City Hall in HDR

[CarissaLyn]

Hi all, my first critique post! I've done a few HDRs now, but I'd like some feedback. It's not photorealistic obviously, but is it too much? I tried with less tone mapping, but I kind of like the look.

I used 3 bracketed exposures, Photomatix, and some Photoshop adjustments. I know it's a little crooked, but I can't straighten it without lopping some off of the top. Also, there's still a little halo effect, I was able to tone it down some, but how do I prevent or fix that?



exif:
Nikon D5000
Focal length: 35mm
aperture: f/5
shutter speed: 1/3 sec
iso: 200

[shruggy63]

For me, ie not that well up on HDR, I think it falls into the area where purist snappers might be sniffy but the general public will say it's awesome in terms of pp.
But with the lenses you've got there's no reason why the building should have the strongly converging verticals? Though I realise that street level is not good for this kind of shot because of cars & ridiculous amounts of street furniture, I'd like to see more of the building.
Sorry if it's boring/harsh, get the picture right first then add to it with the HDR?

[CarissaLyn]

I do actually have a version with almost all the way to ground level (unfortunately not able to get the whole thing from that angle) but I thought the trees and everything were too distracting. I do agree with your point, though. This is a tough one, theres not realky a good spot to get a photo, so it was taken from out my car window. It's also right next to the police station, and the cops were looking at me suspiciously, so I didnt want to get out and spend a bunch of time getting the shot. The crookedness is completely my fault though.

I figured even though it wasn't a perfect photo, it was the type of profile I was looking for for HDR, so it was still good practice. And I definitely need the practice, I feel like I'm having a hard time developing an eye for HDR, but I do enjoy it.

And you weren't too harsh at all! Sometimes after you look at it too long, it's hard to keep your perspective. I appreciate any feedback, thanks!

[Barry Jackson]

I hope you don't mind if I had a go at editing your image.

I extended the canvas and cloned in the sky and a piece of the steeple so I could straighten the image.

I then used the burn tool on shadows and then midtones setting to burn in some of the halo.

I like your building and the use of HDR you did.

[CarissaLyn]

Thank you! I'm usually ok with small cloning (I cloned out a street light, I don't think it's noticeable) but with things like sky I still need more practice, I think. I like the idea of using the burn tool, too, thanks!

[Krusty79]

I keep a Word document on my desktop and when I find useful photo tips, I'll copy and paste them into my document. I have a couple of tips I found about reducing halos:

"These are quite nice for a first try. I would suggest that when processing try and concentrate to even out a well balanced sky. When you see a halo or powerful grays and blues you need to work using the MICRO SMOOTHING slider and this should help balance the skies in your pictures. The second one i like and i would like the first even more if the colors were toned down a wee bit.."

"One of the most telltale signs of over processing is the halo that will silhouette the horizon, where the landscape meets the sky in the image, or just an overall grainy image (unless you just took the pictures using a high ISO). Avoid this by increasing the the "luminosity," decreasing the "strength" somewhat, and increasing the "smoothing" and/or "micro-smoothing" if you are using Photomatix."

[CarissaLyn]

Thanks! And thanks to whoever you got the tip from. I do use Photomatix, I'll definitely try that out.

[terry pratt]

HDR aside, I think the placement of the camera is a little boring. With that 35mm lens I would have like to see a shot near the corner of the bldg, shooting up for more of a dynamic angle.

[CarissaLyn]

Originally Posted by terry pratt

HDR aside, I think the placement of the camera is a little boring. With that 35mm lens I would have like to see a shot near the corner of the bldg, shooting up for more of a dynamic angle.

Yeah I agree. I don't think that's going to be possible here, or at least unless I ask if I can get permission to take photos there- I was being watched like a hawk by a security guard and wasn't about to get out of my car, heh. But I did think it was a good candidate for HDR, so I figured I could work on my HDR skills, even if it wasn't a great photo overall. I struggle with liking the "grungy" HDR photos, and not wanting to be too over the top, either. So I try to practice when I can and kind of build up my eye for HDR.

I would like to see if I can get permission for photos though- or at least go back when I can take someone else with me, or something, because it is a really beautiful building and I want to be able to do it justice.

I haven't really used my 35mm much for buildings, would I have to be pretty far back to avoid distortion? there's streets on all sides of it. If I have to be close, would I be better off using the 18-55 mm?