HDR Technique ~ I Remembered!

I actually remembered this evening that I had said I would share the HDR technique I discovered earlier this week.   See…she can be taught.  🙂

To do this technique, you will need to be able to open your jpeg or raw files  in ACR ~ Adobe Camera Raw.  This plug-in comes with my version of PSE7….I can’t vouch for other versions though.  It is best to try this with landscapes or similar images until you have used it for some time.  If opening a jpeg file, you will need to select file>open as>and select your file.  Raw files can be opened with file>open.  This tutorial is probably more suited for individuals that have some editing experience in either PhotoShop, PSE or another similar editing program.  If you are a beginner….it is pretty easy to follow so why not give it a try.

Original photo ~ SOOC (straight out of camera) of a beautiful spruce tree on campus.  Not a bad photo, but we can bring out a lot more detail with the HDR technique. 

Begin by opening your photo with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)….

I know….this is almost impossible to see….I had to keep it smaller to fit ~ click on the image for a larger view. 

Using the indicators on the right, slide the recovery number to 100….slide the fill light to 100….slide the contrast to 100….slide the clarity to 100….slide the vibrancy to 100.  Now you want to adjust the blacks until you get rid of the fog or milky layer.  After you have made all these adjustments, you can adjust your exposure as needed.  You can either adjust the saturation in ACR, or go ahead and open the image in Elements Editor by selecting “open image” from the bottom right hand corner.  Your image is probably going to look pretty wild right now…..but you are going to adjust it by selecting layer>new adjustment layer>hue/saturation>OK.  Now you can adjust the master saturation by sliding the indicator to the left, or you can select the drop down box and pick a color that is a bit out of control on your image.  I had to desaturate the greens and the yellows in my image…I think I pulled them down to almost -20.  A lot of it is basically personal preference as far as settings.

You can make other adjustments as well…..duplicate the background and you can reduce the noise (filter>noise>add noise) by adjusting the number until you are satisfied.  You can sharpen your image (enhance>unsharp mask) by again adjusting the number until you are satisfied.  Or soften it a bit by applying a Gaussian Blur to the duplicate layer and set your blend to soft light or overlay.  Play with the blend modes to see which one suits you best.  Finish off the image with a vignette by selecting filters>correct camera distortion>vignette.  Slide the indicator all the way to the left…or again, set it to a level that satisfies you.   

And the finished image…….a lot more detail than the original and notice how it brought out the background a lot more than the original. 

If you give this a try, post a link to your image in the comments for all to see.  Thanks for looking.  🙂

Adapted from  http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47447