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HDR photography


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Posted

 

I went to the Nik website and nosed around. The HDR Efex Pro looks very nice indeed. I like the ability to apply processing to a selective area. Looks great. LOL.....I just cannot justify another $200 on HDR.


Tell you what though......WOW!!!! that Silver EFX Pro 2.0 software looks absolutely killer. I might have to get that. .

 

 

That one looks amazing. And I've heard good things from other photographers about the HDR Efex Pro. I'm thinking of getting Silver EFX 2.0 next. I like the interface, the effectiveness and how quickly it gets you what you want to achieve, the fact that it adds a layer, and Nik's responsive customer service.

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Posted

Ken and Huh?, seems like you were using the "right" slider (vibrance) intuitively. I watch a fair amount of on line videos about PP and they talk about using vibrance over saturation in the majority of cases.

 

All of the NIK effects (and Topaz for that matter) are pretty killer. While NIK is steep, buying the bundle saves you money. Also, if you sign up for one of their live webinars, they offer discounts to the audience.... like15% or so I think? I really like the HDR EFX pro and think it offers a lot of options. However, if I say so myself, Silver EFX Pro2.0 is killer. I've never seen that much control of detail in a plug-in before (once you get under the hood and start moving slider from 0-100 to see what they do, it is amazing!) Spendy---yes----amazing---yes.

 

One last comment regard HDR. Especially if you are after increased realism and not the "HDR" saturation look.... think about using your dodge and burn tools. I did that long before I thought about HDR and found them very helpful.

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Posted

 


Tell you what though......WOW!!!! that Silver EFX Pro 2.0 software looks absolutely killer. I might have to get that.


 

 

I have yet to upgrade to v2 but Silver EFX is excellent.

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Posted

Ken and Huh?, seems like you were using the "right" slider (vibrance) intuitively.

 

I definitely did. When I upgraded to CS4 from the rather grim CS, a big jump, I noticed that that Saturation was coupled with Vibrance, so I just messed around with that. After, all who doesn't want their photo to be Vibrant? :D Ended up that I generally preferred it, leaving the Saturation slider alone.

 

I'm gonna check out Silver EFEX Pro at some point. Even before this thread, I was extremely interested in it, and this thread has only stoked my interest.

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Posted

I've played around with HDR, but I don't really have the right equipment, I'm kind of doing it the poor mans way with a point and shoot and Photoshop. One day I'll get way into it with some nice gear. Here's one that I did ... the next day after this was taken, it was all under water from the flood in Nashville.

 

PurpleFlower.jpg

 

Russ

Nashville

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Posted

Russ,

 

Nice shot. There is nothing wrong with using the tools built into some of the editing programs to do your HDR. I just happen to like HDR EFX Pro. I also use a P&S camera frequently. Even when I travel I take it with me for nights, days I'm going to a park, restaurants etc. The big thing is to get a tripod (unless you want to shoot RAW and convert images that way.) Otherwise, your shot seems good, I'd be encouraged to snap away.

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Posted

Thanks rgt

 

I use a tripod, but this was done with a Cannon Power Shot. It won't shoot RAW or take rapid fire one up, one down, I have to use the timer and make the +2/-2 adjustments all manually, without giggling the camera.

 

Russ

Nasville

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Posted

Russrags, well the tripod is the key. As a quick aside, if you don't have a remote release for your camera (which doesn't bracket for you) use the self-timer to reduce jiggle. Also, turn off any anti-shake features the camera has when you put it on a tripod (oddly, the camera expects some shake, so will unfortunately make things a little less clear if there isn't any---go figure.) If you are doing it yourself, you can also reduce the number of shots to 2, one over and one under, to get the results you want. Keep snappin!

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Posted

A cheap tripod, if you don't want to spend tons of money or lug around a giant tripod, is a Joby Gorillapod. It's small, portable, fast to set up, and can wrap around or hang on all sorts of things or sit on tables. Works quite well.

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