So first off I get that the composition might not be super great. I'm not super happy with it my self. I was struggling to find a decent composition in this location to begin with. I was hoping for some interesting foreground elements but there really weren't any. I figured having the lake framed by the trees would be better than nothing. And honestly the more I look at it the more the composition doesn't really bother me.
That's not the point of this though. I mostly used this just to practice my HDR/blending technique. One of these photos is just a single image and the other is a blend of an overexposed image for the trees/foreground and a properly exposed image. I find you get better results manually blending HDR type images rather than using the hdr merge in LR or PS. Although I do sometimes use them just to get to a starting point. For this particular image though, the photo merge in LR didn't really work all that well. I did not like the result.
I'm just curious which one do you like better? Can you tell which is which? For the HDR image, do you think it's done well? Am I missing anything like halos? I've tried my best to make sure there aren't any but I think I've stared at this long enough I can't tell anymore, haha. Anyways, thanks for looking!
Colors the 2nd seems to be correct, as the trunks appear blue on the 1st. At the 2nd I see a tiny halo around the right trunk against the sky and water. While the shadows in the 2nd frame seem to be too bright.
If you ask for opinion, I do not want to see, if it's a HDR. Then it is well done. HDR is a tool, nothing more. And the usage should not be obvious. Crafting something and using glue for fixation we expect to see nothing from the glue.
Hi Kyle. To be honest most of the HDR work I see looks unnatural to me and does not suit my personal taste (including my own attempts).
That said, I can't really tell which of your images is HDR, but I suspect the second due to the increased shadow detail in the trees (greater dynamic range).
FWIW I prefer the first image in the tree and beach area (prefer the shadows to be darker, and the second for its superior sky.
Yes the 2nd one is the HDR or blended image. I mostly use hdr or exposure blending for cityscapes but wanted to give it a try for this type of image. For me, if you can’t really tell which is which that makes me think I did a decent job with it. I too have seen many hideous hdr images which I hope mine do not resemble. 😂
I can see how you would think the HDR image is better and how Alan could come to the opposite conclusion. Arguments can be made for both, although I somewhat prefer the HDR. IMHO, the real problem is how the trees' roots are cut off. This is the same thing that bothers me when people shoot full-body portraits, putting the face dead center and cutting the legs off at the ankles. Not having been there, I cannot know if there was something else intruding on the roots that required this crop in-camera.
Again, I'm not happy with the composition either. I thought I had the roots all the way in but apparently I did not. It was hard to see the screen on my camera as the sun was shining directly in my face and you can't see the screen at all with polarized sunglasses (they should really do something about that). I had the tripod high enough that I couldn't reach the view finder to see through it. Had this been an image that I really cared about that was going to be a portfolio image I would have taken much more care in regards to the composition.
Frustrated by this issue myself I now keep a Hoodman loupe available for such occasions. Works great reviewing smartphone pics also.
See my blog entry for details - https://www.alanbrownphotography.com/blog/feeling-loupey?rq=Hood
I might have to look into that. I never really understood why you’d see photographers under a curtain in the old days until I started doing photography. I even like to edit in completely dark room. It’s funny, using Lightroom in a darkroom 😂
In regards to the composition, even if it isn't the subject of this post, I think you had a good idea. Probably should just be shot really low with the sand stretching towards the camera and telling the story of 2 old trees watching the sunset on the sand together. BUT in regards to the merging - you did a fantastic job. I'm guessing the 2nd one is the HDR blend especially since you said you had taken both an overexposed and a normal exposed image in order to blend. I THINK there's a very subtle halo along the left side of the right tree. Other than that, nothing I can see. You did a great job on it - the textures, the colors, the lighting are wonderful!
Thank you! I agree with the composition. I think it’s a good idea but could use some tweaking.
For myself I have seen the light reflection during the Golden Hour, but never during the Blue Hour; so, the blue in the tree trunks is not my style. It's not wrong, just not my style.
The second image saturation while not as intense as the first, is still more than my style.
Given that, I vote for your second image, however, both seem to have a light exposure top and bottom of the image while the center has a lower exposure.
Remember: the only time you fail is when you stop trying.
I forgot to take the blue out of the trees in post. It’s something I encounter often as blue hour is my favorite time to shoot. If I were going to redo it I would definitely paint the blue out. I like the 2nd one better as well.
I'll have to say that I prefer the second because of the not blue trees but also the sky/clouds are far more interesting and the jet trail is not so visible compared to the boring top of the sky and the two prominent jet trail of the first.