DRI (dynamic range increase) *no* tonemapping - ADD DESCRIPTION / Discuss

balaclava9    says:

yeah i do this all the time. it's THE reason i switched to shooting in RAW whenever the lighting is even slightly challenging.
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

GoSo says:

Yup, good workflow, but most of the time I only choose two different "exposures".
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

Moritz Petersen says:

I've tried it. It's my first attempt for DRI. Any comments?


Posted 93 months ago. (permalink)

balaclava9    says:

it's good. it's still realistic. the tree on the right is still pretty dark and same with the lower bushes. it looks like you did as well as can be expected with the blown highlights in the sky.
Posted 93 months ago. (permalink)

icon0815 says:

Looks good, Moritz.
It would be interesting to see the original.
Posted 93 months ago. (permalink)

Alpine Climber says:

I find a program called Photomatix works really well. Here is the link to their site where you can download and try it out:

www.hdrsoft.com/

From a single image, I have made three separate exposures, one unchanged and the other two with increased and decreased brightness levels. I then merge them into an HDR and tone map to compress the tonal range. This of course does not increase the dynamic range of the image (the way multiple merged images do), but does make for a much more pleasing image.

I have no experience with other HDR techniques, but am extremely happy with the minimal effort in using this program. I would highly recommend checking it out!
(It's a bit pricey to purchase $100 US, but worth every penny in my view)

ps taking and using your picture in RAW mode will likely give you better results, but you are still limited by the dynamic range of your cameras sensor. Effectively you're not really increasing the dynamic range of the image, but with tone mapping you are compressing the tonal range which brings out the local contrast better. The net result certainly is better than with any other processing.(ie other than using HDR techniques)
Originally posted 90 months ago. (permalink)
Alpine Climber edited this topic 90 months ago.

OLDSKOOLDAVE    says:

Original Picture




Duplicate image twice.
Darken one and add contrast , lighten and unsharp mask the other - paste images into original as mentioned above - Blur layers etc.


Enhanced Picture



Posted 89 months ago. (permalink)

hchalkley    says:

For another way to manipulate the dynaimc range from a single image, see these:

both using photoshop elements, threshold masking and soft light.
Posted 88 months ago. (permalink)

pbutler1    says:

I used to use the soft light method, but have now switched to the single RAW, multiple import method mentioned at the start of this. The results are much better, easier to control , and agreeing with balaclava9 it is THE single best reason to go to a RAW flow.
Posted 88 months ago. (permalink)

shieken says:

can you guys tell me or guide me through the "processing" part of images? I'm not quite sure how to combine 3 images into one & get the great images.
Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

icon0815 says:

on the the main-page of this group you'll find three different howto's....
Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

Stew Stryker    says:

My second attempt at DRI, using the above technique with just 2 layers from a RAW file. I only separated the layers by 1.25 EV, trying to keep it more realistic. How'd I do?

www.flickr.com/photos/stewstryker/130748357/
Originally posted 86 months ago. (permalink)
Stew Stryker edited this topic 86 months ago.

Stew Stryker    says:

@icon0815 - I asked you a question on your comment to my image above, if you get the chance. - Thanks!
Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

hinting says:

Hey did anyone create a RAW(DNG) to HDR action on photoshop? The technique is repetitive anyway? I do not know how the do an action with camera raw...
Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

cmrowell    says:

I use a similar technique using one exposure. What was the final word on this? Is it allowed in this group? I was under the impression that you wanted multiple exposure shots only.

Here is an example of something I typically do using GIMP. Single image, duplicate screen layer applied with a black to transparent gradient applied in a top to bottom direction to brighten the foreground. Then a duplicate overlay layer applied that is also gradient masked out but with white to transparent in the bottom to top direction. Anyway, this is the result. If these are ok, I'll add them.

Oh, and I'm not too impressed with HDR, so I like the idea of this group. HDR is eye candy. This is closer to what the eye really sees but that film or digital cannot capture.


Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

jancyclops    says:

Strangely enough, the photo which started this discussion looks like the sort of thing my Fuji Finepix S602 will do in "point & shoot" mode at night. That camera is excellent at night or in good daylight but not so good during the day if the light is a bit dull, though!

I have looked at mucking about with a single exposure and have come up with this:-


I'm not sure if this is what you mean by "DRI" but it certainly isn't HDR. I did this using The GIMP working on a single JPG original.

The technique used was to take one exposure (the background layer) and then duplicate that layer on top several times. The background layer has been left "as is", and you can see what the original was like by following the link within the page this thumbnail goes to.

In this case the three other layers were colourised to various degrees and then made less than fully opaque (opacity ranged between 40% and 60%). The opacity modes weren't the same either. I did not mask off any areas and just apply a technique to that part in any of the layers. Whatever was done to a layer was done to the whole layer.

BTW, this was taken through double glazing during a rainstorm and the camera really did see what I saw. And from ground level it is a bit of an eyesore, but it looks a whole lot better from 18 floors up!
Posted 86 months ago. (permalink)

Gurugo says:

Hello, everyone, here's a contribution from a newbie. This is my first ever attempt at DRI, using precisely the technique mentioned here. I'm a bit concerned with the colour noise created in the process, and any suggestions of improvement are most welcome. I'd also like to know how you proceed once you have the three exposure shots stacked on top of each other (maybe there's more than one technique with different results). Cheers!


Posted 85 months ago. (permalink)

Amery Carlson says:

first of all HDR has gotten a bad rap, most of the problems you guys associate with it are user error. Now on to the relevant info(This is for Photoshop btw) - You can use this technique for .raw or .jpeg, but like most single shot photos: expose for the highlights.

1.) Duplicate background layer 2.)Desaturate(Ctrl. + Shift + U) 3.) Invert(Ctrl. + I) 4.) Set blend mode to overlay 5.) Apply Gaussian Blur filter(adjust radius setting to your liking) 6.) Adjust layer opacity to your liking
Posted 85 months ago. (permalink)

planetk (rolfwegner.net) [deleted] says:

Thanks for sharing, Amery. I've tried it a few times on daylight shots with a dark foreground, and I am really impressed so far. Very easy, and the results are great.
Posted 85 months ago. (permalink)

Ricardo Galvão (f0t0gr4fi4) [deleted] says:

Another way: (ONE SHOT HDR)
A.) Duplicate layer.
B.)Desaturate(Ctrl. + Shift + U).
C.) Set blend mode to screen (IF YOU DO THAT, YOU DO NOT NEED TO INVERT DESATURATE)
D.) Adjust layer opacity AS YOU LIKE.
(MINUS TWO STEPS)
THERE ARE MANY WAYS...
see my tutorials, looking for my tags HDR
Originally posted 85 months ago. (permalink)
Ricardo Galvão (f0t0gr4fi4) edited this topic 85 months ago.

Amery Carlson says:

@F0T0GR4FI4 / Ricardo Galvão : thanks for sharing another technique. I just want to point out that adjusting the px of the gaussian blur layer allows fine tuning which can make a huge difference depending on the target photo. That is why i prefer that technique...

p.s. for those interested this technique is called "contrast masking" and it is something I picked up in a photoshop book a couple years ago. It is not my idea by a long shot. Share the love!
Posted 85 months ago. (permalink)

DaveWilsonPhotography    says:

I've not seen any mention of this so I'll throw it into the mix.. Given a single image, I tend to hit it with "Shadow/Highlights" in Photoshop if I want to muck with the dynamic range. This will do in about 4 seconds what used to take me several hours with other masking and level adjustment methods I previously used. It doesn't always work but I tend to find it works enough to save me a great deal of time and, if it doesn't do the job I want, I can always fall back on other, more time consuming techniques.
Posted 79 months ago. (permalink)

Hey Alex says:

Someone above mentioned Photomatix software. I personally believe that this software has no business claiming to be HDR software. It should be called "Multi-exposure Oversaturated-Color" software because it has a lot more to do with color saturation than exposure and dynamic range.

Photomatix gives a very stylized and unrealistic image that I generally don't like. (That is just a personal opinion, we each have our own tastes and I've also seen a few pleasing examples.) I wish people would understand that not everyone wants technicolor, and keep the Photomatix pictures and the realistic looking pictures in different groups.

[/RANT]


-Alex
Originally posted 77 months ago. (permalink)
Hey Alex edited this topic 77 months ago.

thejasp says:

Here is my try out dri using 3 exposure from single raw.



Three jpegs with different exposure levels were create from same raw using ufraw. Then used exposure blend extension on Gimp to get the fourth dri image.
Blending images taken by exposure bracketing should produce better result.
Originally posted 75 months ago. (permalink)
thejasp edited this topic 75 months ago.

Studio Amore says:

My first DRI - Success?

DRI
From

By the way, thanks to everyone who is posting on how they are doing this - I know it is a great help to us newbies who wonder how people get colors we just aren't getting from our cameras! :)
Posted 74 months ago. (permalink)

dreamery says:

It's easier to open the main RAW image, duplicate the image, select ALL, copy merged into layer mask, apply levels to the layer mask. From here you can do so much more detailing of exposure using curves and more layer mask with gradient tool etc... Then again. That's just me
Posted 57 months ago. (permalink)

dreamery says:

Studio Amore - that's a good job. Looks very natural and your image has the right blend of contrast.
Posted 57 months ago. (permalink)

RGB&W says:

Heya, I'm new to this, so I've followed Amery Carlson's approach, quoted [with my comments] below:

1/. Duplicate background layer
[or Stamp Visible = Comm+Opt+Shift+E; PC: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E]

2/. Desaturate [Comm+Shift+U; am wonder what difference would a proper B&W conversion with different filters make (?)]

3/. Invert [Comm+I]

4/. Set blend mode to 'Overlay'

5/. Apply 'Gaussian Blur' filter (adjust radius to taste)

6/. Adjust layer Opacity to taste

RGB&W says:

Here's my interpretation / implementation of Russell Brown's "Wilde & Wacky Dynamic Raw Imaging" technique. Although his version of DRI stands for something different (you've gotta love TLAs ;) it also achieves extension of single image's dynamic range, giving it a faux-HDR look in the process.