My Photography Book

Saturday, February 26, 2011

HDR Software Problems

By Pete Ford


I think High Dynamic Range is one of the biggest things to happen to photography since the first digital camera came out many years ago. HDR software allows you to create spectacular images that just weren't possible even a few years ago. However, for all of the incredible things HDR allows you to do, there are certainly some downsides as well.

Many people who are against HDR can rattle off drawbacks and problems, and some of there are pretty spot on. Here are a few of the biggest downsides to HDR.

Images More Prone to Noise. The fact of the matter is, the more images your computer has to process together, the noisier the final result is going to be. If you're used to shooting at night or at high isos this could potentially be a big problem for you. Luckily there is some fantastic noise reduction software out there, but it can be pretty expensive.

Way Too Much Over-saturation. Let's face it most HDR beginners love over saturated surreal photos. Is that what makes good HDR? Most often the answer is no. But when people are learning, this is usually the route they take. By the time they get good enough to know better they've probably given up on learning the art of HDR and moved on to something else. In the end this leads to an over abundance of ugly photos.

Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master. Anyone can throw a few photos into some software, but there are a lot of components that go into a good HDR photograph - many more than with traditional photography. Afterall you need at least three photos, not just one.

Just like with anything else, there are going to be upsides and downsides to HDR. I imagine this will be an ongoing debate as technology advances and it gets easier for people to get into HDR. Despite any potential downsides however, I will remain a big proponent of the technique and look forward to seeing it expand in the coming months and years.




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