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HOWTO: Fake HDR Photos in Photoshop
nill.cz — "This tutorial shows quite easy way to fake HDR photos in Photoshop. You don't need to shot into RAW or take photos with different exposure - one JPEG is enough. If you can work with masks in Photoshop, you have an advantage. "
kevinrose- 2465 diggs
- digg it
- JonRohan, on 10/11/2007, -8/+76How could you kevin? All those times you SAID it was HDR you were just Faking?! I feel so dirty.
- Condottieri, on 10/11/2007, -6/+95Great... Digg is going to get pounded with AMAZING: HDR!!! stories now.
- TheWalkingDude, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12Between this and the new topics added today (see below), I'm wondering when Digg will add a picture section.
http://digg.com/tech_news/Digg_Adds_New_Topics - gxcdesign, on 10/11/2007, -25/+12Here is a fake HDR of mine: my dog
It's not overkill HDR...but it sure stands out for what it is
http://gxcdesign.com/neat/Rocky_puppy.jpg
and one of my computer desk...yes yes I know
http://www.gxcdesign.com/neat/Desk.jpg - GawtMilk, on 10/11/2007, -33/+5@gxcdesign
You're a plauge, a parasite on the internet. No one wants to see a picture of your damn desk, HDR doesn't make boring pictures cool. If you're going to take the effort to ruin a photo through HDR, at least start off with a picture that shows that you get out of your house. - raynar, on 10/11/2007, -12/+5Bleh, who cares. You can make an action to do this in abotu 2 minutes. All you have to do is make it make 5 copies of your image, change the exposure from -2 to 2, then run the 'Merge to HDR' thats built into photoshop.
- Beshitehboss, on 10/11/2007, -5/+75You mean :"enhanced with Adobe® Photoshop® software" ... right???
- FortyCaliber, on 10/11/2007, -5/+181. that dog shot is great: cute puppy aside... it follows rules of third, fits the golden ratio and makes great use of natural framing through the fence. Well done.
2. Your desk... is boring. I'm sorry it is. Go to Ikea... get a table-top desk setup Like the "Galant" selections. They are modular, clean, and adjustable.
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeamsSearch?storeId=12&langId=-1&categoryId=null&catalogId=10103&searchType=product&pageNumber=-1&orderBy=score&random=&query=galant&category=1%7EProducts
3. Your speakers. Your monitor needs to be arm's length away, at least... but not to far. This is now th ditance for your speakers. Your center should be above the monitor and the FL and FR should be the same distance from you as the center at no more than 30 deg from your position. Your RL and RR speakers should be the same distance as your other speakers at no more than 110 deg from your position. Most computer 5.1 systems set the rear speakers to the same volume as the front. You should set the rear speakers to -3dB. The rear speakers should also be turned toward each other.
I don't want to be critical but that desk scremned for my attention.
Oh yeah, What lens is that? - rebotfc, on 10/11/2007, -2/+36Sorry but the process sucks, it introduces way too much noise, and gives no real impression of the dynamic range of the photo ( Which is the whole point of HDR in the first place.)
HDR doesnt automatically make an image better and this fake HDR will most likely make your photos look much worse. - rebotfc, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1"Oh yeah, What lens is that?"
Looks to me like the 70-200 f4L. - gxcdesign, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1@rebotfc
that's actually the f/2.8 IS..but thank you for noticing ;) - raynar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15here's my above mentioned action. You have to wait about 20 seconds for it to start downloading. Also here's my readme.
link to file
http://www.bigupload.com/d=7F982C52
Readme.txt
Here's how to use the action:
*Install it (X:Program FilesAdobeAdobe Photoshop CS2PresetsPhotoshop Actions
*Open Photoshop
*On the actions tab on the right, click the '>', and load 'HDR'
*Open up your original image that you want to convert
*On the 'HDR' folder on the right, click 'Make 5 images' and then click PLAY
*Sit back
*When prompted, choose files 1.jpg-5.jpg
*For the first image, set the EV to 2, and click the '>'
*For the second, set the EV to -2, and click the '>'
*For the third, set the EV to -1, and click the '>'
*For the fourth, set the EV to 0, and click the '>'
*For the fifth, set the EV to 1, and click the '>'
*Click the again (this saves changes for the last selection
*Click ok, and save the image that is created
*You now have your BASE HDR image with all of details, tweak for color correction now.
The End - raynar, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Oh yea, for my action, the 5 images are exported to the desktop.
and digg stripped out my slashes for the filepath.
goddamnit digg...ok, and where it says 'click again', its supposed to say 'click < ' - Twoodge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The shadow / highlight tool can create a pretty convincing effect as long as your extremes aren't clipped. The first picture in the article really was overkill; just too indulgent.
- skyfire1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It looks beautiful. Reminds me of old VGA sierra games. Goddamnit, now I have to download Dosbox.
- OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4[quote]Great... Digg is going to get pounded with AMAZING: HDR!!! stories now.[/quote]
What, you mean we haven't been already? There was a lull in HDR stories for a couple months, but I guess they're back. Awaiting:
"Amazing HDR panorama of Pueblo Colorado"
and
"A photo of a bald man eating a sandwich, IN AMAZING HDR!!!"
Don't even think about submitting that bald man photo. I know there are a couple of you thinking "Hmmmm.... " - MtnXfreerider, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The last step colorize picture into red tones. Click on red marked icon and select from menu gradient map. This layer adjustment tools modify image colors according to defined gradient. There is a model gradient at the right border of picture. Load selection from layer mask of layer "light", invert it (select > invert) and click on add layer mask icon. Set up interaction of layer "colorize" to Hard light and finaly set opacity to 72%.
You wasted my time.. that step at the near end doesnt make sense. - throadgrommel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1@raynar
You ***** up. It's looking for images on jlewis' desktop.
Besides, isn't that too much work for a Photoshop action? Actions are supposed to be automated.
I find it hard to believe that your instructions really produce good images.- kevyn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1
Besides, isn't that too much work for a Photoshop action? Actions are supposed to be automated. - agreed.
- kevyn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1
- PathDaemon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1gxcdesign, I challenge your desk!!
Here's my own. And it's an ACTUAL HDR, no *****. Assembled from four exposures with manual conversion to 8-bit color.
EDIT: IKEA desk, bed, monitor stands, lights... and all t3h interneet technology I've gotten my hands on for the last number of years.
http://external.pathdaemon.com/pathdesk.jpg - FortyCaliber, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That's the JERKER... that was my first desk.
I have a GALANT now.
I still have the JERKER in storage It survived 3 moved and is still going strong.
I have that trash can.
Hang your robe up.
Two words: Cable Organization
Two more words: General Organization
When did this thread become a "Post your Desk" thread?
- kick52, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1nice effect, i'll try that tonight.
- rudy23, on 10/11/2007, -2/+27First the crappy HDR links. Now stories about fake HDR's. I can forsee HDR threads with the camps going shopped, fake, real real.
- wedges, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1and this stuff doesn't even look close to HDR, to boot
- Tempest811, on 10/11/2007, -5/+41I think it looks absolutely horrible
- dnthomps, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1Dugg Mirror did not catch it in time.
http://www.nill.cz.nyud.net:8090/index.php?set=tu1 - venicerocco, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9Not fake, just sloppy.
- OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3You mean fake AND sloppy.
- yonah, on 10/11/2007, -4/+15Thanks for adding my page Kevin, you´re the only one who could get *that* on the front page. I will send you the check within a week.
- nesibus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+19I think faking HDRI is pointless....you have to get the dynamic range or there is no point in even calling it an HDRI, you are not going to make detail appear in the dark shadows if the information is not in the jpg file, thats why you have to take a slower shutter speed snap..... specially if you are going to use it in software like 3D studio or any other HDRI supported graphic software.
- OsiVert, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Exactly. HDR is more for when there is a high contrast in which your camera won't be able to pick up the details of either the bright or the dark areas. This is more like making the colors more saturated. I have seen that most of the good HDR pics are those in dark areas or at night, where more detail is picked up because of low shutter speeds.
- AllLitUp, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1mirror of original post:
http://photoslivehere.com/viewer.php?file=jwmw0ueme2m5omm0zm2m.jpg - Elliuotatar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+49I can tell you how to get an HDR look.
If you have an image where you have a really bright sky and/or a really dark foreground, do this in Photoshop:
1. Duplicate image to a second layer.
2. Image->Adjustments->Desaturate second layer. (Make it black and white.)
3. Image->Adjustments->Invert second layer. (Make it a negative.)
4. Do a 64 pixel gaussian blur on the second layer. (Low pass filter. Prevents loss of high frequncy contrast on surfaces.)
5. Set the second layer to soft light.
And voila, bright portions of the image become darker, and dark portions of the image become lighter. And it looks a lot more realistic and better than those crappy HDR images most people put out.
PS:
Use a larger radius, like 128 on the gaussian blur if your images are very high res, and you see light halos around stuff.
PPS:
This also works great for fixing up flash photography images. Kills the highlights, brightens up the background.- br0ken1128, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I just tried both methods out, and I have to say.. yours looked WAY better.. post a page and digg it ;)
@Elliuotatar (#6676661) said: "I can tell you how to get an HDR look.
If you have an image where you have a really bright sky and/or a really dark foreground, do this in Photoshop:
1. Duplicate image to a second layer.
2. Image->Adjustments->Desaturate second layer. (Make it black and white.)
3. Image->Adjustments->Invert second layer. (Make it a negative.)
4. Do a 64 pixel gaussian blur on the second layer. (Low pass filter. Prevents loss of high frequncy contrast on surfaces.)
5. Set the second layer to soft light.
And voila, bright portions of the image become darker, and dark portions of the image become lighter. And it looks a lot more realistic and better than those crappy HDR images most people put out.
PS:
Use a larger radius, like 128 on the gaussian blur if your images are very high res, and you see light halos around stuff.
PPS:
This also works great for fixing up flash photography images. Kills the highlights, brightens up the background.
" - Elliuotatar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Seamless Texture Generator, at http://seamlesstexturegenerator.com will also do this for you in an automated fashion. It's called shadow/highlight removal in that.
- FortyCaliber, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I dugg that.
Well done. Simple and straightforward and brings out the tones in everything...
Just a note... experiment with different gaussian settings for taste.
- br0ken1128, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I just tried both methods out, and I have to say.. yours looked WAY better.. post a page and digg it ;)
- zioxide, on 10/11/2007, -1/+26blah what a crap article.. it talks about HDR as trying to make the picture look like a painting. That's not the point of HDR.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) is all about getting more details into your picture. When you take a regular photo, the mid areas have all of the detail but all of the dark spots and bright spots are washed out. You take pictures at higher and lower exposure to get details in the darker and lighter areas, then merge them to HDR so you can get all of the detail in the original photo.
Also, giving a crap photo a "fake HDR look" isn't going to make it any better, its still going to be a crap photo with a fake HDR look.- dnthomps, on 10/11/2007, -3/+18Yes, but K Rose submitted it...
// sigh - maffiou, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Yep, Agreed.
This only adds the defects of tone mapping to a standard image. There is more to HDR than this. - helpyhelperton, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Mod parent up.
- dnthomps, on 10/11/2007, -3/+18Yes, but K Rose submitted it...
- polyGone, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Except it is lacking the vast amount of information I would need for lighting in Max or Maya. Hrrrmpppphhh.
- troseph, on 11/01/2007, -1/+13HDR: "how to overcook your crappy pictures"
- mattmollysdad, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3ok I'm old... I don't even own a camera but in the last two days I've looked at over 100 HDR on Flicker n digg stories... only looking at the finished product I find it great! it's not photography as much as it is paintings... the subject matter almost becomes secondary to the fantastic colors... I would buy one and hang it next to any painting I have in my house. I would also hang it next to any black/white photo I have hanging... putting it next to a regular none HDR color photo though would be a problem for me because of the automatic comparison between the two.
- NitrousFlare, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I think the original looks better.
- LionFlight, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It's an effect thats used pretty often on DVD's, CD covers, etc. - Has a great style/ look. Thanks for the tutorial!
- abxy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Take about 10 minutes to learn what high-dynamic-range images are and how they work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging
- therightclique, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4no one cares man. that's not what this is about.
- daddyfizz, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1imo, looks like crap compared to a real HDR photo...
- dragon76, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3It doesn't look like HDR at all. At the minimal it looks like a stylised video game.
- dualaudi, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Where's the Shadow/Highlight under adjustments? i don't see it
AH you need at least Photoshop CS for this! need to know info buddy... - 68024, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Buried because the world needs to be saved of these sort of abominations.
- shuffle2, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3this isn't even "fake" HDR. someone finally realized how to use PS, good for them,....too bad their photos look like *****
- scingram, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Why in the hell would you want to "fake" HDR.
The point of HDR is not so much to Tone-Map the image as it is to light the scene.
Go check out my recent Moab set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scingram/
All HDR. All natural looking. Just with the better lighting that is gained via HDR.
Tutorials like this just add less credibility to HDR.- therightclique, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1pretty decent photographs for a beginner.
- throadgrommel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2You can't "add less credibility." To add anything would be an improvement.
- manogamez, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5HDR is not really meant to produce artistic looking photographs. It's meant to give more dynamic range to photographs allowing them to show areas that would over/under exposed if shot in a normal photograph.
- OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Yes, that's true. But Diggers are, you know... not so smart sometimes. I fear this "HDR" madness will continue.
- nesibus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2HDRI is/was originally for 3D computer graphic software to add realism to light probes in the scene setups. Somewhere along the lines it grew into its own photography style and not many people even know its origins. over at renderosity you can find many graphics based off HDRI, outside of photography it gets very complex to set it up for 3D renders.
- santacruz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3HOWTO: Fake like you actually took a decent photo.
- Theipolicy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0It looks edited, not HDR. Photomatrix would be better and it would be better to use the exposures to make a real HDR. You can do that in photoshop as well actually.
- nevaseez, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1rebotfc I agree with you 100% these images looked cheap.
- resplence, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2That looks nothing like HDR. It's more like some half-assed, a scanner darkly/cartoon-ish thing.
- Farticus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3It looks like crap, then again so do a lot of true HDR photos because people let the method dictate the message. The sooner this fad dies off the better.
I fart at your HDR!! - L0g1X, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Better Fake HDR Tutorial:
http://good-tutorials.com/track/16416 - showpig, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Bad fad. It actually results in an apparent lessening of dynamic range by bringing disparate values closer together. Our eyes don't see that way, which is why most of these HDr images look suspiciously weird.
- IHOLDMYPOOPIN, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It would be nice if this was in English.
- mushy99, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Heres a NON fake one with a tutorial further down in the thread.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=20459094
Regards, - iamthenoise, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0pretty good design element tutorial, but as for HDR? this ain't it.
- L0g1X, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Ohh I get it! People are digging this because Kevin Rose submitted it. No wonder....
- ackza, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1yuck
- yoshevvchoshev, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The point of using HDR sources for your images is to increase the detail visible in highly contrasting areas of photographs. Instead of an setting sun making the building in front of it look black, for instance, your photographs should look more like human eyesight perceives images: every part is properly exposed, so you can see both the bright glowing sun in the background, and the details and nuances on the front of the building.
For some reason, most people who post HDR images on sites like Flickr instead make their images look like the one in this tutorial - with surreal, unnatural colors (perhaps some of them in fact use tweaks instead of real HDR sources). But the whole point is to make things look more natural, not painfully distorted! By doing what's described here, you defeat the main benefit of HDR.
Examples --
Good HDR photos: http://flickr.com/photos/photomagister/212236583 , http://flickr.com/photos/emmedibi/412315816/
Really bad HDR: http://flickr.com/photos/kros/152399612/
I don't know if the bizarre color schemes in "HDR" photos are the product of poor software, or inexperienced users of that software, but HDR photography has a long way to go. - throadgrommel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This looked good, but I got halfway through it when I realized the tutorial author has no grasp of the English language. What the ***** am I supposed to do, again?
Does anybody have a well-written tutorial? - mgranucci, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Sorry for the first 60sec
http://www.nothingtoxic.com/uploads/media_73763faeff49d67a4_1178851467.wmv - demuel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Thx for sharing this tips,...
i also have tutorial video on the same subject
http://denmuel.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-create-hdr-photos-with-photoshop.html
feel free to watch
denmuel
photoshopfreevideo.info
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