- Hot Topic!
- Reference Charts
- Hands-on Tutorial 
Create stunning images!
Get the most out of your camera!
Chapter 1:
Background Story
- 1.1. Basic Questions [+]Introduction to the fundamental concept of HDR imaging, answering questions such as:
- What is dynamic range?
- What was an exposure value again?
- How can we use EVs to measure the dynamic range?
- Isn’t dynamic range an audio unit?
- Ah… bit depth! So 32-bit images are HDR images, right?
- Tell me then, what is HDRI?
- 1.2. How We See the World [+]Explains how human vision copes with excessive scene contrasts using these mechanisms:
- Adaptation
- Nonlinear response
- Local adaptation
- 1.3. How Lifelike Is Film Photography? [+]
- The chemistry that makes it work
- Where the chemistry is flawed
- How about analog postprocessing?
- What’s wrong with digital?
- 1.4. Traditional Digital Images [+]
- Let’s talk about bits.
- Great, that’s math 101. But how about
images? - Born to be seen through gamma goggles
- Limitations of this output-referring
standard - More bits
- Nondestructive editing
- 1.5. Splitting the Bit [+]
- Seeing is believing
- Rethinking color management
- So, HDR workflow is better than RAW workflow?
- But what is the immediate advantage?
- 1.6. Output Media [+]
- The death of the cathode ray tube
- The chicken-and-egg problem
- On into a bright future
- 1.7. Quiz [+]Every chapter is closed with a crossword puzzle. Solving this puzzle is a fun way to find out if you can remember at least the 20 most important facts from this chapter.
- Spotlight: Trey Ratcliff [+]Star travel photographer Trey Ratcliff shares his thoughts on creative looks, image enhancements, and artistic confidence.
Chapter 2:
New Tools
- 2.1. HDR File Format Reviews [+]This is the most comprehensive discussion of HDR file formats you will find anywhere.
- RAW Formats
- Cineon and DPX
- Portable Float Map
- Floating-Point TIFF
- Radiance
- TIFF LogLuv
- OpenEXR
- High Dynamic Range JPEG
- Windows JPEG-XR/HD Photo
- Private Formats
- 2.2. HDR File Format Comparison [+]Several comparison tables give a quick reference, with focus on file size, accuracy, and usability.
- Size matters!
- Conclusion
- 2.3. HDR Software Reviews [+]Detailed introduction to popular HDR programs, with an overview of their capabilities and some pro tips.
- Mac OS X
- FastPictureViewer Codec Pack
- Adobe Bridge
- XnView
- Bracket
- Photosphere
- HDR Shop
- Picturenaut
- Photomatix Pro
- FDRTools Advanced
- Hydra Pro
- HDR Expose
- HDR Express
- Dynamic Photo HDR
- PhotoEngine
- SNS-HDR Pro
- HDR Photo Pro
- HDR Efex Pro
- Fhotoroom HDR
- CinePaint/GIMP
- Photoshop CS5
- 2.4. HDR Software Comparison [+]This is the mother of all test charts, where features and usability of all HDR programs are compared and rated.
- 2.5. Forgotten Something? [+]Short descriptions of all the HDR-capable programs that didn't make it into the review section:
AKVIS HDRFactory, Ariea HDR Max, easyHDR, Essential HDR, HCR-Edit, HDRIE, Framecycler, RV, mkhdr, pfstools, qtpfsgui a.k.a. Luminance HDR, Photogenics, Pixel, WebHDR
- 2.6. Compositing Software [+]Compositing software is perfectly suited for editing photographs. That's why this section introduces:
- After Effects
- Composite
- Fusion
- Nuke
- 2.7. HDR Plug-Ins [+]
- ProEXR
- OpenEXR Alpha plug-in
- Tonemapping Plug-Ins for Photoshop
- Lightroom Plug-Ins
- 32 Float
- Magic Bullet PhotoLooks
- Filter Forge
- Atlas
- Ginger HDR
- 2.8. iPhone Apps [+]Not quite what you think. Indeed, fancy HDR apps are ubiquitous on iDevices; but the real gems are those apps that assist shooting with your DSLR.
- Dynamic Range Helper
- Photobuddy
- LightTrac
- PanoTool
- 2.9. Quiz [+]If you don't dare to scribble on the pages you can also solve the interactive crossword puzzles on the Companion DVD. These are functioning mini-games with the bonus advantage of 2 word hints and 20 character hints.
- Spotlight: Luke Kaven [+]Jazz producer and cover photographer Luke Kaven discusses HDR portraits and how to capture the emotional vibe of Greenwich Village at night.
Chapter 3:
Capturing HDR Images
- 3.1. Digital Imaging Sensors [+]
- The Problem
- CCDs and Orange Trees
- CMOS Sensors Are Different
- Backside Illumination
- High Gain – Low Gain
- Digital Pixel Sensor
- Spatially Varying Exposure
- Super CCD
- Beamsplitter and Dedicated Optics
- Quo Vadis?
- 3.2. Bracketing and Merging HDRIs [+]This section extensively covers all the practical tips for shooting and pre-processing on 74 pages.
Check out the detailed section breakdown below! - 3.2.1. Exposure Bracketing [+]
- A word on analog
- What is in your backpack?
- Camera settings
- Shooting brackets
- Double-check the histogram!
- So, how many exposures does it really take?
- Ghosts and other fundamental issues
- 3.2.2. Faster, Further, Automatic! [+]
- Shooting with autobracketing
- Bracketing order
- JPEG or RAW?
- The double-burst trick
- Handheld capture
- Tripod capture
- Don’t touch this
- Tethered shooting
- External Bracketing Controllers
- Hacking your camera
- Bracketing comparison
- 3.2.3. Calibrating Your Camera [+]
- What the camera response curve is all about
- Shooting a reference sequence
- Grandpa HDR Shop lets us look at his camera curve
- Calibration today
- 3.2.4. Pre-processing RAW files [+]
- Quick workflow: Merge RAW files directly
- Careful workflow: Flat conversion to 16-bit TIFF
(8 pages of in-depth Lightroom tutorial!) - Ideal development settings in Lightroom 4
- 3.2.5. Merging to HDRI [+]
- Less or more source images? Crisp or smooth?
- Weighting: Trim the fat!
- 3.2.6. Alignment Strategies [+]
- Median Threshold Bitmap matching
- Manual Corrections
- Pattern recognition
- Tutorial: Pre-aligning exposures in Photoshop
- 3.2.7. Ghostbusters! [+]
- Tutorial: Photoshop’s guided ghost removal
- Tutorial: Photomatix’s selective ghost removal
- Optical Flow
- 3.2.8. Inspection Time [+]
- Exploring HDR images in Picturenaut
- Navigating Photoshop in 32-bit mode
- HDR viewer in Photomatix
- 3.2.9. Pseudo HDRI from a single RAW [+]
- No detour necessary!
- Tutorial: Pseudo HDR extraction in Lightroom
- 3.2.10. Batch Me Up! [+]Automate your workflow with Batch Processing!
- 3.3. Cleanup in Photoshop [+]
- Dust and Object Removal
- Perspective Correction and Cropping
- Tutorial: Reframing in Photoshop
- Perfect White Balance
- Tutorial: White balance in Photoshop
- Tutorial: Better white balance in 32 Float
- 3.4. Quiz [+]Solving these crossword puzzles also is a fun way to find out if you really need to read a chapter. If you already know all the answers then you can safely skip ahead because you're already aware of all the little tricks to shoot the perfect HDR image.
- Spotlight: Michael James [+]Professional real-estate photographer Michael James explains how HDRI has revolutionized his job. Good-bye flash lighting, hello available light!
Explore the new impressionism!
Edit the light, not the print!
Stitch awesome HDR panoramas!
Turn panoramas into virtual stages!
Chapter 4:
Tonemapping
- 4.1. Hello Operator? [+]This chapter opens with a classification of tonemapping algorithms. It's the base knowledge that puts everything in perspective.
4.1.1. Global Operators- Exposure and Gamma
- Logarithmic Compression
- Photoreceptor
- Equalize Histogram
- Photomatix - Details Enhancer
- Photoshop - Local Adaptation
- The Frequency Domain
- Decomposition & Recombination
- 4.2. The Art of Toning [+]The science of tonemapping has become the art of toning. This section takes a closer look at common disciplines and objectives:
- Natural toning
- New impressionism
- Haze removal
- Texture extraction
- Real-time rendering
- 4.3. Best Practice Tips [+]
- Seven Aesthetic Considerations
- Systematic Approach with Zones
- Beware of Common Artifacts
- 4.4. Workflow Examples [+]In this section you will learn the practical craft of tonemapping from the ground up.
That's 87 pages of non-stop learning experience. Tutorials are presented as practical boot camp exercises; fully repeatable with the source material from the Companion DVD.
Check out the detailed section breakdown below! - 4.4.1. Monumental Landscape [+]This workshop introduces the most fundamental toning workflow in three parts:
- Part A: Getting started in Photomatix
- Part B: Tonemapping with Photomatix
- Part C: Finishing with Photoshop
- 4.4.2. Rear Window of Room 822 [+]In this workshop you will learn how to solve conflicting white balance in indoor/outdoor shots.
- Part A: Tonemapping with PhotoEngine
- Part B: Finishing in Photoshop
- 4.4.3. Urban Exploration and Grunge [+]This section is all about artistic expression and creative tinkering. You will be amazed what your photos can turn into.
- Part A: Tonemapping in HDR Efex Pro
- Part B: Finishing in Photoshop
- Further down the rabbit hole
- Texture Blending
- 4.4.4. Two Steps Forward, One Back [+]Building on previous workshops, this section introduces you to a technique called double dipping, that promises ultimate control over details and tones in your image.
- Double dipping with Picturenaut and Photomatix
- Mixing it up at the Yamashiro
- 4.4.5. Dodge-and-Burn Techniques [+]This is the most advanced toning workflow.
Instead of using an HDR utility, you learn how to manually tonemap an image in Photoshop's 32-bit mode. Endless possibilities will open up, so many that this section is divided in four separate tutorials of increasing difficulty level.- Selective exposure adjustments in Photoshop
- Hard and soft exposure masks
- Magic tricks with luminance masks
- The final frontier
- 4.4.6. Painterly and Stylized Looks [+]
- Painterly Pumpkin
- Pepper the old paper mill
- Creating a stylized look directly in Lightroom
- 4.4.7. Toning 360 Panoramas [+]In this special interest section you will learn some important tips and tricks for preserving the continuity in your panoramas.
- 4.5. Quiz [+]And finally, the chapter closes with another crossword puzzle. All these puzzles have exactly 20 questions with varying difficulty. They are perfectly suited as evaluation test in a photo course.
- Spotlight: AntoXIII [+]Flickr phenomenon Anthony Gelot talks about how he discovered his love of Paris through shooting it in HDR.
Chapter 5:
HDR Image Processing
- 5.1. Taking Advantage of 32-Bit [+]This chapter is dedicated to new techniques derived from VFX compositing. By demonstrating these workflows in Photoshop, they become useful additions to every photographer's arsenal.
- 5.1.1. Day for Night by Blocking Light [+]Turn a daytime shot into a convincing night image.
- 5.1.2. Understanding the Color Picker [+]Several practical exercises bring you closer to an intuitive feel of the 32-bit mode in Photoshop.
- 5.1.3. Painting with Light [+]This section makes it very clear that pixels in an HDR image are captured light values. Painting in 32-bit mode gives us a flurry of natural light behavior for free, which results in more convincing image manipulation.
- 5.1.4. Color Grading with Levels [+]Learn how the professionals use color theory to make their life easier. This section introduces the RGB color wheel and finally explains in plain-speak how to tame Photoshop's Levels control.
- Part A: Basic Levels lesson
- Part B: Channel by channel
- 5.2. Effect Filters, Now More Effective! [+]Several filters have proven to be much more effective when they are fed with HDR imagery. This section is a MUST READ for all you CG artists, because it shows how to polish any image to perfect photo-realism.
- 5.2.1. Motion Blur [+]This section explains how real motion blur happens in a camera, and shows in Photoshop and Fusion how HDR images deliver perfect photographic motion blur.
- 5.2.2. Glow and Bleeding [+]
- Glow in After Effects
- Bokeh effects
- 5.2.3. Vignetting [+]Hidden in this section is my most ambitious tutorial ever:
- HDR photo tricks in After Effects!
- 5.2.4. Film Looks [+]This tutorial section introduces you to Magic Bullet PhotoLooks and its incredible set of photo-realistic filter effects. MUST READ for creative photographers as well as CG artists!
- 5.3. Common Gotchas [+]Advanced readers will learn everything about the hidden traps and common head slappers of working in 32-bit mode.
- Will It Blend?
- Beware the Curve Inversion!
- Eighteen Percent Gray
- Safe and Unsafe Resampling Filters
- Don’t Be So Negative!
- 5.4. Quiz [+]Another set of textbook questions, disguised as crossword puzzle.
- Spotlight: Kirt Witte [+]Professor Kirt Witte from SCAD chats about the importance of being fit in HDR imaging for VFX students.
Chapter 6:
Panoramic HDR Images
- 6.1. Pano Lingo [+]
- Field of View
- Image Projections
- Yaw, Pitch, and Roll
- 6.2. One-Shot Cameras [+]A closer look at automatic camera systems for capturing HDR panoramas
- SpheroCam HDR
- Panoscan-MK-3
- Civetta
- HDR-Cam
- 6.3. Mirror Ball Technique [+]
- Looking into a Mirror
- Got Balls?
- The Shoot
- Putting the Panorama Together
- 6.4. Segmental Capture [+]The core section of this chapter, written in cooperation with Austrian panorama professional Bernhard Vogl.
- 6.4.1. Basic Premises [+]
- Sectors must overlap!
- Turn around the nodal point!
- Shoot consistent exposures!
- 6.4.2. Getting the Right Gear [+]Extremely thorough shopping guide to the world of panoramic shooting equipment.
- Tripod
- Lens
- Fisheye lenses
- Circular or fullframe?
- Panoramic heads
- Robotic heads
- 6.4.3. Finding the Nodal Point [+]Calibrating your panoramic head made easy!
- First axis
- Second axis
- Fisheye lenses and the nodal point
- How accurate does it have to be? (Hint: the answer may surprise you!)
- 6.4.4. Planning for the Right Angles [+]
- How many sectors do we need?
- Dealing with the sun
- 6.4.5. The Shoot [+]This section bursts with useful tips and tricks that have come straight out of years of panoramic photography experience.
- Equipment checklist
- Camera settings
- Photographic workflow
- Light probe workflow
- Take notes (with a useful template provided)
- Consistency is your friend
- Make yourself invisible
- Shooting the nadir
- 6.4.6. Putting It All Together [+]Overview of all 4 workflows suitable for HDR stiching.
- The old-school way
- The careful way
- The hybrid way
- The quick way
- 6.4.7. Direct HDR Stitching with PTGui [+]Detailed introduction to panorama stitching.
- Part A: Aligning the images
- What are those mysterious control points?
- Part B: Fixing verticals and mismatched control points
- Good and bad control points
- Part C: Finishing the panorama
- Workflow alternative
- 6.4.8. Removing the Tripod [+]Two completely new tutorials, both work in full 32-bit, are only 10 clicks long, and touch only the areas that need to be fixed.
- Patching the nadir with Flexify
- Patching the nadir with Pano2VR
- Before or after tonemapping?
- 6.4.9. Hybrid Stitching Workflow [+]My favorite workflow, combining the interactive feedback of 8-bit with the increased quality of a full 32-bit workflow.
- Batch HDR merging for panorama stitching
- Stitching the tonemapped images with PTGui
- Rendering the final panorama in HDR
- 6.4.10. Big, Bigger, Giga [+]Helpful hints for taking the pain out of stitching really big panoramas.
- Preparation
- Autopano
- Finishing up
- 6.5. Skydomes [+]Useful technique for shooting just enough of the environment to be sufficient for CG lighting in a single shot.
- Shooting fast like no other
- Unwrap and be done with it
- Controlled unwrapping with Hugin
- 6.6. Comparison [+]All the panorama acquisition methods compared in regard to budget, time, and effort. Which technique is the right one for you?
- 6.7. Panoramas and Visual Effects [+]This is a brand-new section with tips and tricks found nowhere else. Not even on the web. Seriously!
- New Opportunities
- Movie Set Etiquette
- Tutorial: Virtual Camera Pans in After Effects (no prior After Effects experience required)
- Pano Reprojection and Photogrammetry
- 6.8. Quiz [+]It's a trap!
- Spotlight: Greg Downing & Eric Hanson [+]The pano pioneers who formed xRez Studio chat about dome projection, gigapixel, and the world's biggest tripod.
Chapter 7:
Image-Based Lighting
- 7.1. Principles of CGI [+]
- Traditional Rendering
- Physically Based Rendering
- Rendering with Natural Light
- 7.2. Brute Force Simulation [+]
A feasibility study, using the infamous Apartment scene. Discover the magic of image-based lighting in your home 3D application.- The basic ingredients
- Eyeballing the camera
- What we put on the table
- Crowd-sourced learning experience
- 7.3. Advanced Setup Techniques [+]Read this chapter when you're ready to get serious.
- 7.3.1. Keeping It Straight [+]
- Why do my HDRI renderings turn out so dark?
- The root of the problem
- Linear workflow: Strip the gamma from LDR images!
- Take the linear workflow to the next level!
- 7.3.2. Compositing Is Your Friend [+]
- Keep your render buffers!
- Tweaking reflections
- Ambient occlusion—a pass like a poem
- Deeper and deeper
- Finishing touches
- 7.3.3. Sample Wisely: Split the Light! [+]
- Why are my HDRI renderings so noisy?
- The universal trick for optimized sampling
- Bigger backgrounds
- How to handle the background ball
- Place it by the camera!
- Shadow catcher
- Beware strong sunlight
- Break out the essential lighting components: direct, diffuse, and specular.
- 7.3.4. Smart IBL [+]
- Back to the one-button solution
- A universal pipeline tool
- Meet sIBL GUI, the ultimate plug-in
- Are you a collector?
- In a real VFX production
- Creating and editing sIBL sets
- It’s all open and free
- 7.4. Need More Space? [+]Let's tap into the really advanced stuff! An HDR panorama can only capture the light of a single point in space. This brand-new section introduces three techniques for breaking free of this limitation.
- 7.4.1. HDR Video Light Probes [+]A pioneer project in cooperation with the Linköping University shows the unique advantages of using HDR video for lighting and reflections. This section is basically a Making-Of for the clip you see here. Check it out!
- Capture setup
- Pre-processing (in Fusion or Nuke)
- Easy going in 3D
- 7.4.2. Blend Multiple HDR Panos [+]This method is simple and effective. When driven to the extreme this method gives you cached spatial irradiance volumes suitable for applying complex shading effects in real-time game engines.
- 7.4.3. Reconstruct the Set in 3D [+]
- New-school automation with point clouds
- Manual reconstruction from a panorama (shown in a step-by-step tutorial !!!)
- Part A: Preparing the panorama
- Part B: 3D Modeling
- Part C: Fixing the texture
- 7.5. Light Rigs [+]
- Extracting Lights
- LightGen
- Importance Sampling
- LightBitch
- Ye good old spinning light trick
- What else is cool about light domes?
- Artist-driven light rigs everywhere
- Dome Lights
- HDR Cookies
- HDR Cards
- 7.6. Painting and Remixing HDRIs [+]Quick introduction to HDR Light Studio and why this program is so much better at this job than plain old Photoshop.
- 7.7. Quiz [+]The final test.
- Spotlight: Paul Debevec [+]Mastermind Paul Debevec shares his thoughts on the past, present, and future of computational photography.
Appendix
- Glossary [+]The vocabulary of HDR imaging is explained in 51 short stubs, from AEB to weighting function. Respective book sections are referenced for further reading.
- Index [+]More than 1000 indexed keywords ensure that you can quickly look up any topic, exactly when you need it.
- Cheat Slips and Useful Charts [+]The most useful HDR workflows are consolidated in quick check lists, as a handy guide for your camera bag or laptop pouch.
- Companion DVD [+]
Note:
The Companion DVD is an exclusive feature of the printed paper edition. The ebook version does not include the DVD!This DVD is packed to the rim with 4.3 GB of the finest workshop material.- High-res HDR images
- Bracketed exposure sequences
- Layered PSD files of workshop results
- All the software used in tutorials
- Interactive Quiz Puzzles
- Stuff you can really use
- Last Page [+]… and that would be page number 660.
Now could you please stop window-shopping and get this damn book already! It's only $32 on Amazonand worth every penny.
