Ducati Monster Forum

********I've added a more detailed how-to further down the page******

I wanted to make a quick how-to for HDR pictures... Im definitely not an expert on this so if anyone would like to add anything please do!

So first of all, the program I used was called Photomatix (here is a link to a free trial version I found: http://www.hdrsoft.com/download.html (http://www.hdrsoft.com/download.html)) and to put very simply, you take a shot of the bike (or whatever your subject is) in multiple exposures--I find 3 works pretty well--one at normal exposure, one that is brighter (overexposed)  and another that is darker (underexposed). Obviously you will want to do this with a camera stand so to get the pictures to be fairly similiar. Then you basically put these in the program and voila you get the HDR pic.. Definitely this is an over simplification as there are other things you may want to do such as adjusting the contrast/hue with photoshop or something and not to mention take a good picture of the bike to begin with..
But this is a basic overview to how I made this particular picture of my bike..
(http://i49.tinypic.com/9ad1zt.jpg)




Also, you could technically do this with just one picture by using photoshop to make three different versions of the same one by altering the contrast--the original, a darker one, and a lighter one. I did that for these:
(http://i43.tinypic.com/24y76z9.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/mncw0.jpg)
(http://i41.tinypic.com/34pht91.jpg)
(http://i40.tinypic.com/29e3g9e.jpg)




Here is a youtube vid I found that may be somewhat helpful: Photomatix Tutorial for Windows (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_guoBOQG9Uw#normal)


(not mine btw). Some pictures come out better than others so it's worth experimenting.. Let me know if any one has any questions or any pics they'd like me to do the HDR effect on.
 [drink]

feckin' incredible pics.

amazing indeed.  Gotta give this a try.

And there's a Mac version as well, very cool.  My first attempt didn't turn out very well, took one image made other versions of contrast.  Got some tips on achieving a great result like yours?

why not post up the original and finished product to see what looks like so far and if we can improve on it

+1.  Let's see the before and after.  Awesome pics BTW.  I would love to duplicate it for my own.  :)

I will very soon, I want to find some better source material to work with as well, maybe the result will be better.

Thanks for the info. These pics look great!

I second the compliment  - Freak'n amazing pictures!  [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

FYI. two things you have to do to take such pictures. This should come as no shock to you, but as I walked out to the garage, it donned on me that i lacked one of the following.

1. Knowledge of adjusting exposure level. (check!)

2. Tripod so the pictures are very closely lined up. (oops. no check)

My studio is creating a new website as part of our new branding effort.  I suggested they do all the facility photos as HDR and turns out they're taking my advice.  They look awesome so far, should be up and live in a few weeks.

Been too busy myself to take my own bike photos for HDR attempt round two.

post a link when the site is up!

Ok so i had a little extra time and thought I'd add to the how-to:

First of all, you will need at least three pictures of differing exposures to get all the detail from the picture. I usually use jpegs that are about 2000x 1333 and if they are larger I shrink them to that size before proceeding--I personally dont need them any larger than that and the hdr's dont come out right if the pictures are too small. Here are the four that I used.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/snny2v.jpg)




Next, assuming you have the photomatix program the starting point that I usually have the settings at are as follows:

strength=100
color saturation=40
light smoothing=very high
luminosity=+10
white point=+2.846
black point=+4.012
gamma=1.10
temperature=+5
microcontrast=+10
microsmoothing=0
highlight smoothing=default
shadow smoothing=default
shadow clipping=default
saturation highlights=default
saturation shadows=default.
and dont tick 360 degree view.
 
start with this and try changing each one indiviually to see how they affect the picture (note that the final product may be a little different than the preview image).




next put them in with the above settings and create the HDR. Once I have the hdr picture, I like to stick the picture in photoshop and tweak the hue/saturation slightly to bring out the colors I want and finally, the brightness and contrast to really make the picture pop out. Hope this does a little more in helping those who had trouble with this.. Here's my final product:

(http://i50.tinypic.com/2mqwb4y.jpg)



again, I'm no pro at this so if anyone has any other advice or corrections, please chime in!

first feeble attempt.

(http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq275/ancalagon08/DSC00640_1_2_tonemapped.jpg)

another try, thanks MAXdb, this is fun.

(http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq275/ancalagon08/DSC00643_4_5_tonemapped.jpg)

I'm getting better at this. It takes practice and adjusting not only the tone mapping, but the HDR exposure setting as well. Here's one from tinkering in the garage earlier, now that I have a tripod.

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S5bOecZ5ivI/AAAAAAAAFX4/bsgfN94hGaQ/s800/IMG_2179_80_81_82_83.jpg)

hunduc and i tried to see if we could get a little more detail out of the pictures. Here are the originals and final pics. (settting were the same as above other than increasing microsmoothing to +3):

(http://i44.tinypic.com/2aj3qs1.jpg)


(http://i42.tinypic.com/20kf048.jpg)


(http://i42.tinypic.com/j8o561.jpg)


(http://i44.tinypic.com/cn4gy.jpg)

ato memphis, that looks beautiful! what kind of settings did you use?

Well, I just kept fiddling with it till I liked the way the preview looked. I believe, it was:

Strength  73
Color Sat  58
Light Smoothing  Medium
Luminosity -1
White Point 0.250% (or something close)
Black Point 0.0% (or very close)
Gamma 1.00-1.10 (closer to 1.00 I think)

Micro Contrast 0
Micro Smoothing 2

Temp 0
Sat Highlights 2
Sat Shadows 2

Once I get the fueling sorted out and the bike put back together, I'm going to roll it out and place it against that wood wall behind the garage for a better picture. Glad I have a tripod so I can try these out now.

With similar settings to what y'all used (but with luminosity down a notch), I get:

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S5bTLLZbt_I/AAAAAAAAFX8/Vg47R-ErgrQ/s800/IMG_2183_79_80_81_82%20%282%29.jpg)

Looks much more like an oil painting, but loses a bit too much realism I originally thought.

^^ I like that a lot too  [clap] .. I like my hdr pics to look like they're  half photography/half painting

Finally some success, not 100% what I'm looking to create, but it is something.

Here's the original and the HDR image.

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/DanteFazio/Normal1.jpg)

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/DanteFazio/Normal1HDR.jpg)

How did you get three exposures on a moving bike?  Did you do tone mapping on one image?     ???

I hired the fastest photographer in the world!   [moto]

I did this at work when I was supposed to be working but wasn't.  I used Preview on a Mac to change the exposure slightly, one a little lighter and one a bit darker, then I imported the 3 images and used the settings posted by MAXdb as a starting point within the Photomatix program.

I was able to snap some pics in the sunlight today:

(http://i43.tinypic.com/2aabp8i.jpg)

I gave it a shot....I suppose I'll have to take a few more snapshots when the bike's back together

(http://gallery.me.com/afakhori/100460/Bike-20tonemapped/web.jpg)

^^ Djrashonal that looks good. what settting did you use?

not sure, i havent figured out how to open it back up and retain the settings
(http://gallery.me.com/afakhori/100468/retouchedAnd2more_tonemapped/web.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d147/pompino/HDR.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d147/pompino/HDR_3.jpg)

I took a picture of my watch with a point and shoot 10mp camera, I like it but its still alittle more grainy than id like...
(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g277/lltek2002/watch.jpg)

ohh nice to see you like also HDR´s

check this

(http://www.desmoworld.com/Desmoworld_M1100/Desmoworld_M1100_1.jpg)

(http://www.desmoworld.com/wallpaper/desmoworld_wallpaper_hyper.jpg)

WOW! Those look fantastic. evo SP, yum.

I thought I would try it out to see what I could come up with.  Now I have a new photo for the background on my work computer!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4501686722_6f7158728b_o.jpg)

wow, thats pretty bad ass Blue!

 [thumbsup] [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

My first try
(http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/rllout/DSC_0083_5_4_tonemapped.jpg)

All the pictures look great [popcorn]

Are you fellas doing this with the free version or the $100 version.  I'm cheap so I have the free version, but I can't get these kinds of results... maybe i'm just doing it wrong ???

^^ I use the full version and it's been awhile since I've used the trial version.. I cant remember a difference other than the watermark.

perhaps you should post up some pics so we can take a look..

ask and you shall receive:

this was done with one picture... I tweaked the original to make a total of three
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4548589152_60e13d0a7e.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4548590932_e5c58a7993.jpg)

and the final product
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4547960013_330e371e2c.jpg)

and here's one I did with 3 different pictures with different exposure settings:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4547963095_6fd79b8e67.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4548602668_176989cf84.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4547969589_25aee1ba19.jpg)

and the final product
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4548610452_f6e46796f9.jpg)

they look ok, but the colors just don't look as good as the others I've seen on here... could it just be the lighting in the originals that I need to play with to get the great results others are getting?

tankerbutt, those are actually pretty nice.. I find that the ones I try to make from one picture--where I make three exposures simply by changing the contrast/brightness-- dont come out as well as the hdr pics I make using three original pictures of different exposure. Maybe try that and see if you see a difference?  ???

also you can always alter the color saturation of the hdr pic a little in photoshop

Very cool!! Thanks! [thumbsup]

(http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/ducaccia/IMG_0018.jpg)
(http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/ducaccia/2And2more_tonemapped.jpg)

3rd attempt, came out pretty well.  Didn't crunch it as hard.  Yes, I do need a new chain.

Original:
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/DanteFazio/Screenshot2010-04-26at25117PM.png)

Tonemapped:
(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/DanteFazio/Screenshot2010-05-14at125302PM.png)

http://gizmodo.com/5524816/183-heavenly-hdr-wallpapers (http://gizmodo.com/5524816/183-heavenly-hdr-wallpapers)

thanks for the link! this will def help me with my photographic endeavors  [thumbsup]

Had some extra time, so I tried again.  I  think this time it came out better than the previous

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/4562015882_c48c04697a.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4561388143_5e127f4252.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/4561390131_36f5d0472e.jpg)

and the final product

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/4562022294_9358de613d.jpg)

yea man, that looks great!!!! nice bike too  [thumbsup]

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-CtKaDf5HI/AAAAAAAAFn4/vSuK93H6gKY/s800/IMG_2299_5_6_7_8.jpg)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-BpnFsUohI/AAAAAAAAFnQ/78CIz159Kiw/s800/IMG_2300_1_2_3_4.jpg)

AM - that came out amazing! I love the look of the clear lens. You mind posting the original pics so we see how it started/what kind of exposures yield that result?

No prob! I had "noon-sun", which in my limited photographic experience (read:none) seems to be the worst. And it was clear as a bell at around 11:30 when I took a lunch break to take photos of me bike.

Here's a shot in "automatic" on my Canon,

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2CbqkLZI/AAAAAAAAFow/6gRmhgEYD4I/s400/IMG_2305.JPG)

And here's the 5 'stops' I used (if that's the correct way to describe the various shots). Used a tripod of course:
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2Aqu047I/AAAAAAAAFoc/FlF_T02I3h4/s400/IMG_2300.JPG)
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2BJS1KBI/AAAAAAAAFog/JfIj54FBZ5U/s400/IMG_2301.JPG)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2BaY72II/AAAAAAAAFok/Sd0nbCpd6oc/s400/IMG_2302.JPG)
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2Bsrf5LI/AAAAAAAAFoo/hTq-qJ5fyjM/s400/IMG_2303.JPG)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2B52A__I/AAAAAAAAFos/YT1hzvt7u4Y/s400/IMG_2304.JPG)

I think a good evaluation is how much detail you get compared to the "automatic" version, shown below (of course with the HDR "cartoony" touch added in):

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-C2CbqkLZI/AAAAAAAAFow/6gRmhgEYD4I/s400/IMG_2305.JPG)(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4iYlZ1m8UEM/S-BpnFsUohI/AAAAAAAAFnQ/78CIz159Kiw/s400/IMG_2300_1_2_3_4.jpg)

I thought I'd give it a go, and this is what I came up with (http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv264/jeph72/P10500653.jpg)

Thanks for the tutorial!

I did this in aperture using the photomatix plug in. I took the original and made 4 copies. I underexposed 2 and over exposed 2. Then I put the 5 together.

Curious how to reduce the grain (noise?) I've played around with the settings, but it appears as though when I reduce the grain, it lessens the effects as well and starts to look more and more like the originals. I've tried using Photoshop to reduce the noise, but it didn't seem to help.

Try increasing the microsetting first (just by 1 or 2 at a time since it makes a noticable difference). You can also try tweaking the light smoothing a little too. For altering pics is they get too dark, decrease the gamma.. but if the only problem is the graininess, I found the microsetting works best. Hope that helps.


I made another hdr pic after being inspired by one of the wallpapers from the gizmoto website posted earlier by dante:

(http://i44.tinypic.com/if0uw2.jpg)

That is so cool.   [thumbsup]

looks good, tanker! You may want to also try making some hdr pics with originals where you have the light behind you as opposed to behind the bike--or at the very least a background that is not too bright. For a lot of my garage pics, I'll actually barely have any light..just one light shining toward the bike. I feel that allows me to take the shot with a slower shutter speed (since there is less light) which I think ultimately gives better detail to the pic.. after all, the hdr pic's qualitiy will depend a lot on the originals you use.

Keep us updated with any more pics  [thumbsup]

This bike looks so mean, I love it, have you replaced the original gauge cluster?

My first attempt. Not as sweet as the other pics posted but its not too bad. I had issues getting the white on the wheels bright without loosing the detail and making it look washed out.  :-\ Not to mention I need to crop it.  [laugh]

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4616649070_a26c1c8309_b.jpg)

That would actually be a great candidate to do a sort of bleach bypass effect on it with bright blooming whites and deep blacks, like the styling of Minority Report.

any tips on how to do that?

Not sure myself, I've done it before in video editing programs but I'm not sure what the procedure might be for something like Photoshop.  I'll look it up and see if I find anything.

My modest attempt at bleach bypass inside Photoshop. 

I imported the image, made a duplicate, and set the top layer's blending option to overlay.

I then added a hue/saturation layer, and set the saturation to about -65.

Then I added a level and a color balance adjustment layer, and just fooled around with some settings to make it a little more blue and get the whites to bloom.

Bleached:

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/DanteFazio/BikeBleached.jpg)

Original:

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4616649070_a26c1c8309_b.jpg)

Sweet! Thanks! [thumbsup]

http://gizmodo.com/5561208/canons-in+camera-hdr-patent-will-let-you-take-pictures-like-this (http://gizmodo.com/5561208/canons-in+camera-hdr-patent-will-let-you-take-pictures-like-this)

not all bikes but some of my HDR stuff from traveling and a few bike ones too. I shoot with an old Canon Powershot a620 (IMO still a great "point and shoot" camera, has a lot of manual options that I use just can't shoot RAW unless I hack it and I don't want to do that so I am limited to jpegs on it) and use Photomatix... I was getting into it for a while and things got busy, well too busy for a hobby at least, now things seem a bit more normal so I might get back out with the camera again.

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Post%20Mods/Foliage131_2_3_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277436554)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Post%20Mods/Foliage037_8_9_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277436586)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Post%20Mods/Foliage200_1_2_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277436611)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Album/Foliage128_29_30_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277435790)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Album/Foliage164_5_6_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277435821)


Hilo, HI

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/HDR/20090804050_48_49_tonemapped.jpg)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/HDR/20090804093_1_2_tonemapped.jpg)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/HDR/20090804090_88_89_tonemapped.jpg)



Hong Kong

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Album/IMG_3777_3_4_5_6_tonemapped_v3.jpg?t=1277435884)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/HDR/IMG_3648_6_7_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277439322)

(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/tonyranieri/Album/IMG_3632_0_1_tonemapped.jpg?t=1277435863)


Greece
If you right click these and grab the link from properties you can see them full res:

Sized 3200px × 1200px mainly for dual-monitor desktop, bottom row of images were from Athens and top panoramic stitch was from Mykonos
(http://www.joejan6.com/scratch/Pano_HDR_Mykonos_Desktop.jpg)

and...

9626px × 2222px full res of the panoramic portion, this was created from a total of 15 images (I moved the camera 5 times with 3 exposures each, was my first attempt at panoramic HDR)
(http://www.joejan6.com/scratch/Pano_HDR_Mykonos.jpg)

awesome pictures, where were the first few taken?

Thanks, the first ones were from New Hampshire...

my latest attempt at this HDR thing...

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4755561784_c731e153b4_z.jpg)

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4806313552_9ff8123cce_b.jpg)

Heres my first go

(http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww283/alosurdo/Duke/DukeHDR.jpg)

I actually like the results of the exposure fusing instead of the HDR.  For the HDR images, I started with one of the pre-programmed settings and backed off the saturation a little to reduce the "cartoonish" look.  The HDR images seem to be a little IZ_.  Any thoughts?

Here are some examples:

Exposure Fusion:
(http://i26.tinypic.com/2zec9bd.jpg)
(http://i30.tinypic.com/i74vg4.jpg)

HDR:
(http://i32.tinypic.com/2w2o6k3.jpg)
(http://i29.tinypic.com/2d77hmx.jpg)

where in new hampshire? i live there and looks like thats a nice place for scenic ride.

Wow! There's some really nice photos in this thread.

Here is my new S4Rt with some light HDR processing.

(http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/MonstermashS2R/S4Rt/S4RtHDR1Resized.jpg)

a old picture in bad quality ... little HDR and it look good enough to be my new desktop  ;D

(http://www.desmoworld.com/wallpaper/wallpaperS4R_1680.jpg)

its my S4R on Ractrack ( Most , CZ )

Those last two came out real well, nice  [thumbsup]

I just did a real quick one took about five minutes
(http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac51/rllout/nbhd001_2_3_tonemapped.jpg)

awesome! the turned out great!!

My first attempt.  I used Elements 5 to adjust the multiple exposures.  Didn't turn out too bad.  Sure makes the tank deformation stand out!  I'll have to try again after it gets replaced.

Before:

(http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r212/moore_clan/10-19-10009.jpg)



After:

(http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r212/moore_clan/HDRresized.jpg)

I downloaded PhotoMatrix and gave it a shot (so to speak).

(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/nordog59/S4RS2011-04-02enhancerpainterlyresized.jpg)

it looks good, but a bit like it was takenw ith a soft-focus. I think the forks look great

Did a little HDR treatment to a recent shot of me riding. ;D

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2695/5747856328_3ce7a16b51_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62803131@N02/5747856328/)

Yeah, I'm working on that.

Here's one from yesterday.

(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/nordog59/S4RS-2011-05-21low4desktop.jpg)

Really cool pic.  [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

Playing around with a photo I took on my
iPhone.... Not too bad

(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/bsurjan/57dfd3d7.jpg)

Can't wait to try this on my steed.

I found an HDR app for my phone.  It didn't turn out to bad.

It was a late day shot with bad lighting all around so I tweaked the saturation and contrast.


(http://i.imgur.com/Zyrufl.jpg) (http://imgur.com/Zyruf)


It's grainy because my camera sux

How do you take HDR with a cell phone camera?  Is it just one shot that's processed to look that way.

As I understand it (and as I use it) HDR software takes multiple shots at different exposures to form on image such that the highlights aren't blown out and the shadows aren't dark.  You need a tripod for that.  Do they make cell phone tripods?

Of course alot of folks are going for that artsy stylized "HDR" look.  But, as in the shot above of 22 May of my bike, I was going for a "normal" look with all areas properly exposed (normal with the exception some extra color saturation).

My questions about the phone cams kinda goes for the action shots as well.  They must (imo) be "one shot" photos that have been processed for a cerain look.

I would love to know more about what you guys (and gals?) are up to.

Most photo editing software allows you to bump exposure up or down off of a single image.  Then you can use your HDR software to layer all of your images together and edit to your liking.  That's how I got the "artsy" look on the action shot I posted above.

I'm using a app on Android called HDR Camera.  It takes 4-5 separate pictures in a row all at different exposures and then processes them into the HDR image.

My quicky contribution:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v433/USCAAAA/HDRDucati1.jpg)

Sitting here waiting on USPS for stator, and stumbled over this thread.  Downloaded some software (Aperture and Hydra) for my Mac and this is my first attempt at HDR.  Still have not purchased the Hydra, not sure what controls are not enabled at this point.

I took 4 pictures with various exposure settings and merged them with Hydra.

(http://myweb.cebridge.net/dhanson/696HDR.jpg)

I love the high tech bolt organizer.

My memory is not what it used to be and when I work on new stuff, don't trust myself!  LOL  Also, when you drop something on this floor, it disappears forever into some deep dark abyss.

Oh, I get it.  Really, I do love it.  I'll use one myself next time.

It does work, some of the bolts are different length!  thanks.

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/cokey2/2011-07-14143001.jpg)

Will also put in my sightings thread..

(http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/cokey2/2011-07-14152441.jpg)