Product Description

Its the latest and hottest technique, made possible only through digital. High Dynamic Range photography is the process of taking several pictures of a scene at various exposures, then merging them into one file. So the entire photograph can look crisp and detailed, from highlights to midtones to shadows - and photographers neednt sacrifice any part of their image. And the best way to master this exciting technology is with this thorough, easy-to-follow, and visually spectacular guide. No other title does justice to these cutting-edge techniques, which actually take the viewer into worlds far beyond normal photography - sometimes even beyond normal human perception. Ferrell McCollough, a widely respected photographer, pushes the boundaries and inspires others to pursue their artistic vision, too. The amazing results simply cant be achieved any other way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21538 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.05 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

HDR in a Nutshell
I am a very experienced photographer (35 years) and have 12 months experience with HDR. Ferrell McCollough's book is an excellent all round view of HDR and related techniques. This book would be an ideal book for an experienced digital photographer just starting in HDR. I found information which confirmed and extended my previous knowledge as well as some new and valuable additional information. I found the book easy to read end to end but it will remain on my shelf as a useful reference book.

The book is almost worth the cost just to see the superb HDR images let alone the wealth of information. This is excellent value.

Not quite Complete
This book gives a good, in depth explanation of the techniques involved in the creation of HDR images.
It's written in easy to follow terms with lots of really clear analogies, making it easier to understand the technical stuff.

However, the author completely misses out the last part of the equation, which is how to prepare your fab new pictures for the web and especially for print. There is no mention of the necessary CMYK conversion process that has to be involved in most printing.

Neither was there any mention of the camera, lense, aperture and shutter speed that most dedicated photographers like to be aware of when examining a photograph technically.

And finally, the author also fails to mention that, using any version of Photoshop with layers, these images can be created in a very simple way. Just layer the various exposures at varying opacities - 100%, 60%, 30%, etc and then apply a contrast curve to the result. So you don't need to rely on the software packages that are covered in the book. Although they're cheap enough, the resulting artifacts and oversaturation can easily overwhelm your image.

Is this book worth the money? You can learn all the ins and outs of HDR online for free, you can look at a zillion HDR images online for free, but if you really want to show people what you're talking about - the printed page does the trick. Which is why it's so annoying that printing is missed out completely.

Good guide into HDR
As you're reading this I'm sure you're aware of the possibilities of HDR and what it can do. It's still a pretty new field that is changing rapidly as tools and techniques improve all the time.

The book offers a good start on your journey into the world of HDR imaging. It explains nicely the basic theory behind it and how it works. It then explains how to do it and what you need. It reviews various programs you can use to create your HDR images. Of course since the field of HDR is moving forward all the time, the applications might have improved and there might be new ones out there, but the basic ideas are still the same. And many of the techiques and ideas still work recardless of the software you use. Topics on panoramas, using flash, post processing etc.

And if nothing else, it does offer quite inspiring HDR images to motivate you to go out there and try things, because that's what HDR is still about - trying things.