One of the first things you learn as a photographer is that our cameras have a limited dynamic range. For example, you learn that if you wish to take an interior shot of a building, any detail you might see through the windows will be blown out if you set your exposure to capture the interior of the room. Likewise, if you attempt to photograph a person against the backdrop of a sunset, you know that your subject will appear as little more than a silhouette if you expose for the sky.

In short, you learn that your camera has limitations and that it often can't capture the scene as you see it. So, you stop trying to take shots with a wide dynamic range, and concentrate instead on doing the best job you can with equipment whose limitations you have learnt to accommodate.

In this course though you will learn how to create High Dynamic Range images from a bracketed sequence of exposures that will allow you to capture these scenes; i.e. you will be able to photograph scenes where the dynamic range is massively larger than can normally be recorded in a single image. In addition, you will also learn how to use HDR techniques to i) enhance scenes with a normal dynamic range, and ii) create an HDR-style image from a single RAW file.

Course Outline:

• Understanding tonal range and dynamic range.
• How to shoot a bracketed exposure sequence for HDR.
• Using Photoshop's Merge to HDR function.
• Using Photoshop's Local Adaptation method to convert an HDR image.
• Using Photomatix Pro's Exposure Blending function.
• Creating a photo-realistic effect.
• Understanding tone mapping.
• Using the Tone Compressor method in Photomatix Pro.
• Using the Details Enhancer method in Photomatix Pro.
• Creating the 'illustrative' look.
• Using Photomatix to enhance a low-contrast scene.
• Creating a pseudo-HDR image from a single RAW file.