HDR Book, The (eBook)

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included.
This is the eBook version of the printed book.HDR photography is one of the most popular styles of digital photography. The ability to turn images from natural scenes to works of art—whether surrealistic or simply enhanced with HDR techniques—is becoming the staple of the photographer and graphic artist.
In The HDR Book, HDR and Photoshop Guru Rafael 'RC' Concepcion (of The Photoshop Guys) focuses on processing the image, as well as what happens after an image is processed. It's no secret that there's a bit of Photoshop knowledge required to make an HDR image—and work with plug-ins, such as Nik and Photomatix too—and RC doesn't hold anything back to make sure all readers understand what they need to know about everything involved in the post-production process to make a really great HDR image. RC teaches from start to finish what needs to be done in terms of color correction, layer adjustment, sharpening, cloning, special filters, tonemapping, and more.

Throughout the The HDR Book, RC also interviews pioneering HDR experts (such as Trey Ratcliff, Moose Peterson, Michael Steighner, and others) sharing their insights and work.

The HDR Book will include access to all of the RAW images used in the chapters, in addition to presets for each image (for both Photomatix and Nik HDR Efex Pro). Also included are two video lessons showing the processing of two HDR images from start to finish.
With a couple of plug-ins, some technique, and a little bit of Photoshop, all readers will be able to create stunning HDR images!

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When it comes to HDR, only three key ingredients are needed: hardware, software, and post-processing technique. Hardware is simple-there are only a few things you need to set up and shoot an HDR series. Software is vastly improved, making it easier for anyone to create an HDR image. The hard part is the post-processing technique. There are only two options: hours and hours of experimentation or The HDR Book. Featuring real-world interviews with passionate HDR photographers, The HDR Book, by Rafael "e;RC"e; Concepcion, is more than a how-to and different from any other HDR book out there. While other books on HDR tend to lean toward the esoteric or formulaic, this book takes another approach. It's a complete and total HDR workshop that teaches you the one thing that most other books miss- once you've tone mapped your image with HDR software, you're still not finished. Within the pages of this book, you'll find 10 projects shot with everything from a point-and-shoot to a 37-megapixel, medium-format camera. The projects are designed to show you how the subtle differences in each scenario (lighting, subject, environment, etc.) dictate the post-processing needed to achieve one of the many final looks covered. You'll learn not only the different tone map settings RC used, but you'll also learn the final steps taken in Photoshop to complete each image. Then, you'll recreate these looks your self using the exact same RAW files that RC used! Plus, you get four bonus images to play with and create your own look. The end result: a more intrinsic understanding of the nuances of HDR that will help you create the images you've always wanted. Best of all, The HDR Book is written using the three top HDR processing programs in the industry today: Photoshop's HDR Pro, Photomatix Pro, and HDR Efex Pro. No matter which program you use, you'll be able to follow along and create your own stunning looks in no time.