HDR help in GIMP!

[AvasMom]

Can somebody PLEASE help me! Ive been looking all over the web for instructions on how to make HDR images using GIMP.....Is it possible? can someone tell me how? Im dying to start doing these type of photographs so any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

[wulf]

Try looking with Google - the first page of results I get for gimp hdr has plenty of useful hits, including ones I think I've seen before.

Wulf

ps. moved to the post-processing section

[AvasMom]

Thanks Wulf.....

I found some things on google as well, they just seemed to be in general instructions for all programs like GIMP and all the tutorials were in other programs....maybe i just didnt type in the right thing. ill keep trying. Thanks

and sorry it was posted in the wrong section

[wulf]

It depends partly what you are after. I haven't experiment with the more extreme HDR style effects but I've found it quite easy to blend together two or three different exposures of the same subject (as long as the were taken from a stable platform so the details match up!).

Here's a method to bring some detail back to blown out highlights using a second, matching shot that is underexposed.

1. Put the underexposed image as a new layer over the bright one.

2. Create a copy of the bright image and desaturate by lightness. You could use this as a layer mask on the underexposed image but the result would be rather grey.

3. Use the curves tool to increase the contrast of the mask layer. A simple setting is to create a single point at x=127, y=0 (and you can optionally pull this line into an upward or downward curve.

4. Apply this black and white image as a layer mask to the dark image. Only the areas that are bright on the mask layer will show through, restoring some detail to the overexposed version.

Different approaches to the masking stage will produce different results. Also, if the original image also has very underexposed areas, you can repeat the process with a very overexposed image. This time, create the mask and then invert the colours, which will reveal details in the shadows but hide the brighter sections.

Wulf