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I have a Sony DSC-H10.

I recently learned why good pictures look so good -- their high dynamic range.

Is it possible (and if so, how) for me to take high-dynamic-range photos of scenes, perhaps through some combination of this camera and some software (e.g. Photoshop)?
Or would I necessarily need a better camera in order to do this?

user541686
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  • Have you searched though the other questions with the [tag:hdr] tag? – ChrisF Feb 20 '12 at 10:29
  • @ChrisF: Nope, I hadn't, actually. I'll take a look at them, thanks. – user541686 Feb 20 '12 at 10:32
  • You can certainly use your camera to take images for HDR. Please read through the topics on HDR and if you have specific questions, ask away. Also see this: http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/ – MikeW Feb 20 '12 at 10:41
  • @MikeW: Thanks for the ideas/link! I'll definitely take a look at it. :) – user541686 Feb 20 '12 at 10:45
  • Take a look at my answer in this question, this should satisfy all your needs. http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/7623/what-is-hdr-photography – fahad.hasan Feb 20 '12 at 11:26
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    Don't want to start a war here, but pictures almost certainly don't look good just because of their high dynamic range - there's been thousands of historic, amazing pictures with low DR. – rfusca Feb 20 '12 at 14:28

2 Answers2

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We'll leave your second sentence for another debate :) but I highly recommend you at least get a photography book (or an introductory class) which will teach you what to do to get great photos with almost any camera.

To get an HDR image:

  1. Set your camera on a tripod.
  2. Use either Manual (M) or Program (P) exposure modes.
  3. It is highly recommended you enable the 2s self-timer to avoid shake.
  4. Fix the ISO to a low value, like 100, to maximize image quality.
  5. Repeatedly take a few shots by varying the exposure as follows:
    1. For P mode, take 3 shots one with EC at -2, the other at 0 and the last at +2. This will work for scenes which exceed the DR of your camera but a little. OR
    2. For M mode, you can capture way more dynamic range using more images. In this case, just keep changing your shutter-speed and take a shot every 3 or 4 stops. For example: 1/2000s, 1/250s, 1/30s, 1/4s, up to the limit of your camera. y or Daylight for example)

If you are shooting a very dark scene or something with deep shadows, you may need to increase the ISO on your last shots.

EDIT Missing the final steps:

  1. Take the set of images shot and merge them into an HDR image. There are a number of software to do this and, including Photoshop, in case you already have it. Otherwise, just Google for HDR software.
  2. The final step is to tone-map the HDR image. This converts it into a Low Dynamic-Range images which can be shown on computer screens and printed.
  3. Alternately, you can perform something similar in one step using Exposure Fusion.

NOTE: On most cameras you would use A (Aperture-Priority) mode instead of P (Program) mode for automatic exposure. However, considering your camera does not have a physical aperture, it makes no difference and is actually the reason why there is no A mode on your camera.

Itai
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  • +1 for the "2s self-timer". Alleviates the need to buy another piece of equipment (remote, cable). – Regmi Apr 02 '13 at 20:02
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You have to use software to do this. HDR, simply said, is mixing 3+ photos together, and highlight their goodness together.

First, you have to take a Exposure bracketing group, recently any Single-lens reflex camera can do this. Canon, nikon.

Second, import these images to your HDR software（Lightroom;photoshopCS5;photomatix;HDR Darkroom etc）and let it do tone mapping. Last you can adjust you HDR photo.

There is a website can do an HDR photo online, and they have already make an example for you, in Fotor-HDR：http://www.fotor.com/features/hdr.html

You can find many great HDR photos in 500px.com， IT'S not only about exaggerated effect, HDR means more, you will know it.

Terry Marshall
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