First HDR - Criticism much appreciated!

[drrlam]

Hi!
Thanks for reading.
Below is my first attempt at HDR.

My problems with the shot are as follows :
1) No tripod (handheld) and movement artifacts are seen
2) Composition could have been better
3) I didn't know whether to line up the roof/horizon or the door/vertical.
4) Halo effect around tree (not too bad, don't know if it is ideal though)

I really wanted to emphasise the chaotic nature of the clouds, and perhaps contrast it with that of my treatment barn!!

Any comments would be most welcome!



Exif (for EV 0):
Camera : Canon EOS 350d
Lens : 18-55mm
Focal Length : 18mm
Exposure : 1/4 sec
F-stop : f/3.5
ISO 400

[xxpinballxx]

COnsidering all the factors you had going its a good job! Great colors for the building and the sky is one that does work for an HDR.
I think the composition would have been tough regardless. The foreground has some lines that are leading to the entire picture being a bit off....its hard to decide which is the right line. I usually go by whichever gives the least amount of an unlevel appearance. Here I dont think the door being off is so bad. I think it would have been much worse having the roof line all off. Nice first shot and the more you do the more you'll know what shots are best for this technique.
One last note....get yourself a tripod!

[clockdoc]

Hi. Thanks for sharing your first HDR image with us. Canyou tell us what your exposure ranges were for the images you used to make the composite HDR image? What software program did you use? Very dramatic sky, which seems to be one of the byproducts of HDR. I look forward to seeing more of your HDR images.