Some great advice here and everything i've learned (if you look at my last posts almost everything is blended), i've learned here. 3 things work for me:
1 - realkuhl's method
2 - digital gnd aka gradient mask...tweak
3 - dark image over bright image. select all on bright image (bottom one). make layer mask. option-click on layer mask. paste image. gaussian blur layer mask at max (adjustable). tweak from there
get this shot blended....it's gonna be sick. good luck. and remember, you can always go back years from now once you've learned more and redo (why it's taking me forever to get my website finalized).
aFeinPhoto.com wrote:
...website finalized...
Ain't that an oximoron ?
I just wanted to thank you all for the great advice. I'm also a beginner with HDR and this is all very interesting!
I've taken the advice received here and attempted to re-make the blended image. You will see that I've replaced the image in the original post. I am making progress and I am ready for some additional crtique ... Thanks!
Yea that is going to be a sweet shot. Some halo'ing around the sky/hill edge and you could do with some more contrast in the hillsides. Keep at it. This is a killer shot.
aF
p.s. yes website finalized is an oxymoron :-P but i just mean getting it where i want for now :-P
The transformation is remarkable. I will say you're coachable! Well done, Brad.
Seems like the myriad ways to blend conspire to confuse us A never-ending learning curve!!
Noyce. There ya go man. Dont know why but looks like the photo was taken with a very low rez camera..lacking sharpness all around. Maybe just for web. The only thing I could say would be to add a bit more contrast to the hill in the very background. Otherwise welcome to the wonderful world of blending. Killer sky (water is a bit too saturated)
The only recommendation that I can give you is not to make it look obviously photoshopped, if this is your picture, you should not have the brightest highlights in the river, like they are. make it believable. obviously not everyone notices these things, but most people who appreciate art (buyers) will.
Looking good! I agree with arcer63 about toning down the highlights in the river. But, the newest version is now lacking some contrast. The whites in the river can be pretty bright, not as bright as the sky, but definitely more punchy. The mid ground could use a little more contrast as well - there should be some near blacks in the forested hills I think. You've definitely got the basic exposure blending idea down, now it's into the details of making the contrasts look good in each section - try some curves adjustment layers to really perfect the image. To do that make use of the contrast adjustment layers' masks to make those adjustments apply only where you want them.
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A never-ending learning curve!!