First HDR, as much C&C as possible please

zdooldreb

ThOnda

No rant intended, but clicking on thread with words "first" and "HDR" in the caption always evokes a lot of prejudgments =negative prejudgments).
It is very nice pictures, the curved S line of the road, nice sky, great background of the mountain range make is good picture.
Crazy sliders for saturation, tone mapping and losing contrast of the picture don't.
On the other hand, there is too much space on the left, especially the field that is nice and bright, but imbalances the picture to the left. There is either something missing there or the picture is too dark on the right side.

zdooldreb

Your right I should of lied and said it was my 631 first HDR photo
I stated "first" because I wanted to clarify that it was my very first HDR and all feedback was welcome even the very basics. And on that note thanks for your feedback. I see what you mean about the saturation. I don't understand what you mean about the tone mapping. I used photomatix. Any suggestions on how I could do better with the tone mapping? Any good tutorials etc on photomatix that you would recommend?

5uspect

I'm not sure this scene even needs any HDR treatment. Tone mapping and boosting saturation are things that can be done to a 32bit HDR image for a certain visual style, a style that is popular but is also greatly disliked.

zdooldreb

The scene might not of needed it but it was an opportunity to try out HDR. I was looking for ideas/instructions in how to implement the tone mapping? I agree when HDR is over done it doesn't look great but when it is done right I think it looks good. Obviously mine is over done but I would like to learn to do it more subtle.

Promac

I think you did a decent enough job of the tone mapping. It's not really over-cooked. I do think it's a bit over-saturated but that's not really part of the HDR or tone-mapping. I do it a lot too actually but I'm colour blind so can't really help it.

starbelgrade

5uspect wrote: »

I'm not sure this scene even needs any HDR treatment. Tone mapping and boosting saturation are things that can be done to a 32bit HDR image for a certain visual style, a style that is popular but is also greatly disliked.

Like Jedward?

I dunno... I like the photo. I think if you could make the mountains in the back a bit darker, it'd look nicer. And maybe a bit more green in the fields, but besides that, it's a really nice composition.

I like it.

Adrian.Sadlier

I too must admit to using HDR and also using Photmatix. I'm not colourblind - I just have no taste

Have you tried exposure fusion in Photomatix instead of tonemapping - it can have a more realistic effect! A good site, with what I think is some useful tutorials and examples (and a lot of plugs) is www.stuckincustoms.com

Zillah

HDR is like a stealth bomber; it should be used rarely and with great subtlety.

That is to say, I think you overcooked it a little bit. Not nearly as much as a lot of the ones I've seen out there, but it's still a little intense.

zdooldreb

Thanks for the responses.
Personally I think the saturation is too much but the tone mapping is ok-ish. Im going to have a good read of stuckincustoms (thanks Adrian.Sadlier) and have another lash at it. Some of the pics on the site I really like and some are OTT.