wron...
Forum Discussion
HDR = High Dynamic Range photography. The process involves taking 2 or more exposures of the same scene and combining them with software. Some DSLRs have a HDR setting that will do this for you, in-camera. If you don't have this feature, HDR is still possible.
I tell the DSLR to bracket with 3 exposures: one is about 1.5 stops overexposed, one is right on, and one is 1.5 stops under. Then I use a program called Photomatix to map out the sets and combine them. Photomatix has plenty of settings options, so you can get a very realistic look or a painterly effect or whatever.
Another, easier way (IMO) to do the job is to take your single image and then process with a program called Topaz Adjust. I took the liberty of spending 5 minutes on your photo:
Topaz Adjust is a plug-in (an add-on program) that will work within Lightroom or Photoshop. It has a ton of presets as well as manual slider adjustments, so after a bit of practice you can fix an amazing range of exposure problems as well as enhance details, sharpen, and cut down noise. On your photo I used adaptive exposure, then lowered contrast and enhanced coarse and fine detail. Topaz Adjust is essentially a shortcut to your desired results, using an easy interface to give the host program (in your case, Lightroom) complex instructions. A person can download a free 30 day trial, and test drive it before buying. I downloaded the plugin to Photoshop and was immediately convinced.
I tell the DSLR to bracket with 3 exposures: one is about 1.5 stops overexposed, one is right on, and one is 1.5 stops under. Then I use a program called Photomatix to map out the sets and combine them. Photomatix has plenty of settings options, so you can get a very realistic look or a painterly effect or whatever.
Another, easier way (IMO) to do the job is to take your single image and then process with a program called Topaz Adjust. I took the liberty of spending 5 minutes on your photo:
Topaz Adjust is a plug-in (an add-on program) that will work within Lightroom or Photoshop. It has a ton of presets as well as manual slider adjustments, so after a bit of practice you can fix an amazing range of exposure problems as well as enhance details, sharpen, and cut down noise. On your photo I used adaptive exposure, then lowered contrast and enhanced coarse and fine detail. Topaz Adjust is essentially a shortcut to your desired results, using an easy interface to give the host program (in your case, Lightroom) complex instructions. A person can download a free 30 day trial, and test drive it before buying. I downloaded the plugin to Photoshop and was immediately convinced.
