HDR: What do you mean?

Tuesday 13 April 2021, 20:02 by Rob IJsselstein | 4,950 views | 4 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Anyone who takes photos regularly will come across the term HDR. Whether you use a camera or a phone camera.

HDR stands for high dynamic range, and the term is used for a technique to get a well-exposed photo in situations with high light contrasts. The technique is widely used, yet HDR has a negative connotation for many people. Is that justified?

What is HDR?

As mentioned, HDR stands for high dynamic range, which in this context means large differences in brightness.

The differences between light and dark parts of an image are often so great that a camera sensor cannot process them properly in a single shot. Unlike our eyes, which can do this better.

Think, for example, of a landscape with dark shadows and bright white clouds. In these situations, you risk losing all detail in the darkest and/or lightest parts of a photo: they become completely black or completely white.

The HDR technique

A technique was developed to create an image in which the details in both the dark and light areas are clearly visible.

To do this, several photos, usually 3, 5 or 7, are taken with a different exposure each time. In the darker photos, the details in the lightest areas are still clearly visible, while in the lighter photos, the details in the dark areas are still clearly visible.

Software was developed to combine these photos in such a way that the details are displayed clearly everywhere.

Initially, these were specialised programmes, but today the software is built into most photo-editing programmes, as well as modern cameras. The photo series here gives an impression of the process.

Initial use

A popular branch of photography is Urbex, or Urban Exploration. Photos are taken in old and derelict buildings, showing the decay of the buildings and traces of their former use.

In these buildings, there is a large difference in brightness between the dark corners of the rooms and the areas where daylight can be seen or shines inside. The HDR technique was quickly adopted, particularly in these conditions.

Why does HDR have a negative connotation for some people?

Urbex photographers in particular used specialist software that allowed them to influence the merging process themselves.

This option was regularly used to make the process go further than necessary for an image that matched what you see with your eyes.

This creates images in which the contrasts are not only compensated for, but even minimised. You get photos with lots of detail visible in every area, resulting in flat lighting.

Some people consider this so-called HDR look over the top and ugly, and therefore reject the use of the HDR technique.

Is the technique widely used?

The HDR technique as originally intended is being used more and more by photographers. Many cameras now have a setting that automatically takes a number of shots with different exposures.

The technique for combining them is built into mainstream photo-editing programmes such as Lightroom and Photoshop.

For photographers who shoot in RAW, using Lightroom is attractive because the result is also a RAW file, which can be edited further with great flexibility.

Many cameras and phone apps also offer the option of combining the photos immediately, saving a ready-made HDR photo.

And the HDR look?

The HDR look itself has also gained wider acceptance, and many cameras, including phones, and photo-editing programmes have so-called HDR filters that can give a photo a similar appearance.

This does not combine multiple shots. Here is a photo that has been edited in Lightroom to create an HDR look.

Conclusion

Many enthusiastic photographers, including professionals, use the HDR technique frequently, even though the latest camera sensors can already handle more contrast. The HDR look also remains popular with many users.

You might also like

• 

  Edit an HDR like a normal photo

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Review: HDR and Dynamic Range Course

  by Martin van Rooij

• 

  Got flare in your HDR photo? Remove it with your finger

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  An HDR photo is just a photo

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Programme your camera for HDR

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Creating an HDR photo with movement in the frame

  by Nando Harmsen

4 comments

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.