And the HDR Program/Plug-in Winner Is . . .

Comment
Since the publication earlier this year of my 36th book, HDR Digital Photography Secrets, for which I mostly used Photmatix, and the subsequent release of Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro, I have received tons of emails asking me, "Which HDR program one is best?"

I usually answer, "Well, which image-editing program is better, Lightroom or Photoshop?" I ask the question, tongue in cheek, because I use both Lightroom and Photoshop –because both programs offer distinct advantages. Every pro I know uses both programs.

I continue to say that I use both Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro. Here, too, both programs offer advantages.

Photomatix is very fast, and makes it easier for me to get very smooth skin tones, as illustrated above.

HDR Efex Pro is a bit slower. However, it offers U Point technology, which lets you place control points, for fine-tuning exposure, contrast, color, etc., anywhere in an image. Curves are also included. So, there is less need to bring an image into Photoshop for additional enhancements, as I often do with my Photmatix images.

Both programs can get you basically to the same place, but the journey with HDR Efex Pro will cost you a bit more. Both programs are also a lot of fun and can help you awaken the artist within.

And to get your started, both programs offer many presets, which give you creative ideas on how to enhance your images.

My advice to serious HDR image makers is to get both programs. If you do, the winner is . . . you!

You can get a discount on both programs:
Photomatix - use this code upon checkout: ricksammon.
HDR Efex Pro - use this code upon checkout: RSAMMON. (You can use this code to get a discount on all Nik plug-ins.)

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Digital enhancements are a popular topic here on the blog. One of the most popular recent posts was on Topaz's Labs new InFocus. Here is another example of this plug-in.

But first, until December 3, you can save big time on InFocus. Click here.

Above: Original image.

Above: Image enhanced with InFocus.

Heck, know it's kinda hard to see the difference in low-res images - but the InFocus image definitely looks sharper.

For a better look, I cropped the images. Keep in mind, however, that the images are still low-res.

Below left – close-up of original. Below right – InFocus applied. Notice how the eye is sharper and the line of the horse's nose is much more defined in the InFocus image.

Here's a link to an earlier post on InFocus.

Explore the light,
Rick

Mozart and Composition – Photo Composition, That Is

2 Comments
Mozart once said (well, maybe he said it more than once): I’m not so much concerned about the notes, but the space between the notes.

As a musician (I studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston), I can relate to that quote – because the space between the notes is just as important as the notes themselves. No space . . . and you have just noise.

In photography, space is important, too. If all the elements in a scene are jammed up, your picture will be a mess.

These two pictures “work” because there is space between the subjects in the scenes.

You can create space by orchestrating a scene. In the making of the top image, we asked the riders to space out the horses during this set up shot. The first shots was just a jumble of shapes.

In the making of the bottom image, I carefully chose a shooting angle that clearly showed the butterflies mating. (I used my Canon ring light, by the way, for that even lighting.)

Your assignment: take a few pictures this weekend and focus on space.

P.S. Speaking of being at Berklee, world-famous Photoshop Expert Eddie Tapp and Canon’s Steve Inglima are both skilled musicians. So is artist John Paul Caponigro and the Mac Group’s Joe Brady. Tony Sweet is an accomplished jazz drummer. Scott Kelby? He plays keyboards, guitar and he sings. And… Ansel Adams played the piano! I guess photographers and musicians have something in common: We all think about space.

My Answer to: What Do You See in This Photogrpah?

4 Comments
Hi All,

Thank you for your comments.

It was interesting to see that, due to Thanksgiving, several folks saw a turkey.

Actually, from a different angle, I saw a foot... but we all see what we see :-)

You're on ricksammon.info for a reason: info. The photo info tip here is a basic, but important one: when you see something that looks interesting, take your time and walk around it and look for different viewpoints. You may be surprised at what you find - and see.

Explore the light,
Rick

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 36/101: Swirl It!

Comment
This is tip #36 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Swirl It!

It's fun and easy to create the swirl effect in Photoshop. Here's how to do it:

• Open an image.
• Go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates > Polar to Rectangular.
• Go to Image > Flip Canvas Vertically
• Go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates > Rectangular to Polar.

That's it.

Explore the light,
Rick

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 35/101: Expose for the Highlights. Please!

2 Comments
This is tip #35 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Expose for the Highlights. Please!

"Expose for the highlights." That's one of the chants on my workshops & photo tours, as well as in my seminars.

Sure, in Adobe Camera RAW, Lightroom, Aperture, Canon Digital Photo Professional, etc., we can rescue a little over a stop of overexposed areas of an image. But if the highlights are more than one stop overexposed, we are usually sunk. In most cases, they are lost and gone forever.

That's why it's important to check your camera's histogram. That's another chant on my workshops. :-)

Make sure you don't have a spike on the right of your histogram. Also check your camera's overexposure warning. With these two in-camera features, there is no reason, whatsoever, to blow out important highlights.

I exposed for the highlights when taking the opening picture for this post. Below I simulated what happens when you don't follow this most-important rule. Yuch.

Sure! Rules are meant to be broken. Below I intentionally overexposed the highlights in the background to blur out some of the detail in the background.

So, follow the "expose for the highlights" rule – and break it when it makes sense, but only when it makes sense.

For more info on getting a good exposure, see my book: Rick Sammon's Exploring the Light.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Shadows/highlights is a good adjustment for rescuing overexposed highlights, as well as blocked up shadows. Keep in mind, however, that you can only do so much with an incorrectly exposed image.