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AR15.COM
4/24/2011 8:00:46 PM EDT
Hello everyone!

I was looking around and ran across this stunning shot and was reading the description on how he took it.

I started to bracket time and WB. What you see here is the result of many individual exposures selectively blended together.


How do you best blend them together in photoshop? I've tried the HDR plugin many times, but it always looks bland when I do it. Is there a trick or tutorial that can explain this?

Gracias!
4/24/2011 8:58:04 PM EDT
[#1]
I don't think that is HDR.  Or at least not entirely HDR.

When he says "selectively blended" he most likely means that he copied the images onto different layers of a single image file and then used layer masks to control which parts of the final product come from which image.
4/24/2011 10:17:49 PM EDT
[#2]
Photoshops HDR tool isnt too great at making those dramatic HDRs. That same look can be had by using Photomatrix. In fact, the linked image appears to be just like any other dramatic HDR. Give it a try!
4/25/2011 12:20:06 AM EDT
[#3]
I use Photomatix plug-in for Aperture. It offers a lot of adjustability.
4/25/2011 4:48:18 PM EDT
[#4]
Thanks for the replies. I don't think it's HDR either - I was more using that as an example of how I've never gotten layering images to work even with HDR.

I was more wondering how he used the masks to get the final image. Did he go around the different light colors separately along with the sky or what exactly did he do?
4/25/2011 6:52:36 PM EDT
[#5]
Looks like the photographer just took several exposures, layered and composed selected areas in PhotoShop.

Here's a quick one I did tonight.