HDR photography with the Pentax K-3 or other Pentax DSLRs

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

I was not a fan of HDR (High Dynamic Range) before, but now I am starting to like it and like it a lot. When it got popular, people were exaggerating the effects to where images looked unreal and sometimes cartoonish.  

Now that most photographers are using this method moderately, the results can be awesome.

I took some pictures with the built-in HDR Capture function of the K-3, but found that the results weren't up to my expectations.  I am using Lightroom CC 2015 and found it to be excellent in producing true to eye rendition.

Here are an example of using this method. (Did you know that for $10.00 per Month, you can subscribe to Adobe Lightroom CC and always have the latest version?)  It's actually cheaper than  buying Adobe Elements and upgrade every year.

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Definition:

High-dynamic-range imaging ( HDR) is a technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. The aim is to present the human eye with a similar range of luminance as that which, through the visual system, is familiar in everyday life. The human eye, through adaptation  of the iris (and other methods) adjusts constantly to the broad dynamic changes ubiquitous in our environment. The brain continuously interprets this information so that most of us can see in a wide range of light conditions.  Most cameras, on the other hand, cannot.

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I took three pictures of the scene. One overexposed, one at the normal exposure and one underexposed. (You can take more if you want, but three is essential.  The software merges all images and by manipulating them, now you can see more details in the shadows and arrange the white areas so they won't be blown out. When done carefully, the image will have a similar dynamic range as the human eye.

Lightroom settings ==> Develop, Photo, Photo Merge, HDR.

Overexposed.

Normal Exposure

Underexposed

HDR merge and tone mapping. It is more natural and has a dynamic range similar to the human eye and represents more of what you saw when taking the picture.

Overdone with cartoonist look

Thank you for looking,

Yvon Bourque

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More of Pentax K-7 pre-production, HDR test.

Above are the presets I used before taking the HDR pictures. Bright with max saturation, max contrast and max sharpness. You can see an improvement over yesterday's HDR pictures. Note also that no post-processing was made to these pictures. They are as taken with the K-7 except for the reduction in size as this is still the same pre-production camera, with Firmware V 1.0.

The picture above is without HDR. Note the blown out highlights and dark shadows.

The picture above is with standard HDR. Note the highlights show more details and so does the shadow areas.

The picture above is with strong HDR. Much better and certainly much better than the Jeep pictures of yesterday.

HDR strong

HDR standard

HDR off

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

Click here for HDR definition.

I am still testing the K-7 which is a pre-production model. The final impression of this great camera cannot be finalized until the production model is available. I shot the same pictures as I did for the ISO tests. Same place, same location, same tripod, etc.

The HDR can only be activated in JPG shooting. The camera takes the three sequential pictures once you press the shutter button once. It takes about 20 seconds before the HDR results appear on the LCD monitor.

Note that the following settings can be performed before taking an HDR photograph; contrast, sharpness, saturation, hue, high/low key, as well as the following presets, bright, natural, portrait, landscape, vibrant, muted and B&W. The above pictures were only pre-adjusted for contrast. I might take a little while to get familiar with the HDR mode, but with a little practice (which I certainly need) the results will be similar to post-processing with a dedicated HDR software.

I am not particularly interested in HDR, but for the photographers using this method, this function will be great and will minimize your workflow.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Dear Pentaxians, Alien Skin Snap Art 2 can turn your photos into "Works of Art".

Alien Skin Snap 2 Menu inside Photoshop Elements 7

Working screen

Original photo

Oil painting

Oil painting on canvas

Stylize

Water Color

Visitors to this page also liked: See "Recommended Reading" on the right column. We honor reciprocal links. I can be reached at: brqyvn@aol.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

I know we are all awaiting impatiently for some new about the introduction of the new Pentax K-7. Let's take a break and have fun with some new software from Alien Skin. They have just introduced Snap Art 2 which can turn your images into work of Art. I downloaded a 30 days trial version and played with the software a bit.

I only used the default settings of the software but very artistic images can be produced. See their video demonstration. Personally, I prefer changing a photo to an oil paint emulation than using HDR for instance. Too many people, in my opinion, use HDR to enhance their photos, trying to make us believe that it was all done with the DSLR in RAW with minor adjustment. In the case of morphing to an oil paint or water color, there is no confusion...the image has obviously been manipulated, but it's Art and you decide what the image should look like.

You can download a 30 days demo here. Demo

Thanks for reading and have fun,

Yvon Bourque