HDR, high-density range, photography is a relatively new technique that enables the photographer to capture more dynamic range in a scene with multiple exposures than is possible with a single exposure. In simpler terms, HDR photography lets you capture the brightest highlights and the darkest darks of a scene and still have a properly exposed image in the midtones. No blown out highlights, no muddy or blocked up darks. Unless you want them, that is. The gift of this technique is also it's curse - the exposure options and retouching capabilities can give you fantastic results, or really awful results. Your image can look very realistic in reguards to exposure and saturation, or very surreal and "fake", depending on how you process the images.
Another challenge for the photographer beginning to work in HDR photography is determining when a scene would be benefitted from the technique, and when it would not. It's very easy to get so excited about HDR and start using it for everything, even if it doesn't need it. You can ruin a great image by applying HDR techniques where they are not needed. There is a lot to learn about HDR techniques, and a great deal of time practicing and studying are required to produce excellent results every time.
Here are a few examples of HDR work:
In the individual images that make up this shot, either the highlights are completely blown out or the rest of the image is too dark to see.
In the above image, there is detail in the dark trees as well as in the whites of the building - impossible to capture in a single exposure.
I'll post a more in-depth discussion on HDR photography in the future. Maybe after I get around to matching the blog layout to our website layout...
The sky is the actual sky, I did very little processing to it in post. This is a combination of 5 shots, each with a different exposure. I like the feel of it, although it may be a little "ominous" for their marketing purposes. Sunrise shot, looking East/South East about 7:45am.
