We’ve decided to spread our wings and try some landscape photography primarily to fill in the gaps that inevitably occur while on the road. The term “landscapes,” as applied to photography, covers a broad range of subject matter, from wilderness majesty to urban architecture. We enjoy “natural” landscapes, concentrating on the grandeur of sky, land and water typically found in our parks and farmland. The mountains, forests, deserts and grasslands that house the birds and wildlife we constantly try to ferret out and photograph are also a treasure trove of natural beauty that can be captured creatively during all seasons. Although searching for and capturing striking scenery certainly adds a new dimension to our travels, especially during dawn and dusk when we await the inevitable stir of activity, the downside is the amount of computer time that must be devoted to producing quality landscape images. Nonetheless, we’ve found the demanding composition, exposure and post-processing techniques that pervade this genre has transformed how we look through the viewfinder, bringing a totally new perspective to the other aspects of our photography experience. It’s been an epiphany for us, helping immeasurably to improve how we understand and tackle bird and wildlife photography, particularly with decisions regarding composition and depth of field. As you have seen throughout this site, our approach is to stress the basics: positioning for light and backdrop; utilizing specific equipment features; taking the best exposure possible; and, developing a productive workflow process. Natural landscape photography demands all of the same attributes, with one major exception. This is absolutely a computer based genre, dominated by software designed to transform your exposures into an art-form. Many would argue that these programs simply elevate contrast and color to unrealistic levels. Whatever your perspective, composing and enhancing an image to create an effect that shouts “wow” is the end game. Software drives the process. If you’re not computer literate, don’t despair. This synopsis takes you through the “basics” and will get you underway effortlessly, producing quality output in no time. The only requirements are your ability to recognize a great scene and to cultivate the means to transform its potential. Successful natural landscape photographers are artists, knowing well ahead of time what locations will divulge eye pleasing images. They also understand the need to communicate a mood. What emotions did the scene evoke to compel the photographer to try and capture its essence? It’s a great pastime, filled with creative potential that is simply limitless. So dig in, enjoy yourself and don’t let the technology get the better of you. The commands to create pleasing output are easy to understand and implement. Releasing your creative potential is simply a matter of mastering the basics.
There are a few provisos though. Before you begin to release all those creative juices, natural landscape photography demands a fair amount of planning. Stunning images don’t usually jump out of the woodwork! Finding a good location, determining where to position for best light, deciding what time of day or season will produce the most dramatic results and dealing with the vagaries of Mother Nature are a formidable number of variables to try and control. Although light can be handled with filters or techniques such as High Dynamic Range, there is really nothing that can be done about the weather. Even a slight morning breeze can ruin a placid lake reflection for days. In summary, it’s best to know your location and work the potential but recognize from the outset that it can be a very frustrating waiting game.
The basic objective of all natural landscape photography is one of communicating mood. All photographers who participate in this genre struggle with communication issues in terms of how to accurately portray their feelings at the time of taking an exposure. As this is essentially an art form, at least at the professional level, your first task will be to decide how you wish to portray an image in terms of connecting with a viewer. Is your intent simply descriptive or are you bent on a more interpretative approach? Although composition is certainly a prime factor in helping to translate an emotion, beginners really suffer from an uncontrollable desire to overuse the dizzying array of digital enhancement tools now available. Keeping it simple is the best approach to creating a “wow” factor as enhancement can take on almost cartoon proportions if not undertaken with some realistic intent in mind. The best way to come to terms with this issue is to spend time assessing the output of photographers who successfully sell their output. This provides the most expedient way to develop composition, tone and color enhancement skills that will help with your development early on. Throughout this synopsis, we will list a cross section of print and online material that we have found useful in getting underway.
We didn’t change our camera bodies as they were already fully featured and capable of executing the exposure techniques that digital landscape photography demands. Features such as mirror lockup, auto exposure bracketing, timers and provision for an external shutter release are essential. Our current lens selection was also adequate for the job as we already used a combination of wide angle zoom for various bird and wildlife situations (16-35mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm). We did add a Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5 – 5.6L IS USM as we shoot separately and didn’t want to argue over what was in the bag. However, this is where our equipment good fortune stopped. Landscapes are much easier to capture using a ball head with a built in level. After agonizing over the many choices available, we decided that Really Right Stuff had the best solution, a ball head (BH-55 PCL) that incorporates an integral clamp (MPR-CL) designed specifically for easy panorama setup, both accommodating a custom L-Plate that matched our camera body that facilitates a quick Arca-Swiss type change from landscape to portrait mode and back.
Filters were also a nightmare to research. Fortunately Cokin have an integrated solution using an inexpensive plastic holder. We use the 77mm attachment and purchased the P-Series 2 and 3 stop grey graduated neutral density filters with an additional circular polarizer to get us underway. This is a must system as it accommodates filter “stacking” for situations with high contrast and the need to alter color saturation. Notwithstanding, our experience to date suggests that techniques such as High Dynamic Range described below largely eliminates the need for filters and in many respects produces much better results. As filters do have several practical applications, we continue to carry a small selection with us.
Other than beefing up our equipment and having more to carry, we found it extremely beneficial to study the genre prior to taking an actual exposure as the techniques are radically different from those employed for bird and wildlife photography. Here we had the good fortune to meet a group of serious landscape photographers dedicated to sharing their time and experience in the field free of charge. We spent a week with the “Old Turnips” (a rather unflattering description of their age and talents) in the Palouse farmland of eastern Washington. Although they are a small group and relatively unknown, they certainly have the potential to create a movement that would benefit many beginners who lack the resources to engage experience and knowledge first hand. Sharing at this level is a rare commodity indeed!
Here are some things to consider that may be of benefit before you take the landscape plunge. To begin, most creative natural landscape photography is about utilizing side light to capture a static image displaying visible contrasts using a very slow shutter speed at low ISO. It’s all about translating the tone and texture of a scene, either through straight description or some level of interpretation. Here any camera shake must be eliminated, demanding the use of features such as mirror lock and timers with an external shutter release. This is so unlike bird and wildlife photography, which usually deals with motion and the need for well-placed natural or artificial light. The photography and computer techniques employed here also allow you to deal with a much wider dynamic range of light, bringing an understanding of just how to manipulate the limitations of the digital sensor to produce good results. As with all digital photography, producing a good result demands a good exposure, one which maximizes the tonal range captured. This means working diligently to “push” the histogram as far right as possible without clipping at the extremes to ensure that the amount of shadow and highlight detail information is maximized. Filters, either polarizing or neutral density, can help deal with a one or two stop lighting variance while techniques such as Exposure Blending or High Dynamic Range can handle a wider dispersion. A polarizing filter saturates color and is effective only with side and top light. A graduated neutral density filter helps to tone down high-contrast segments of an image and is effective only at focal lengths shorter than roughly 85mm. Both filters can be “stacked” to resolve specific lighting and color issues. With the growing sophistication of HDR software and the Photo Filter application available in Photoshop, the question must be asked whether filters will continue to play an effective role in digital photography.
You will predominantly use a wide angle or short focal length lens where a sharp aperture is required to ensure a good depth of field. As lens optics is usually best between f/8 and f/16, this can often be difficult to achieve without resolution falling off somewhat. Many photographers never utilize the depth of field preview button, relying instead on using a predetermined maximum f-stop to ensure optical sharpness, focusing manually roughly one-third into the scene and using the LCD zoom feature to magnify and check the sharpness of the image (for a more precise method, see using the "hyperfocal point" with foreground objects described below). Professionals often opt for more flexible solutions by employing a tilt and shift lens. Although they are more adaptable for implementing depth of field decisions, they rely on manual focus and have a fixed focal length (usually 24, 45 or 90mm). Beginners should try the former solution, relying on f/16 as the limit. Finding a location is hard enough but being there at the right time takes some planning and visual skill. Perhaps the hardest aspect of natural landscape photography is imaging how the dynamics of light can potentially create radically different color and shadow intensity at a location during different times of the day, year or under changing weather conditions. You can resolve some of the variables by determining where and when the sun rises and sets, analyzing its angle and positioning to optimize shadow contrast and color hue. You can also scan weather forecasts or visit during specific seasons when conditions are likely to produce the robust image you are looking for. In other words, knowing your location and being able to visualize the image you are looking for is far better than showing up anytime and hoping that serendipity will bless your presence! Side light is almost always a prerequisite as front light produces dull tones with little texture. Contrast and color are inseparable and the force behind how you translate the form of any natural landscape into a robust image. Composition is equally important although you can soon become a slave to the standard “rule of thirds” that serves as a basic reference point for creating a focal point to an image. Keying on the “convergence” of lines and regular configurations is a good tactic as is the use of foreground objects that produce depth and create a sense of presence for the viewer. Distractions are to be avoided, the tenet being to keep it simple, relying on the basic elements of the scene to translate your mood. Try experimenting with a different lens to see how the perspective changes. A good overall lens choice is one that combines wide angle and zoom such as the Canon EF 28-300mm described above. A good primer on all the above elements, particularly composition alternatives is The “National Audubon Society Guide To Landscape Photography” by Tom Fitzharris.
Generalities, of course, often produce mediocre results. This can apply to depth of field decisions. Achieving good sharpness in some situations is slightly more complicated than simply focusing 1/3 into the frame. This rule of thumb stems from the basics of focusing – the point at which you focus any lens creates a “focal plane” or area within an image that is actually in focus, roughly 1/3 in front and 2/3 behind the focus point. However, this may not be the point that achieves the maximum depth of field for the focal length and f/stop of the lens that you are using. Finding this “hyperfocal distance” is critical when using a wide angle lens for images that incorporate a foreground object being used to create a sense of depth (this doesn’t apply to a long lens where the depth of field falls off much more rapidly). To determine this distance, focus the lens at infinity and note the point at which the leading edge of the frame comes into focus. Placing your focus point here will maximize the depth of field. Everything will be sharp within the area from infinity to a point equivalent to one-half the hyperfocal distance from the focus point. To put this into perspective, at a focal length of 28mm with the aperture set to f/16, the hyperfocal distance would be 5.5 feet using our Canon 5D (a DSLR full 35mm equivalent). This means everything from 2.75 feet in front of this point to infinity is within the focal plane. More often than not, this point is 1/2 rather than 1/3 into the frame. Photographers often abandon their eye and use predetermined charts to determine this distance, making the correct setting manually using the distance guide on the lens shaft. We carry a reference chart for the camera bodies and lens types we use (try Vivid Light for an easy to use download that calculates hyperfocal distance for various focal lengths and f/stops given a specific sensor related crop factor). After all this, it’s not much solace to discover that the viewfinder might not be a good indicator of the degree of actual sharpness being achieved for this type of image. Don’t manually refocus if it looks poor. Here it’s best to try the depth of field preview button to get an overall feel for clarity then take a test image and use the LCD screen to zoom in and check critical areas of the image for sharpness. You can also become a slave to this process. There may be situations where you actually want to sacrifice background clarity to bring more of the foreground into focus (you can waste depth of field on a hazy background). Moreover, the use of apertures greater than f/16 usually results in “diffraction,” either some or significant softening of objects within the focal plane. As such, achieving great sharpness requires some judgement as you try and balance the elements that comprise the foreground and background of this type of image. It’s also axiomatic that generalities ultimately lead to a rat hole that’s hard to get out of! Experimenting is the key.
There are so many techniques designed to alter the look of an image that it’s hard to know where to start. They range from a simple change of color temperature to the manipulation of multiple image files. Although you will recognize the usual post-processing tools for adjusting tonal variations and color, there are specific workflow routines that form the mainstay of natural landscape photography. Here the “big five” post-processing techniques are Cut And Paste Replacement, Exposure Blending, High Dynamic Range, Panorama Stitching and Monochrome Conversion. As these can often morph into quite complex workflow, the first task is to understand their underlying rationale and how to implement the “basics” of each using a simple and straightforward approach.
Cut and paste is usually reserved for creating a more dynamic sky. Here landscape photographers keep a file of cloud images that can be utilized for this purpose. The technique involves opening two equal sized images in Photoshop, one with the sky to be replaced and the other with a suitable replacement cloud formation. Select the latter and outline the cloud segment to be used as the replacement using Select All, Transform Selection (left click and drag the perimeter horizontal boxes to complete the desired segment) then Enter and Edit>Copy to complete the crop. Now, Edit>Paste this segment onto the other image and use the Move tool to drag it into the desired replacement position. Close the original cloud image as the selected segment now becomes Layer 1 on top of the Background Layer of the landscape image. Highlight Layer 1 in the Layers palette and reduce Opacity to zero. Highlight the Background Layer and using the Magic Wand, select the portion of the sky you want to replace, usually along a well defined ridge line. Now use Select>Inverse to isolate the foreground. Although it may not be required, you might want to try and soften the ridge line using Select>Modify>Feather with a radius of 1 to 3 pixels. Edit>Copy the foreground selection, highlight Layer 1 and Edit>Paste to form a new Layer 2. Finally, highlight Layer 1, return Opacity to 100 percent and adjust the tonal gradation and color of the new cloud formation to suit the original image.
Exposure blending is an equally easy technique to implement. It is usually reserved for situations where a filter is an ineffective solution for addressing unusually high contrast. Using a tripod, the task is to take two correct exposures, one for the shadows and the other for the highlights, then blend the results in Photoshop using the Layers and Layer Mask functionality. First, open both exposures and highlight the darker image. Photoshop will align the images automatically if you Shift hold the Move tool while dragging the darker image over the lighter image with the mouse, releasing first the mouse button then the Shift key to complete the task. Close the darker image. Now open the Layers palette and select Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Layer 1 will appear. Press ‘B’ to select a paint brush, adjusting for size and softness (to start, try Brush Hardness: 20%, Master Diameter: 600 pixels). Ensure the foreground color in the tool bar is set to black and the white box in Layer 1 is highlighted. With the Mode set to Normal, paint to reveal the highlight details from the Background Layer (try Opacity 50% and Flow 100%). Experiment with a small area and Undo if you are not satisfied, changing brush hardness, size, opacity and flow of application until a good result is achieved. You can lighten areas by changing the foreground color to white. Once you are satisfied, use Layers>Flatten and continue with your normal post-processing workflow.
Light on any subject produces a dynamic range as measured by the luminance values from the darkest to the lightest areas. The ability to perceive this range varies by receptor. The eye can interpret more tonality and detail than a digital camera sensor whose limits are dictated by its ability to forestall clipping at the lighting extremes. From a photography perspective, High Dynamic Range (HDR) is defined as the techniques used to capture and present as much of this range as possible given the limitations of the technology being used. This entails two processes, one with the camera using exposure “bracketing” and the other with computer software such as Photoshop or Photomatix Pro that “integrates” multiple exposures which then undergo a tone mapping process prior to normal post-processing. Although the techniques are simple to understand, the implementation process is riddled with subtleties that, if adhered to, will ensure the creation of pleasing results. Photography technology has always imposed limits on the dynamic range of what can be captured and displayed. The rapid evolution of HDR is pushing these limits and will undoubtedly redefine the landscape genre in terms of allowing photographers to more realistically portray and communicate their vision of the natural world. For a beginner, there couldn’t be a better time to start!
In the past, landscape photographers have tackled scenes exhibiting dramatic lighting by using either neutral density filters or employing exposure blending techniques on multiple files using layers and masks to accomplish targeted enhancements. There was a downside to both as filters often proved unworkable and blending was very time consuming. HDR addresses both issues as the bracketed images are taken without a filter and the process is quick and simple to implement with fairly understandable and easy to use controls. It can be used for both single frame and stitched panoramic images. The process maps the full range of luminance at every pixel using local contrast adjustments that emphasize color and detail, producing a composite that noticeably enhances tonal transitions and contrast. What you get is an image with more “punch” that can now be worked as an 8- or 16-bit file in Photoshop.
The major HDR formats of concern for our purposes are Radiance RGBE and Open-EXR. Both provide excellent results. The primary advantage of using either is their ability to handle a broad spectrum of lighting conditions (8-bit and 16-bit formats provide little “headroom” as they process only a small number of luminance values per red, green and blue channel before “blocking up” to black or “blowing out” to white). Thus the term High Dynamic Range, interpreted as the ability to capture and display lighting extremes with more visual accuracy. The trick is to acquire as much of the luminance information as possible. You do this by taking a series of over-exposed and under-exposed images with settings sufficient to cover the entire dynamic range of the scene from shadows to highlights. Typically +/– 2EV will do the job, depending on the capability of your camera body, using the Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)feature. So when do you employ HDR techniques? The obvious answer is on relatively static scenes that exhibit a broad range of luminance values such as sunrises and sunsets. However, you may find HDR is quite effective on reflective surfaces such as snow or on cloud formations where capturing detail is central to the vision you are trying portray. Experimenting is the key and you will soon discover which scenes produce the most dramatic results.
Now, on to the nuances! Camera setup is all important, especially stability as the HDR tone mapping process translates pixels “one-to-one” from each frame, requiring virtually prefect alignment in order to reduce the number of registration errors. As such, your camera should be mounted on a tripod and head which have been firmly placed. Vibration can be further reduced by using a remote shutter release, activating the mirror lockup feature, turning image stabilization off and in some instances, by placing a weight over the camera and lens such as a bean bag. Images should be captured in Aperture Priority Mode in RAW format using automatic bracketing and manual focus where ISO (set as low as possible), white balance (set to daylight) and aperture are held constant, leaving shutter speed as the sole determinant to zeroing the meter. As the light may change rapidly, it is important to automate the process as much as possible, keeping the number of steps to a minimum. Determining the number and interval of exposures requires an assessment of the scenes dynamic range, including what amount of detail you wish to capture at the extremes. As with all photography, practice and experience will dictate how you proceed. A good rule of thumb is that intervals of +/- 2EV are usually sufficient if the sun is not in the frame. It’s best to set ISO as low as the conditions will permit. Use the histogram to detect clipping, adjust accordingly and take the three exposures. You might want to consider taking five images if the sun is in the frame and the lighting is extreme. If this is the case, follow the above procedure but change the meter to +2EV and -2EV from the zero position, taking three exposures at each, discarding the common base exposure. Although you would intuitively think that more data is better, I have found that there is little difference between a three and five interval exposure sequence in terms of detail clarity in the final result. Although this is a generality and applies to scenes that do not exhibit wide lighting extremes, I’ve found that three exposures usually work fine, one for shadows, one for highlights and one that captures as much of the dynamic range as is feasible. The trick is to ensure the “tails” of the shadow and highlight exposures do not touch the end points of the histogram (in other words, there is no clipping present in either exposure, ensuring the full dynamic range of the scene has been captured).
How many images should be taken? Too many and you risk camera movement and ghosting. Too few and you may not capture the full dynamic range of the scene. The quick answer is to determine the lighting extremes by over and under exposing for shadows and highlights until clipping is eliminated. Exposures within these limits are part of the dynamic range of the scene. Exposures outside can be eliminated. If the range is fairly wide and you take too few images the result will undoubtedly include noise and blotched areas. We prefer intervals of 1.0 to 1.3 EV in most scenes demonstrating moderate lighting extremes. Inevitably, noise free overexposure and fully saturated underexposure is the key! To reiterate, setup is all important, especially all efforts to reduce camera shake: first, developa good composition; next, use a tripod and cable release; also, initiate Aperture Priority Mode, AEB, Continuous Shooting Mode, Manual Focus, Flash Off, Multi-Segment Metering (Evaluative), RAW files and the lowest ISO possible; finally, use Daylight white balance and image stabilization.
You are now ready to produce a tone mapped image. As most photographers use Adobe Photoshop for RAW conversion and post-processing, we will detail the HDR workflow for CS3 although we must say from the outset that we have never been comfortable using Curves and find their HDR version intuitively unappealing compared to the easily manipulated tool set available in Photomatix Pro. Moreover, we find that the latter program produces much better results.
First, select the sequential RAW images in Bridge and create a single 32-bit file from the Tools>Photoshop>Merge to HDR menu. The result will be displayed in a preview window with a histogram (each red mark on the horizontal axis represents roughly one stop of dynamic range) and a set of thumbnails depicting each of the original input images. The purpose of this screen is to allow you to determine if the merge was successful. Moving the white point histogram slider reveals how well the alignment and detail was translated (although at this point no tone mapping has occurred and your monitor, which is essentially a dumb terminal, is really only capable of displaying a subset of the full dynamic range that was captured). Toggling each thumbnail reveals its relative contribution to the merged image. Once you have set the white point and are satisfied with the result, click OK to create the HDR image. Conversion to a tone mapped 16-bit image can be done using four methods through the Image>Mode>16 Bits menu, of which “Local Adaptation” is the best choice for our purposes. Click Tone Curve and Histogram to bring up a graph similar to the curves adjustment tool. You can now make luminance adjustments to balance tone and contrast locally by moving the black and white endpoints or by adding and dragging new points on the curve. The principles are similar to a normal curves tool. Placing the cursor on the image creates the familiar eyedropper than can be clicked and dragged to isolate areas of image tone that may need adjustment. The black and white points are set by moving the end point extremes closer to the tails of the histogram. Increasing the slope of the curve improves contrast and reveals detail while decreasing suppresses tone in less important areas. There are some distinct differences, however. By checking the Control Box, the next point added to the curve creates a sharp adjustment in tone rather than the normal smooth transition. The Radius and Threshold controls also contribute to the degree of local contrast enhancement that can be achieved by editing the curve. Radius controls the number of local pixels used for targeted enhancement. Although a small number, such as the default 16, creates sharp edges that exemplify fine detail, the result often looks over-processed. Conversely, a large number usually lacks local detail but produces and overall more natural look. The best method is to alter the Radius radically between the extremes until you find a satisfactory point. Threshold relates to edge detection and controls the luminance values between adjacent pixels that determine how we perceive contrast. Setting the value too low creates a soft appearance, suppressing detail, and too high will more than likely enhance clarity to the point of rendering the image overbearing. A value of 0.5 is a good starting point. Experience will dictate how you work a tone mapped image. Once you complete the conversion, the next step will be to finish the image using the standard tool sets you are used to in Photoshop.
Another approach, and our preferred route, is to use Photomatix Pro for the HDR processing. You have the option to either use this tool as a standalone application or as a tone map plug-in for the Photoshop conversion function. We prefer the standalone tool as it uses an expanded feature set not available in the plug-in, including some very useful “shadows and highlights” exposure blending functions. The methodology, however, is the same. If you use the Photoshop plug-in, you must first convert your HDR RAW exposures to 16-bit TIFF, merge using the standard merge function, then tone map in Photomatix Pro. When converting your RAW files, it’s best not to make any exposure or tonal changes as this may create translation issues during the mapping process, most notably to alignment. We currently use Version 3.2.1 of Photomatix Pro. We start by generating a single 32-bit image by combining the files we have selected to merge (Process>Generate HDR, Browse and select, Open and click OK to begin the process). Choosing the appropriate merge settings from the Generate HDR – Options menu requires some experimentation. However, the choices are self explanatory and easy to implement. The choices are: align source images by either correcting horizontal and vertical shifts or by matching features; reduce chromatic aberrations; reduce noise; and, attempt to reduce ghosting artefacts in either background movements (water or foliage) or moving objects (people or animals) using normal or high detection. The first consideration is movement or any image misalignment problems that may be present due to camera shake (correct horizontal and vertical shifts treats translation movements while matching features addresses any rotation that may have occurred). We generally leave this unchecked as we use a tripod but will redo the merge using both methods and compare results if alignment is an issue. We always check reduce chromatic aberrations as color fringing can be quite noticeable around high contrast edges (this is caused by pushing the limits of a poor quality lens). Noise also shouldn’t be an issue if you have at least one image that is properly exposed for shadows (the tail of the histogram doesn’t touch the left axis). We generally don’t try and reduce noise at this stage, preferring to use Utilities>Reduce Noise later in the process if it actually arises as an issue. Finally, ghosting is caused by movement within the images due to wind, water or something more drastic such as an animal walking. We generally try and avoid any movement as trying to reduce ghosting artefacts using moving objects at high detection degrades the final result appreciably. Slight movement in trees, grasses or water is often unavoidable and using background movement at normal detection is usually sufficient to address small rhythmic patterns. Nonetheless, this program does a far better job addressing movement issues than Photoshop CS3. This completes the merge options and OK will display the resulting 32-bit image in Generate HDR – View. Again, don’t be depressed at the result as monitors cannot reproduce the full dynamic range of the shadows and highlights extremes just merged. Simply choose Tone Mapping and move to the next step. Herein lies the real power of Photomatix Pro. We generally use the Details Enhancer options and address only issues related to mid-tones and global contrast enhancement, preferring to leave all other post processing to Photoshop. We start by adjusting Gamma to brighten or darken the image globally in an attempt to place the mid-tones centrally in the histogram. We then adjust local tonal variations through Strength and Light Smoothing to develop a crisp perspective to the image detail we want to exemplify. The most visibly important is Light Smoothing as high to maximum settings produce a natural look while medium to low values tend to the preternatural or surreal. Next, global and mid-tone brightness can be fine tuned by adjusting the White and Black point sliders. Finally, Microcontrast and Microsmoothing add an element of local contrast enhancement. The sliders need to be positioned in the opposite direction to avoid cancelling their combined effect. All the above requires a fair amount of experimentation to develop a reasonable workflow. That’s it! Clicking OK completes the tone mapping process, producing a 16-bit TIFF ready for the final work stage in Photoshop. As I said, it’s a simple and far more intuitive process than Photoshop. Although the results are really not comparable between the programs, I find that Photoshop often does a better job with alignment, producing far less registration errors than Photomatix Pro. On the other hand, the tone mapping in Photomatix Pro produces more robust results in far less time. As such, you may prefer the plug-in version where 32-bit file generation and alignment is done in Photoshop and tone mapping is handled by Photomatix Pro. A good resource for beginners is the “Complete Guide To High Dynamic Range Digital Photography” by Ferrell McCollough. His approach is a bit to the saturated side but well worth the read. In fact, he has excellent advice on controlling halos, tone reversals and grain enhancements as well as how to tone map single images.
Whatever software you ultimately settle on, it is of little use until you understand how to correctly take a series of images that are capable of being “stitched” together seamlessly. The issues here are to ensure the camera is level and that the entrance pupil or “optical center” of the lens is aligned directly over the point of rotation of the tripod. We achieve both by using a nodal slider designed specifically for panorama photography that is compatible with our Really Right Stuff ball head. It’s a snap to level but a little more difficult to align precisely. This has nothing to do with the hardware setup. It’s more the various iterative methods employed to narrow down the exact center point of the lens. These range from a macro alignment technique using two distant telephone poles to a more precise method utilizing a wire mesh (search “nodal point determination” online for all the many ways you can go about eliminating “parallax” from multiple overlapping images). Fortunately you only have to do this once. We didn’t have much success with the telephone pole method but finally settled on an iteration of our own using vertically parallel near and far objects. We did this in our shop using two broom handles, one black placed next to the white garage door and a second white roughly fifteen feet in front of it. We positioned the lens roughly three feet in front of the white broom on a level tripod and nodal bar. Alignment was fairly easy as the color contrast revealed the slightest movement. We did this for a set of predetermined focal lengths for each zoom wide angle lens we use, noting the exact position on the nodal slider for later reference in the field. This works well for single-row multiple images of landscapes having no foreground complexities. Most programs can adjust for minor alignment deficiencies for images of this type.
To practice, we followed the recommended guidelines for good panorama shooting: endure the lens is positioned at the “nodal point” for the focal length in use; set White Balance to Daylight to avoid any color casts that Auto White Balance may create due to lighting extremes; capture RAW images in Manual Mode; overlap images by 30% to 50%; level the tripod and nodal bar; use mirror lockup on a timed exposure to avoid camera shake; and, focus at the hyperfocal distance for optimum depth of field if any foreground objects are employed in the composition. If you follow these simple rules, stitching is a cinch. Our preferred software is Panorama Factory.
As the key to creating any good image is optimizing the underlying tonal grey gradations, it seems natural that select images may better fit a black and white format than one using color. We're not sure there are any hard and fast rules as to which images qualify, but the use of Lab Color in our workflow certainly affords us the opportunity to visualize the result and helps to recognize those having the potential to produce a truly pleasing work in black and white. Again, what you want to strive for is processing the maximum information with the richest tool set available. As such, we shoot in RAW and desaturate color in Photoshop using the Lightness channel in Lab Color (Image>Mode>Lab Color). An equally good tool is Black and White (Image>Adjustments>Black and White) where specific tones can be darkened or lightened by adjusting the individual color sliders. Global adjustments can be easily handled with Levels and Curves. For local adjustments to dark and light areas, you must resort to the Dodge and Burn tools. We say resort as the process can be destructive. A better approach is to create your own tools using Fill layers. Create a new layer, select Edit>Fill using 50% Grey applied to either Overlay or Soft Light from the blending mode. This is to Dodge or lighten. Repeat the process for a Burn layer to darken. As with Image Blending, choose a large soft brush and ensure the background colors are set to black and white. For local lightening, highlight the Dodge layer, select white as the background color and paint with Opacity set at 20%. To darken, highlight the Burn layer and change the background color to black. Not surprisingly, experimentation is the key to producing a good result. Use single strokes, Undo if dissatisfied and resize until you strike the right balance in the target area. Repeat for each local area you wish to adjust, then Layer>Flatten to finish. For those nostalgic types, we understand there are techniques to apply sepia toning but have yet to research how this is performed. We’ll update this section when time permits.
Although filters were a mainstay for film photography, we really began asking ourselves whether they have a role in the digital world. For example, why try and reduce light with a graduated neutral density filter when techniques such as Exposure Blending and High Dynamic Range now deal effectively with lighting extremes? Why use warming or cooling filters when a simple post-processing tool can change light temperature or produce a “canned” filter effect? The quick answer is that they still have a critical but somewhat diminished part to play. A circular polarizing filter can effectively eliminate reflective highlights whereas trying to deal with them using post-processing software is difficult if not downright impossible. We find graduated neutral density filters are useful for reducing the number of images required for an HDR merge. Stacking a full neutral density and circular polarizing filter is effective in motion scenes such as moving water where the objective is to produce a surreal or “gauzy” look. Circular polarizing filters that color highlights such as the Cokin blue-yellow or the Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue are still widely used (both produce robust results, but White Balance must be set to “daylight” in-camera and the obvious color cast created needs to be adjusted during RAW conversion with the grey eyedropper applied to areas of neutral tone until a more realistic look is achieved). If all this sounds complex, nothing could be further from the truth. The Cokin system is a simple filter holder with a threaded ring adapted for the lens size in use (we use the P-holder with a 77mm ring). You also don’t need a bag full of filters. Start with a grey graduated neutral density filter (P121) and a sprocket circular polarizer (P164). We also carry a HOYA Pro 1 circular polarizer which threads directly to the lens for scenes where we want to produce more saturated colors or try and remove reflective highlights (you should be aware that a circular polarizer is only effective for side or top light conditions).