HDR photography

[Camdixon]

Hello, I am new to this whole HDR issue, and somewhat new to photography as well.

I was reading a quite advanced forum somehow, and came across the phrase "3 RAWs shot 2 stops apart".

I understand that this means shoot 3 raw photos without moving the camera on a tripod.
By the way this is specifically for real estate. Then they HDR the photos in Photomatrix to blend the colors together.

My question pertains to the 2 stops apart. In the blog they mentioned using f/8 through f/13 for indoor lighting. They also mentioned the photo bracketing option that canon has to bracket 3 photos at different levels in the menu option. So can anyone give me a concise version of the basics on this one? How far do YOU bracket under the menu, and what does it mean "2 stops apart"?

By the way, if you have $0.02 of input it's ok if you post. I'm new and would just appreciate some direction.

[LeeR]

They are telling you to bracket three photos; one will be underexposed by two stops, one will be right on the money and the third will be overexposed by two stops. If the proper exposure is 1/60 of a second at f11, then you would take three shots, one at f8, f11 and f13. Combined you should have tremendous exposure latitude. The blown out highlights in the normal shot will have detail in the underexposed shot, likewise the lack of details in the shadows will be available in the overexposed shot. The software helps you choose the appropriate information for each area of the image so that everything looks properly exposed.
Set your camera to bracket at two stop intervals and it will do the heavy lifting for you.