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Nov 09 2008

Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files

Posted by jeff in HDR, tags: , ,

When it comes to creating HDR images, most folks know that Photomatix renders much better results than Photoshop when it comes to tonemapping.  So if that’s the case, why would anyone need to use Photoshop as part of the process?  The simple fact is that, while Photoshop is pretty lame when it comes to any post-HDR processing, its image alignment process stands head and shoulders above anyone else.  To prove this point, I took the same set of 3 bracketed images and created HDR files using Photomatix Pro 3.1 and Photoshop CS4.  I saved the images as OpenEXR files and then tonemapped the files using the same tonemapping settings in Photomatix Pro.

The file on the left was merged using Photomatix Pro and the image on the right using Photoshop.  This was a challenging image to merge because I did not use a tripod to shoot the bracketed exposures so there was some slight alignment shifts between the different exposures.  To really get an idea of how much better Photoshop’s alignment function really is, check out these enlargements from the above images.  All of the images depict Photomatix Pro on the left and Photoshop on the right.

You can click on all of the above images to see a larger view.  Another thing I noticed in doing this little test is that the file created with Photoshop has a little more faithful color rendition and better sharpness and detail.  Just imagine how much better it would be if I would use a tripod.

Related posts:

  1. Photoshop vs. Photomatix Pro
  2. Photomatix Pro 3.0 beta 5 for OSX
  3. My First Experience With Photomatix Pro 3.1 (beta)
  4. Process Your HDR Images Using Photoshop
  5. HDR Processing in Photoshop – A Follow-Up Video

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am and is filed under HDR. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

17 Responses to “Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files”
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  1. Bob M. Montgomery says:
    November 25, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    Trying a new HDR workflow suggested by http://tinyurl.com/5s2c57 with Photoshop+Photomatix

    Reply
  2. Jeff Revell says:
    January 21, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files http://bit.ly/6OlH72

    Reply
  3. Jeff Revell says:
    January 21, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files http://bit.ly/6OlH72 #hdr

    Reply
  4. Scott Wyden Kivowitz says:
    January 21, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    RT @PhotoWalkPro: Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files http://bit.ly/6OlH72 #hdr Interesting point of view! #photog

    Reply
  5. Fiona says:
    January 21, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    RT @scottwyden: RT @PhotoWalkPro: Why I Use Photoshop to Create HDR Files http://bit.ly/6OlH72 #hdr Interesting point of view! #photog

    Reply
  6. Damien Jemison says:
    January 21, 2010 at 5:16 pm

    Good read for anyone trying to figure out why their HDRs are always blurry RT @PhotoWalkPro: http://bit.ly/6OlH72 #hdr

    Reply
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Comments
  1. Paul says:
    November 11, 2008 at 10:31 am

    Thanks for this tip! I have a few photos that were not taken on a tripod that I had tried in Photomatrix but were dissapointed with the results. I got a much better result using Photoshop first!

    Reply
  2. Mike says:
    November 11, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    Hi Jeff,

    what is your workflow when using PS to merge the images, then Photomatix to finish?
    do you just do a tonemap of the PS merged images in Photomatix?

    Reply
  3. jeff says:
    November 11, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    Mike, here is my general HDR workflow…
    1. Shoot multiple exposures (+2, N, -2) in RAW format
    2. Import images using Lightroom 2.0
    3. Select images and use the Merge to HDR in Photoshop option
    4. Save my new HDR file in Photoshop as an OpenEXR image
    5. Open the HDR file in Photomatix Pro 3.1 and the use the Tonemapping tools
    6. Save the tonemapped image as a 16-bit TIF file and import back into Lightroom (it will do this for you automatically if selected)
    7. Finish off the image using the Develop module in Lightroom

    That’s pretty much it from beginning to end. There are other things that I like to do to the images but that is my basic HDR workflow. I hope that helps. I run through most of these operations in my tutorials which you can find using the Tutorial link on the Blog banner.

    Jeff

    Reply
  4. George L Smyth says:
    November 14, 2008 at 8:21 am

    Thanks for the information. I have tried combining programs without success, but was not saving via Photoshop in the OpenEXR format. Did you try combining the images in multiple ways using Photomatix? Of the options available, I have found that sometimes one choice is oftentimes better than another.

    Reply
  5. maverick01 says:
    July 22, 2009 at 9:53 am

    Thanks for the article.

    I had a hand held HDR that I found to be out of alignement when processed with Photomatix. Tried to merge with CS4 and the difference is major. I posted my results here : http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1039&message=32467774

    Reply
  6. Marc says:
    January 21, 2010 at 12:20 pm

    Great post!
    The only drawback of using Photoshop to align and create the HDR image is that Photomatix Pro (v. 3.2) is not capable of reading the EXIF data of 32-bit HDR images and thus the EXIF data is not transferred to the tone mapped image.

    Reply
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