Are you one of the people who keeps seeing some really incredible pictures, or has overheard more and more people discussing a style of photography known as “HDR Photography”? You probably landed on this page because you have an interest in learning more about what exactly is HDR Photography.
HDR stands for “High Dynamic Range”, which is a fancy way of saying the “full light range” of a scene being captured by a camera. The reason why well-processed HDR images have such an incredible look to them is because they contain the full dynamic range of light that was present when and where the photo was taken. With normal photographs, where only a single exposure is captured, there’s just no way possible to capture all of the light levels in the scene.
| Take for example a shot of the sunset on the eastern coast of the United States. If you take a single-exposure photo, and want to capture the true beauty of the sun as it sets, you’re not going to also be able to capture the details of the water and the sandy beach.Likewise, if you want to capture the color and details of the sandy beach, you’re not going to also be able to capture the details and colors of the setting sun.With High Dynamic Range Photography, you’re taking more than at least one exposure of a scene you’re trying to capture. Each shot/photograph/exposure is setup so that it is capturing the details of a different level or range of light.
In the example of the setting sun, you’d take a picture with the exposure settings set to capture the details of the sun. You’d take another picture with the exposure settings set to capture the details of the water. And finally, you’d take a third picture with the exposure settings set to capture the details of the sandy beach. Using software such as Photomatix Pro, you’d then take these 3 exposures/photos and merge them all together. When merged properly, you’d then have what is considered a High Dynamic Range image because you’ve been able to capture the full range of light that was present in the scene. |
  
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Now all of this is easier said than done, which is why if you’d like to learn more, you should read my Free HDR Tutorial, which shows you step-by-step how to merge the multiple photos into a single image.
