A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO HDR VERTORAMA PHOTOGRAPHY BY KLAUS HERRMANN WWW.FARBSPIEL-PHOTO.COM The Photo Cookbook Series Preface About the Author About the Photo Cookbook Series My name is Klaus Herrmann. I This is the first eBook in the Photo Cookbook Series (PCS) – a se- have been a computer scientist, ries of practical guides covering different photographic topics. instructor and award–winning The PCS provides in–depth scientific author for 14 years with information on different over 70 publications. But when I photographic topics and discovered my passion for pho- offers practical guidance to tography, everything changed. photographers at all levels. The topics include a variety My second life as a photographer, photography instructor and of areas related to the tech- author started in 2012 when I decided to leave the worn–out nique, the tools and the paths of an academic career and venture onto new territory. I workflow involved with cre- had pursued travel photography since 2008 as a by–product of ating, processing and pre- my frequent business trips when I began connecting this new senting your photographs. passion with my profession as an instructor. Visit http://farbspiel-photo.com/pcs to get more information. This book launches my Photo Cookbook Series – the foundation for my premium educational material on farbspiel-photo.com. THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Preface iv About the Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography HDR (High Dynamic Range) Vertorama photography creates fasci- nating views of interiors. It takes your audience out of the specta- tor's seat and puts it right into the scene. An interior photographed this way literally comes to life. It opens towards the viewer, and in- vites him to immerse into the scene. An excellent HDR Vertorama will be a highlight in your portfolio. But what does it take to create such an image? Which equipment do you need? What are proper techniques for shooting the photos and how do you turn them into the final image? In this eBook, I will answer these questions and show you how to create your own HDR Vertoramas, taking your photography to the next level. The 7 chapters will walk you through everything you need to know about the technology, different shooting techniques, and the post– processing workflow for creating your own HDR Vertorama photographs. Who Is This Book for? HDR Vertoramas are certainly an advanced photographic topic. You should know the basics of photography (exposure, composition etc.) and you should have some experience with HDR photogra- THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Preface v phy. This book is ideally suited for all those who are already practic- dustry–leading and well–accepted in photography: Photomatix (for ing HDR and want to step up their game to extend their skills and HDR creation) and Photoshop (for stitching and post–processing). I ultimately their portfolio. will not cover all possible products and explain how every detailed step is executed in each of them. This Practical Guide to HDR Vertora- To achieve a necessary degree of completeness, I will give brief in- ma Photography is about the principle techniques of HDR Vertorama troductions to basic topics (like HDR imaging). But this does by no photography. It is not a software guide. means represent a complete guide. Instead, it is meant to set the stage for the real subject of this book. Contents at a Glance ● The technical side: I will explain which camera, lenses and What Do You Need to Follow Along? tripod support you need. We will discuss different features of You should have a decent camera to start with. While it is in principle your equipment and their importance for your HDR Vertora- possible to use a compact camera, this has a number of disadvan- ma adventures. This will enable you to take an informed deci- tages which will let you quickly hit the limits. You are going to learn sion as to whether and how you need to upgrade your gear. how to take interior images under low–light conditions. Thus, you should have a Digital Single–Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera. We are going Rules of composition: Composing your HDR Vertoramas in ● to discuss the requirements in terms of camera equipment in more the field without ever seeing the final result is difficult. I will detail in Chapter 2. give you extensive advice on how to get appealing composi- tions nevertheless. You should own software for producing HDR images, for stitching panoramas and for post–processing images in general. There is a Tripod shooting: I will show you how to adjust and use a ● wide variety of different products on the market that provide these panorama head for highest quality and precision. We will go features. Some are commercial, others are completely free. There is through the shooting process together step by step. no real need to invest in expensive software. However, I will restrict my explanations in this book to a certain set of products that are in- Hand–held shooting: I will give you an in–depth guide on ● THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Preface vi how to manage the complexity of shooting the source pho- Hands–on Examples: I will walk you through three in–depth ● tos for your HDR Vertoramas hand–held. Mastering hand– example HDR Vertorama projects covering the shooting situ- held shooting for your HDR Vertorama work will open a vast ation, the specific challenges and how to master them, the quantity of new possibilities for you. I will give you many use- post–processing approach and the concrete editing work ap- ful tips on how to achieve this. plied to each image. You will learn a ton of tricks which help you achieve the results you look for. Post–production: In the post–processing chapter, you will ● learn the entire process of creating your HDR Vertoramas Thank you very much for purchasing this book. starting with the selection and preparation of the source photos, via merging and stitching, all the way up to the post– Klaus Herrmann processing work in your photo editing software. THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 What Is HDR? ................................ 3 1.2 What Is a Vertorama? ........................... 4 1 1.3 What Is an HDR Vertorama? ....................... 5 1.4 What Are the Major Challenges? ................... 7 1.5 The Shooting Technique ......................... 8 1.6 The Workflow ................................ 9 1.7 Summary and Take–Away Points .................. 11 12 Equipment 2.1 The Camera ................................ 13 2.2 The Lens .................................. 20 2 2.3 The Tripod ................................. 21 2.4 Spirit Level and Cable Release .................... 22 2.5 The Panorama Adapter ......................... 23 2.6 The Data Storage ............................. 27 2.7 The Software ............................... 28 2.8 Summary and Take–Away Points .................. 30 2.9 Checklist 31 .................................. THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Contents ix Planning and Composition 33 3.1 Planning .................................. 34 3.2 Composition ................................ 37 3 3.2.1 Symmetry .............................. 37 3.2.2 Leading Lines ........................... 39 3.2.3 Geometric Shapes ......................... 40 3.2.4 Distance and Position ....................... 41 3.2.5 The Rule of Thirds ......................... 42 3.2.6 Leave Room at the Edges .................... 44 3.2.7 Vertical Angle of View ...................... 44 3.2.8 Estimating the Composition ................... 45 3.3 Summary and Take–Away Points .................. 47 3.4 Checklist .................................. 48 Shooting With a Tripod 50 4.1 Initial Preparation ............................ 51 4.1.1 Finding the Nodal Point ..................... 52 4 4.1.2 Finding the Right Rotation Angle ................ 56 4.2 On–Site Preparation ........................... 58 4.3 Immediate Preparation ......................... 61 4.3.1 Setting Up Your Camera ..................... 61 4.3.2 Choosing the Right Exposure .................. 63 4.4 Taking the Shots ............................. 66 4.4.1 Taking the Source Photos Using AEB 67 .............. THE PHOTO COOKBOOK SERIES A Practical Guide to HDR Vertorama Photography © Klaus Herrmann 2013 Contents x 4.4.2 Taking the Source Photos Manually (MEB) .......... 67 4.4.3 Taking the Source Photos Semi–Automatically (SEB) .... 68 4.4.4 After You Finished Producing a Set ............... 69 4.5 Summary and Take–Away Points .................. 70 4.6 Checklist .................................. 71 Hand–Held Shooting 77 5.1 The Challenges .............................. 78 5.2 The Preparation ............................. 80 5 5.2.1 Initial Preparation ......................... 80 5.2.2 On–Site Preparation ....................... 82 5.2.3 Immediate Preparation ...................... 88 5.3 Taking the Shots ............................. 89 5.4 Summary and Take–Away Points .................. 94 5.5 Checklist .................................. 95 Post-Production 98 6.1 Image Selection ............................ 101 6.2 Image Preparation ........................... 103 6 6.2.1 Reducing Chromatic Aberration ............... 103 6.2.2 Adjusting the White Balance ................. 107 6.2.3 Turning

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