SylviaHardy

First select your image that you wish to work with and look at it and think about what it is that you want to bring out in the photograph? Does it have burned out highlights? Or are the shadows to dark? Or is the contrast to grate?
I do a lot of my HDR work from a single image, because I fail to use a tripod and even then find some slight movement?
I work in Paintshop Pro XI. I open the image that I’ve selected which usually starts with a Raw photograph.

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Open Enhance Photo > Auto Fix

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I try to lighten the shadow area and darken the highlights to bring out more detail and when I am happy click ok.

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Save the copy as in JPG.

Now I am ready to create two further exposure effects from this image for my HDR work.

Go into Adjust > Brightness/Contrast > Level

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A box will pop up and take the slider to the right to give the photograph an underexposed effect and click ok.

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Save it as with a new name so that you don’t loose your correctly exposed photograph. To save you the hassle of opening your first photograph, just undo the last action of levels and you have the previous effect and open Levels again but this time take the slider to the left to give the photograph an overexposed effect and click ok.

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Again saving this one as with a new name so that you have three different exposed effects from the one photograph.

Now I am ready to create a HDR in Photomatix. I have chosen to do this in Photomatix basic because I like the effect Photomatix basic creates.

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Click tonemapping and you see three basic sliders as well as bit depth output. I always sellect 16

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Move the sliders around and if you don’t know what they do? Just move them from one extreme to the other. That way you learn what they are for and you can judge what you are looking for in your tonemapping and when you are happy click ok! Your HDR is finnished.

But I chose to bring out the foreground out a little more and re-opened it in Paintshop Pro XI, using a selection tool and Feather of 200%

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I used the clarify tool which you find in enhance photo and clarify. I used about 5%

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Then I opened the Histogram which is found in Adjust > Brightness/contrast and Histogram

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By taking the slider slightly down and then click ok.

Finally I sharpen the foreground in the unsharp mask

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and click ok and deselect the selection tool by right clicking the mouse and save your work as!

finnished HDR work

This is the original image before I had worked on it!

I hope that this has helped? As I have been asked about my method of creating my HDR? And this is one way that I do it but not all of my work!

Best regards to you all,

Sylvia :-))