High dynamic range (HDR) images maintain detail in both the highlights and the shadows, often resulting in a striking amount of definition as compared to the original image(s). I have been experimenting with HDR images using a combination of Aperture and the Photomatix software. The process is straightforward - choose an image having a large range of luminescence values and vary its exposure using Aperture’s RAW converter. Depending on the image, two underexposures and two overexposures (0.5 EV each) or one underexposure and one overexposure (1.0 EV each) are a good starting point. The exposure-compensated versions, along with the original (0 EV) are loaded into Photomatix and an HDR image is generated using either an exposure blending or a tone mapping method. The resulting image can then be tweaked to your liking using a variety of value sliders within Photomatix. While HDR images are technically supposed to be constructed from a series of in-camera exposures, I’ve found that the Aperture generated exposures are a good substitute.
ORIGINAL IMAGE
HDR IMAGE (from +1, 0, -1 EV exposures), slight cropping
Technorati Tags: HDR, aperture, high dynamic range
In the world of personal productivity, David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” (GTD) method has achieved cult status. In short, the GTD method makes use of the following 5 stages:
1. Collect
2. Process
3. Organize
4. Review
5. Do
These same steps might also be used to help photographers, particularly those who are trying to balance a full time job with a burgeoning career as a photographer, to make better use of their time. Let’s take a look at the potential application of each step.
1. Collect: This step should come easy for photographers - get out and shoot some images! Of course, a bit of forethought here might pay dividends in the following stages. What do you want to shoot? What is the best lens for the shot? When will the lighting be at its best? What is the best angle? Consideration of questions such as these will produce a tighter set of images to be carried into the next stage.
2. Process: How do you process your images? Assuming that you are shooting in RAW fomat, several options, such as Camera RAW, are available. For the vast majority of my images, I use Aperture for the processing stage.
3. Organize: How do you organize your digital images? Do you have a trusted system or do you dump hundreds or thousands of images onto your hard drive and hope for the best? I have been using Aperture for almost 18 months and find it be a very reliable tool for collecting and organizing all of my images. There are a number of readily available resources to help you learn the basics of Aperture - I suggest Rich Harrington’s Aperture Quick TIps podcast. There are also several Aperture plug-ins available to help you get more out of your organization system. For example Maperture allows you to quickly geotag your images. This is also a great time to back up your images using the Aperture vault or by burning DVDs, etc.
4. Review: I find that it is difficult to part with some borderline images immediately after a shoot. In order to keep my external drives from bursting at the seams, I review my Aperture projects on a regular basis to eliminate those borderline files that have now lost there sentimental value. The review process also provides an opportunity to see my images from a fresh viewpoint and often leads to ideas for a new twist on post-processing.
5. Do: Upload your best images to your favorite stock sites. Build a web gallery to share with a magazine editor. Set up a free Imagekind account to sell prints. Get out and take more pictures.
So, how about you? Do you use a similar system or have you found better ways to “get things done” with respect to your photography?
Technorati Tags: GTD, productivity, photography, photographer, business
Ubermind has released a new Aperture plug-in that allows you to easily geotag your images using Google Maps. Geotagging is all the rage as of late and Maperture will allow you to keep pace without a significant interruption to your workflow. Best of all - it’s free!
Technorati Tags: aperture, Maperture, geotag, photography
PS I heard about this plug-in on the This Week in Photography podcast. Check it out at http://twipphoto.com!
PSS If you don’t have Aperture, you can purchase it from B&H
Aperture offers a number of tools for editing your digital images. I’ve been experimenting with the desaturation option included in the Dodge and Burn plug-in. This tool allows you to quickly remove all color from selected areas of your image, resulting in a selectively colored black and white image. The plug-in gives you control of brush size, softness, and opacity.
Here is an example of an image produced for a Photrade contest using the desaturation tool:
BEFORE
AFTER
You can purchase Aperture 2.0 at B&H
Technorati Tags: aperture, edit, desaturate, leatherwing beetle, Photrade
