HDR techniques are usually associated with surreal landscapes and architectural photography, but you can create HDR Efex Pro portraits for some unique and powerful effects. This works best with male subjects because it creates a dark, brooding look where every pore and wrinkle is emphasised. I'm starting with this informal photograph taken in the family conservatory and … [Read more...] about Have you ever tried HDR Efex Pro portraits?
HDR
How to use the HDR Efex Pro merge tools
Like other HDR tools, HDR Efex Pro 2 is designed to work with a sequence of bracketed exposures which cover a wider dynamic range than a single image could record. This means you need to pay special attention to the HDR Efex Pro merge tools. You'll see these whenever you open a series of images, either with the standalone HDR Efex Pro 2 app or by invoking it from within a … [Read more...] about How to use the HDR Efex Pro merge tools
Learn how to use HDR Efex Pro 2 presets
Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2 is now part of the Google Nik Collection, but the software itself is unchanged – it remains one of the most approachable and most effective HDR tools you can get. But while the bundled HDR Efex Pro 2 presets are many and varied, you can also create and save your own. It's really easy to share them with other people, too, as this walkthrough will … [Read more...] about Learn how to use HDR Efex Pro 2 presets
Get an HDR effect from a single image in Color Efex Pro
There are so many filters in Color Efex Pro that it can take a long, long time to work out all the things that it can do. Some of the tools are obvious, like Levels and Curves or Graduated Filters, but some are less so, and the Detail Extractor is a prime example. It sounds like a tool for making your images sharper, but it's actually something else entirely. It's a kind of … [Read more...] about Get an HDR effect from a single image in Color Efex Pro
How to get the most from the Capture One High Dynamic Range controls
Capture One Pro 7 is not just an excellent RAW converter. Like Adobe Lightroom it has some quite sophisticated adjustment controls. In particular, the Capture One High Dynamic Range sliders are very good at extracting the maximum latent highlight and shadow detail in RAW files. This is not HDR in the usual sense, where you combine shots at different exposures – it's simply a … [Read more...] about How to get the most from the Capture One High Dynamic Range controls
