Salt Lake City Skyline

I purposely arrived at the best spot to take a photo of the Salt Lake City skyline at 6:30pm so that I would be in place for taking the photos as the sun was about to set, giving a golden glow over the city.

As I waited for the sun to cast it's golden glow, I decided that the best way to photograph the skyline was to make a panoramic image. The first decision I had to make was which lens I was going to use. I could use a wide angle and take a few shots, or I could use a telephoto lens, and take many more shots to get the same area. I chose to use my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens so that I would be able to see the individual office windows in the buildings when the image is enlarged. (If there were any people in the windows, I would have been able to see them).

Here is how I take photographs for panoramas.

1. Use a tripod.
2. Make sure tripod is level. I have two centering bubbles on my tripod. One on the base, and the other on the tripod mount. This is important because as you rotate the camera, if it is not level, your horizon won't be level, so you will start out with the horizon in the middle, or bottom third, but then as you rotate the camera you will end up shooting just the sky because the horizon will be too low.
3. Look at the exposure meter in the camera at several points along your panorama. Determine the average Shutter Speed and the average Aperture settings.
4. Set the camera's mode to Manual, and use the average settings from above. You want to use the Manual mode so that the settings won't change as you move the camera from dark to light in your panning. You can get away with the settings changing, but most time not - you'll be able to see a change in the sky from dark to light to dark, etc.
5. Take a series of photographs, making sure that you overlap each shot by at least a third of the frame.
6. Use the Merge program in Photoshop (or similar program) to 'stitch' the images together.

Here is the finished product.

HDR - Manually (with layers - not automatic)

The HDR (High Dynamic Range) process was designed to provide for a wider range of lights and darks in an image than a camera's senor, or film, can process. To do this the process uses a number of images (most often three to nine) and takes the darkest parts of the overexposed images, and the lightest parts of the underexpose images to create an image with a wide, or high, dynamic range. But this process doesn't work for every image. Sometimes you have to do it the old fashioned way (relatively speaking), and just work with the layers in Photoshop manually. This tutorial does just that.

Before I start with the tutorial, let me just say that I see a lot of HDR images that I don't really like. That's because the photographer uses the technique to create a dramatically different image from the one that was shot originally. While these may be very popular, I personally will go against the trend and use the process merely to create an image that is more like the original image that I saw in person (albeit there may be some slight addition of color and saturation). But overall, I'm not trying to create a piece of art. Instead I like the photograph itself (the topic, the composition, the color, etc) to become the piece of art.

I took a picture of a statue of Brigham Young in the Utah State Capitol building. I took the picture from the front with the statue facing the camera, but the windows let in a lot of light that spilled over onto the statue. On the images where the exposure was long enough to capture the shadows on the front of the statue (including his face), the windows were so bright the light overflowed onto the sides of the statue, so that even after the HDR process, parts of the statue were highlighted with light from the windows. So here is the process: (Note: In order to be successful with this process, you still need to follow the steps in my HDR post about how to capture the images used in this process.)

Note: The instructions will be for PCs. I know that most 'real' photographers, designers, and artists use MACs, but hey - not everyone. And while virtually all instructions you read will be from a MAC, with the PC equivalent in parentheses, I'm sure MAC users will able to follow these instructions with hints on how to translate.

1. Open up (img: 5058, 5050, 5051, 5056). I chose images that had the highlights in normal range (under exposed image), and detail in the shadows (over exposed image), and then a couple with middle range.









2. Start with the darkest image. Use Levels and/or curves to bring out the detail in the windows. The detail in the windows all that matters in this image (the other images will be used for the highlights). Other than the windows, the rest of the image will be dark, if not black, but that's OK at this point.



3. Make a copy of this image in a new window.
a. Flatten the image:
(Layer > Flatten Image).
b. Copy the image to the clipboard:
(Ctrl+A, selects the image, then Ctrl+C copies the image).
c. Create a new window:
Click on File > New
A new window will be created with the same dimensions as the one copied.
d. Paste the image into the new window: Ctrl+V

4. Select the next darkest image and copy that image and paste into the new 'untitled' image that you just created. You will now have a blank background layer, and a layer 1, and a layer 2.



In step 4, you copied that image and pasted it on top of layer 1. This means that Layer 2 covers up everything on the layers below it. What we are going to do is stack all of the images, from dark to light, on top of each other. Then starting with the second darkest image, we will erase the lightest parts of the image, then continue with the next one, so that we will what we will see when we finish is the lightest parts of the image from the darkest image (the windows from the darkest image so we can see all the detail in the lightest part of the image.), and the darkest parts of the image from the lightest image (the darkest parts of the statue from the lightest image so we can see all the detail in the shadows).

5. Create a mask for that layer:
a. Click on Layer 2. (You should have a background, and layer one is the darkest image.
b. Click on the 'Add Layer Mask' button at the bottom of the Layers panel. A blank mask is added to the right of the image in layer 2.
c. Press the letter D on your keyboard to make sure that the background colors for your new mask are set to the default (foreground = black, background = white)
d. Click on the blank mask in layer 2(click inside the mask box).

6. Erase all the darker areas over the windows, so that the detail in the windows from the darkest image shows through. Erase over the light fixtures at 50% strength.
a. Press the letter B to select the Brush Tool.
b. Select the appropriate brush size by pressing [ for a smaller, or [ for a larger brush size.
c. Hold down the mouse and drag over the areas that you want to mask (erase from that layer so the the layer beneath will show through).
In this case, when you erase the over exposed lights in layer two, the properly exposed light fixtures in layer one will become visible.


7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for all of the rest of the images that you are working with. With each image, erase the darkest parts until you end up with the image as you want it.



This image shows the mask on Layer 3. If you select the mask, then click the \ key, the part that you have masked out (erased) will be red. If you erase too much, you can click on the letter X, and the brush will reverse the mask when you hold down the mouse and move it over what you just erased.



This image shows the mask on Layer 4. As you can see, I let a lot of the image from below come through.


This is the image using Photoshop Merge to HDR program. Notice the light overflowing from the window onto the statue.





This is the final image, using the Manual HDR process described in this Post. Click on image to view in larger size.

How to Create an HDR Image in Photoshop CS4

STEP ONE: Taking the picture

The first step in creating a HDR image happens way before you even open Photoshop. When you take a photograph of an image that has some very dark values, and some very light values, your camera cannot capture the wide range of light and dark. This range is measured in EVs. A normal camera can capture 6-8 EVs of dynamic range. The Photoshop HDR program (and many other third party applications), extend the EV range (of light and dark), so that the dark shadows photograph shows some detail, and the lightest parts of the photograph are not blown out.

So the first step in creating an HDR image occurs when you take the photograph. Because the HDR image will be a collection of two or more images you will need to use a tripod so that the camera won't move when taking the photographs. Some people like to use three shots, and some like to use as many as nine shots, but anywhere between these limits will work.

A: Use Exposure Bracketing ensure that the camera is steady during the entire process.

1. Set the Exposure Compensation Bracket to 0.

2. Set the Exposure Bracketing at 2 EV stops.

3. Hit the shutter release. The camera will take automatically take three shots - the first shot will be at the standard exposure, the next shot at 2 stops darker, and the last shot at 2 stops lighter. If you want more than three shots for your HDR image, you can start with the Exposure Compensation at +2 for the first three shots, (this will give you +0, + 2, and +4 EV), or if you camera will allow it, you can select the number of shots your camera will take in one bracketing group. Of course if you want more range, you can capture the image at smaller EV increments.

Bottom Line:
1. Make sure you have images that include all the darks, and all the lights.
2. Make sure that the camera doesn't move.

B: Shoot in either Aperture Priority or Manual mode. When you shoot a set of bracketed images, the Aperture value will stay the same and the Shutter Speed will change. If you shoot in Shutter Priority mode, then the shutter speed will remain constant and the aperture will change with each shot. This will cause the depth of field to be different in each shot, which could cause the image to be blurry.

C: Use a shutter release cable. Again, you want to reduce all the movement of the camera you can, especially with the lower shutter speed images.

D: Using the mirror lock-up feature in your camera will also help reduce any movement in the camera. When the mirror flipping up when you take a shot can cause slight movement during the exposure (more of a problem with longer focal length lenses). Locking up the mirror will eliminate any movement caused by the mirror flipping up during the exposure.

E: Shoot in RAW, for many reasons, one of which in that it gives the images the widest possible dynamic range. You can still use HDR with jpeg files, but RAW is better.


STEP TWO: Selecting the Images to use.

These are the photos I will be using in this tutorial: As you can see I use more than just three. I bracketed the first three (on the right), then shifted the center mark, and bracketed the next three (on the left).


Image 1

A: Select the images you want to work with.

1. From Photoshop:

a. Open all of the images you want to work with in Photoshop.

b. Click on File > Automate > Merge to HDR


Image 2

c. Select 'Add Open Files'

d. Check the box that says "Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images".

e. Click OK.


Image 3

2. From Photoshop Bridge:

a. Select the images you wish to use.

b. Click on Tools > Photoshop > Merge to HDR.
Note: (You will bypass the Merge to HDR screen shown above.)


Image 4

3. From Photoshop Lightroom:

a. Select the images you wish to use.

b. From the menu bar, Click on Photo >
(or right click on one of the selected images)
Edit In > Merge to HDR in Photoshop
Note: (You will bypass the Merge to HDR screen shown above in #1.)


Image 5


STEP THREE: Set the White Point Preview

The HDR program in Photoshop will merge all of your photos, and the HDR image will look like Image 6. On the left, you can see the bracketed shots you used . The green check mark means that photo is being used. You can un-check any number of the images to see what the composite would look like without using that image. If all of your images were created as I described above, and they were all sharp crisp and clear before you started, then you should use all of the images.

On the right you will notice the Bit Depth, the White Point Preview, and the Response Curve. The only one you will want to adjust will be the White Point Preview. But you will only need to adjust that if your highlights are blown out. In that case you will want to move the slider (under the histogram) to the right until it lines up with the end of the black curve in the graph.


Image 6


STEP FOUR: Save the file as a 32 bit image.

Since you might want to go back to this image at this stage later, it is a good idea to save it as a 32 bit image, even though it is outside the range of what monitors are capable of displaying at this time.


STEP FIVE: Convert to more workable image.

To better work with the image, you will want to convert it to an 8 bit or 16 bit image.
Click on Image > Mode > 16 Bits/Channel...


Image 7


STEP SIX: Open Local Adaptation to adjust Toning Curve and Histogram

1. Click on the down arrow next to method and select Local Adaptation. This will allow you to make adjustments to the tonal curve.

2. From the HDR Conversion box, click on the down arrow next to Tonal Curve and Histogram.


Image 8

This will change the look of the image, and give you a starting point to work from.


Image 9


STEP SEVEN: Make adjustments to Tonal Curve:

 
Image 10

1. To bring out the maximum tonal range, click on the curve point in the top right hand corner of the graph and drag it to the left until it lines up with the right edge of the graph, as shown in image 11.

2. Then click on the curve point in the bottom left hand corner of the graph and drag it to the right until it lines up with left hand corner of the graph.

3. Move the curve up or down to get a curve you are happy with.

4. Adjust the radius and threshold in order to retain the detail and avoid halos in the image. The radius controls the mask blur and the threshold controls what gets blurred. Most often you will want to reduce the Radius a quit a bit.

5. Click OK


Image 11

The goal in this step is to bring out the detail in the image and at the same time leave enough shadow so that it doesn't look washed out and fake. The steeper the curve, the more contrast you will have in your image. Be careful though - you don't want to end up with the same amount of blacks as if you had would have without the HDR process.

This is what the HDR image looks like at this point.


Image 12


STEP EIGHT: Save the file

1. Select File > Save As, or press Ctrl+Shift+S (Command-Shift-S) to open the Save As box, but don't Save just yet.


Image 13

2. As you can see in Image 12, this file still needs more work. For the next step I like to work in Camera RAW. But Camera RAW will only open TIFF, JPEG, and RAW files. If you save the file as a default PSD format, you will not be able to open it in Camera Raw.

3. Click OK and close the image.


STEP NINE: Open the file in Camera RAW

1. Photoshop's File > Open As (MAC: Open)

2. From the dialog box, select the File that you just saved.

3. From the Open As (Format) drop down, select Camera RAW to open the image for Camera RAW processing.


Image 14


Image 15


STEP TEN:

1. These steps will be dependent on what the image looks like at this point. This is what I did with this image:

Exposure: +0.10
Recovery: 55
Fill Light: 14
Blacks: 3
Brightness: +13
Contrast: +9
Clarity: +44
Vibrance: +7
Saturation: 0


Image 16

This is what the file looks like after the Camera RAW adjustments.

2. Some people, perhaps most, would stop here, but I like to do a couple of more things in Photoshop itself, so Click on Open Image.

STEM ELEVEN: Make final adjustments in Photoshop CS4

1. Adjust Level, Curves, Exposure, Vibrance, Hue and Saturation as needed.
2. Adjust the Chromatic Aberration to get rid of any red or blue fringes. Filter > Distort > Lens Correction... I use this tool to adjust the Chromatic Aberration (Fix any Red/Cyan or Blue/Yellow fringes.

3. Use the Lens Correction if necessary to change the vertical or horizontal angle. I used it to make the wires holding the bird sculpture perfectly vertical (which is the only way wires hanging from the ceiling would be positioned).

4. Use Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise (I use the Neat Image Plugin to reduce noise).

5. The final step is to Sharpen the image. I like to use Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen

This is what the final image looks like:


Image 17 - Click on image to see larger view.

Check back to find tutorials on these steps, taken in Photoshop, in more detail.