What is HDR photography you ask? HDR stands for high dynamic range, which according to Wikipedia is “a technique used in photographic imaging and films, and in ray-traced computer-generated imaging, to reproduce a greater range of luminosity than what is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques.”, and is also a feature in my camera that I have mostly ignored up until recently.
So, if you find yourself in a situation with bright highlights and deep shadows you might want to try HDR mode if your camera supports it. On the Canon 90D and many other higher end models you can select HDR mode in the menu. Once selected, another screen comes up which allows you to select standard, natural or art saturation or something like that. Then you can select how many stops you feel you need to cover, I have been using +3, which means that the camera is going to shoot three images in rapid succession with three different stops of exposure, before stitching them together in camera to produce one jpg image with the three stops of exposure.
So far I have tried the art mode setting on some autumn colors and now natural which I tried in Rocky Mountain National Park. Art mode proved to be too much for my tastes and resulted in some odd colors introduced into the shadows. Natural looks a little better but I can’t say I’d trust a whole shoot to this technique. My attempts have been handheld which I don’t recommend due to the fact that I’m not sure they are matching the three images up perfectly. I would definitely use a tripod for a serious attempt at an image.
As for me, I will continue to do my serious photography in Raw mode as I don’t feel the benefits of the HDR feature outweigh the benefits of being able to adjust your images with Light Room, Capture One, or Adobe ACR prior to rendering your final image.
These were my favorite pictures of the dozen or so that I shot in HDR mode. Please feel free to visit and follow my Instagram page for the rest of my RMNP trip plus hundreds more!
For your enjoyment I have also created a library of multimedia videos for my YouTube channel! Feel free to watch and be sure to subscribe to my channel if you would like to see more of my adventures! Also feel free to follow my Instagram page where tons more of my images are displayed!
As always, the best of these images and hundreds more are available for purchase on my website as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional matting and framing. Tons of cool household and gift items are also available with any image you like including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pillows, battery chargers, phone cases, stationary and much much more! Just click on any image you like and all the choices, sizes and prices will appear! For my viewers interested in images for commercial use, please visit my image licensing portal!
This post was not sponsored by any equipment manufacturer. All equipment used was my own, purchased by me on my own volition.
