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 p.2 #10 · One Night in Frankfurt, Germany – 250 MP Night Photography Journey | |
Stefan Official wrote:
Many thanks again for accepting me into the forum! I’m happy to share my knowledge—I’ve been photographing for so long. I even remember the early days of Fred Miranda and followed the forum for a long time, though only as a silent reader. Time really flies! But now I thought it was time to finally say hello, haha. 🙂
I have no secrets and I’m happy to help. Night photography is my passion. It’s how I started photography, and for a long time, I focused exclusively on it. Later, I spent over 15 years exploring other areas, particularly video. But now, I just want to do what I truly enjoy and have returned to my roots.
Night photography brings everything together: patience, endurance, deep technical understanding, and extensive post-processing experience. It challenges you in many ways, and that’s exactly what I love about it. It was time for me to focus on what I want to express through photography.
I don’t use ND filters. Almost all my night shots are created as exposure brackets—multiple images taken at different brightness levels and later combined into one. A single photo from a full-frame sensor is already excellent, but by using only the optimal part of an exposure—the so-called sweet spot—you can push image quality even further. This helps avoid color degradation, loss of details, and weak micro-contrasts in the darkest and brightest areas of a single shot.
That’s why I shoot exposure brackets, capturing each brightness level of the scene in its optimal range. In Lightroom, merging exposure brackets into HDR is straightforward. In my recent photos, I’ve listed the various exposure times I used. A good approach is to double the exposure time each step, e.g., starting with 3 seconds, then 6, 12, 24 seconds, and so on. Lightroom handles the rest. If two images happen to have the same exposure time, it doesn’t matter—Lightroom compensates. No need to overcomplicate things; what matters is covering a wide range of exposures.
Why HDR-RAW is the best option – even for SDR monitors
Lightroom allows you to generate an HDR-RAW file from an exposure bracket. These are real HDR-RAWs with an extremely high dynamic range—perfect and effortless. They contain significantly more data than a single RAW image.
A key advantage: These HDR-RAWs work just as well for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) output as they do for HDR!
When exporting for SDR, all the extra dynamic range is used to create a natural-looking image with perfect highlights, shadows, and color accuracy. Unlike traditional HDR methods that require artificial tone mapping to fit into SDR, HDR-RAW preserves all details natively.
This means you get the best possible SDR image today, while keeping the option open to export full HDR versions in the future. Whether displayed on an SDR or HDR monitor, HDR-RAWs always deliver the optimal image quality—without any compromises.
SDR vs. HDR – What’s the difference?
SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) describes the monitors and TVs that have been used for decades. Movies and photos are typically optimized for 100 nits brightness, ideal for comfortable viewing in dim lighting. This was the standard for a long time because brighter displays didn’t exist.
True HDR starts at 1000 nits brightness, as used in HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. This allows lights—car headlights, city lights, reflections—to appear much more realistic, almost like in real life.
Many assume they can just increase their monitor’s brightness to get HDR, but that’s not how it works. A normal SDR display brightens the entire image when you raise brightness. With true HDR at 1000 nits, only the brightest parts—lamps, headlights, candles, laser beams—become significantly brighter, while the rest of the image remains at a natural SDR brightness.
An SDR photo can only suggest a glowing lamp—it doesn’t truly shine. But on an HDR monitor with 1000 nits, the lamp actually emits light, just like in real life. This is a game-changer!
The future of HDR in photography
For years, I’ve worked with calibrated HDR monitors capable of at least 1400 nits. Lightroom allows direct HDR output, and many modern smartphones and tablets already support HDR—though many users aren’t even aware of it. Future displays will all have HDR support.
To this day, no major photo platform supports HDR formats like AVIF or JPEG XL. YouTube has supported HDR videos for years, yet no photo-sharing platform offers HDR images.
I’ve even sent proposals to Flickr on how to implement HDR support for the web with minimal effort. The change would only take a few hours! Once HDR is established, photos could be automatically detected and displayed in full 1000-nit brightness.
With exposure brackets in Lightroom, you can create real HDR-RAWs—the perfect format for both SDR and HDR displays. No JPEGs, no TIFFs—just full RAW with maximum dynamic range for both worlds. And best of all: These HDR-RAWs are an investment in the future. As soon as HDR support arrives on the web, all existing HDR-RAWs can be exported to AVIF or JPEG XL and used immediately.
Simply enable HDR in Lightroom, raise the highlights slightly, and be amazed at how your images transform. With this, highlights shift from 100 nits to 1000 nits—producing breathtaking results.
Why Lightroom is the best choice for HDR workflows
Many HDR programs create fake HDR effects rather than true HDR files. Most of them don’t retain RAW data, which limits post-processing flexibility. Lightroom, on the other hand, generates true HDR-RAW files, keeping all the advantages of RAW editing.
If you’re working towards an HDR future, it makes sense to future-proof your workflow now. Anyone shooting exposure brackets today should ensure they can fully utilize HDR displays when they become the new standard.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share what I’ve learned. Photography is about pushing boundaries, exploring new methods, and continuously improving. That’s what makes it so much fun!
Is there a dedicated thread for night photography, or do people post their photos in separate threads?
A lot of things are still new to me here.
Or should I just carry on here? Even if it doesn't always have to do with Frankfurt.
Many thanks again for accepting me into the forum!
Unfortunately, as a new user, I can currently only write two posts per day—a bit limiting, but I’ll make the most of it. 😊
"Every new day is a new chance to do what makes you happy."...Show more →
For your bracketing, let’s say you start at 3s. How long of an exposure you need to go to still make a difference in the final HDR Raw image? Your Holbeinsteg image started at 2s bracket all the way up to 41s. Also do you do 3 or 5 images brackets?
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