The following is an article written by Steve Hoffmann of Hoffmann Photographer. It is a very basic introduction to HDR imaging and asks the question, “Can HDR imaging be used in wedding photography?”
I was introduced to High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging earlier this year when doing an architectural shoot in Orange County, CA. If you haven’t seen HDR images you can check out some incredible samples and the amazing possibilities of HDR imaging at Smashing Magazine. To put it in the simplest terms, HDR imaging is the process of representing a wider or more dynamic range of exposure (levels) in a picture. In its most basic form, a photographer will take three separate exposures of a scene (underexpose, correct expose, over expose) and then combine them together in one dynamic image. It is actually very simple to do and does not require a huge amount of photoshop or digital imaging knowledge. My very first attempt actually produced the following image for my architectural shoot. . . pretty insane!
Not bad for a wedding photographer! The building was shot in mid-day sun with post production done in Photomatix Pro and Photoshop (lens correction filter, levels, contrast).
HDR imaging works fantastic for scenery and architectural photography because you have the gift of TIME and very little movement in the frame. You can set up your tripod any time of day, proceed to take three or more uninterupted photos, and produce an exceptionally fancy image. Truth be told though, I am a wedding photographer at heart and found architectural photography to be a little boring.
I couldn’t find any samples of HDR imaging for weddings on the internet so I had to experiment myself. I came up with three questions that I needed to answer, 1) How can I apply HDR imaging to wedding photography?, 2) What happens when you include people and/or movement into the image and, 3) Do you have to use a tripod?
The most obvious use for HDR imaging in weddings is for venues.
First lesson, HDR does not produce very exciting results on overcast days. The reason for this is the lack of shadow and light. Second (and a surprise), having moving people in the frame is NOT a big deal for the final image. Cool! This is good news for HDR wedding photography! Here is the answer: To process the images I have been using the software Photomatix Pro (visit their website to see more impressive HDR images). When Photomatix combines the multiple exposures it will actually compensate for movement in the frame! BTW, Photoshop CS3 actually has a HDR imaging feature but it completely LAGS compared to Photomatix Pro.
When it came down to it though, shooting the outside of wedding venues with HDR really isn’t any different than architectural photography.
Here is where it starts to get juicy! . . . Inside the Mission Basilica produced fantastic results. Check out the gold altar, the colors and the paint details all the way on the ceiling! The light/shadow really popped with the HDR imaging. MOST impressive in the following two images is that the bride’s dress is not completely blown out. This is a constant problem in Churches where there is more light on the bride/groom than anywhere else. Notice, you can also detect NO movement of people!
If you wanted to capture this scene with only ONE exposure, you would have to choose either the dress or the altar or the ceiling, etc. HDR imaging allows the entire scene to be exposed correctly! That is SO cool! See how RICH this next image is. It almost looks like a painting . . .
This one shot in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Long Beach, CA. . . .
All of the above images were shot using a tripod (5-6 exposures for each image). Since I hate tripods, the next test for HDR imaging in weddings was to see if I really needed a tripod. The Catholic wedding ceremony and the venue pictures above allowed extra time. Most weddings days are a fight for time and attempting to introduce new photography techniques at a live wedding could be time costly. These next two images were shot hand held. I shot 6 exposures for each image in a matter of 5 seconds. In between each shot I used my thumb to dial the exposure up two clicks (I start with totally underexposed and move to totally overexposed). Slight camera movement does not matter because the software will accomodate for that when producing the final HDR image. The software will align all of the images.
Lace dress on lace curtains? Try to get this with one exposure and no flash. Sweet!!
Wedding party experiment . . . not bad!
And finally the reception venue. The great part of this next picture is that the reflection in the mirrored cabinets along the wall is totally clear. Normally, there would just be white where you see the trees and other foliage.
Thank you for taking the time to learn with me! All of the images in this article were shot using Nikon digital cameras (D200/D300) and Nikkor lenses (10.5mm fish and 17-55mm zoom). Indoor images shot at 800ISO and outdoor images shot at 100ISO. It is my hope that this bit of information on HDR photography for weddings will help you become a better photographer.
Here is our groom working it on the runway . . .
Corinna Hoffman Photography: Beach weddings are awesome! Great capture on their expressions :)