Creating your HDR
Once you’ve got your raw files into your PC, you need to convert them into a HDR. I can only really discuss Photomatix, as it’s the only software I’ve used. But I can say that I like it – I bought at the beginning of 2008 think it’s great. I have arranged a discount code you can use to get 15% off.
Open up photomatix and drag your raw files onto it, or open them up via the menus. Choose “Generate an HDR image” from the dialog, then OK your image list, and you should get to an options menu that looks something like this:
If I have handheld the shots, I always choose align source images (trying first matching features, then horizontal/vertical shifts if I don’t like the result).
I always choose reduce noise & chromatic aberrations.
In this case, I chose to reduce background movements, because there were leaves and a breeze in the picture. This and the objects/people option can sometimes work very well, but don’t rely on them – it’s much better if you have no movement in your picture.
Once you click OK, it will start to chug away and create the initial HDR file. It will look AWFUL – something like this:
Don’t be put off. This is just a simple attempt to show you the contents of the file – it hasn’t been processed at all at this point, and contains more detail than your monitor can display. The next step is when you turn this HDR file into your final image.