I was recently asked to create an HDR photography tutorial, so here it is! I know some people are familiar with what HDR photography is, but very few are completely sure how to create an HDR photograph outside of their iPhone. Allow me to demystify the art of High Dynamic Range photography.
HDR photographs are created by taking a series of multiple exposures (typically three, but can be more) and merging them together to create one final image with a large dynamic range. The technique used to take these photographs is known as exposure bracketing. The photographs taken are typically one at the proper exposure (0 EV), one that is two stops* underexposed (-2 EV), and one that is two stops overexposed (+2 EV). What this does is allows you to capture darkest and brightest aspect of your subject and bring them out when we process them later.
[note_box]NOTE: A stop is a measure of exposure value (EV). I would go more into what exactly EV is and how it is calculated, but nobody wants to get into logarithmic scales right now; we’re here to make cool photos! :)[/note_box]
