WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.759 Let's start with an explanation of dynamic range since it's pretty likely 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:09.760 that it'll be easier to understand what a lot of it is if you know what it is in 00:00:07.520 --> 00:00:14.080 the first place. Dynamic range is much like a contrast ratio, a measurement of 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:18.720 the difference between the brightest part of an image and the darkest. Unlike 00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:22.560 contrast ratios, which use linear numbers to represent the luminance of 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:26.560 the brightest whites and darkest blacks in an easy way that anyone can 00:00:24.400 --> 00:00:31.519 understand, dynamic range is measured in f-stops. Each of which represents this 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:36.160 difference in powers of two. Okay, so let's do an example. A pocket camera 00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:41.440 rated at six f-stops of dynamic range can correctly capture an image that has 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:43.440 bright spots that are 64 times brighter 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:47.760 than the darkest shadows. This, according to Wikipedia anyway, is about 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:51.520 what our eyes could perceive if they operated like a still camera and just 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:56.320 took snapshots as we went about our business. But they don't. Instead, when 00:00:54.160 --> 00:01:01.440 we look around, our eyes are adjusting constantly to achieve an estimated 00:00:58.480 --> 00:01:05.519 maximum dynamic range of as much as 20 stops. To put that in perspective, the 00:01:03.680 --> 00:01:10.000 best cinema grade digital cameras top out in the neighborhood of 14 to 16 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:13.760 stops of dynamic range today. And while that allows their operators to capture 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:17.759 beautiful images that have a mixture of bright light and deep shadows without 00:01:15.360 --> 00:01:21.040 clipping or losing so much detail that all the camera captures in a given 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:24.880 region is complete blackness or blown out pure white. It would appear that to 00:01:22.960 --> 00:01:29.200 achieve what the eye can more is basically better and we've still got a 00:01:26.479 --> 00:01:33.119 lot of work to do, right? Enter HDR or high dynamic range imaging. This 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:37.520 technique attempts to make the image on your phone or camera look more true to 00:01:35.520 --> 00:01:42.799 life by revealing more details in the shadowy areas of an image and in blown 00:01:40.320 --> 00:01:47.360 out bright areas by exposing the image multiple times to compensate for the 00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:51.600 limited dynamic range of your capture equipment. It's not a new technique by 00:01:49.520 --> 00:01:55.680 any means and basically all HDR implementations work in pretty much the 00:01:53.439 --> 00:02:00.640 same way. The camera records an image multiple times in rapid succession at 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:05.119 varying exposure or brightness levels. Then software techniques are either 00:02:02.399 --> 00:02:09.280 automagically or manually applied to blend them together into one image, 00:02:07.600 --> 00:02:12.800 borrowing the details in the shadows from the brightest image and the details 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:16.400 in the bright light from the darkest one and putting them all together in an 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:19.840 attempt to recreate what the eye would see if you were just looking around 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:24.239 normally at the scene that you're trying to capture. In theory, it's great. And 00:02:22.480 --> 00:02:29.440 there are certainly situations where an experienced VSSLR user with a tripod and 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:35.040 a very still subject can tastefully use HDR to produce very pleasing images. But 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:39.680 there are some challenges. Number one is motion. A moving subject will not look 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:43.120 good with HDR because whether you're capturing three images the way most 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:48.640 smartphones do or whether you're capturing 20 plus the way a manual DSLR 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:53.440 user might, someone moving through the shot or even something as subtle as 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:57.760 leaves blowing in the wind will usually completely ruin the image. Number two is 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:01.519 scenes with vivid colors or interesting looking contrast. While HDR 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:05.920 post-processing may bring more color into a dull image, it can have the 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:09.360 opposite effect in an image where you've already got vibrant color. And of 00:03:07.920 --> 00:03:14.080 course, if you're looking for like artful high or low contrast, by its very 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:18.400 nature, it will reduce that effect. In fact, the situations where HDR might be 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:22.800 legitimately useful are pretty few and far between. A backlit skier in the 00:03:20.720 --> 00:03:26.959 shadow of a tree with a beautiful mountaintop brightly lit landscape 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:32.000 behind her might be better captured with HDR. But this is mostly only true if the 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:36.640 objective of taking the image is to get a more practical image where you can see 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:41.840 the details in the skier's face as well as the landscape because often HDR 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:47.040 counterintuitively ends up looking surreal rather than more natural. But I 00:03:45.440 --> 00:03:52.080 think there's a place for that. While many purists may disagree with the use 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:55.360 of HDR entirely, this is the kind of argument that I often have with my 00:03:53.920 --> 00:03:59.519 production crew where they might want a super sexy shallow depth of field shot 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.720 on a product and I might just want to close the aperture, boost the gain to 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:06.560 high hell and produce an image that allows the viewer to look at any part of 00:04:04.720 --> 00:04:11.120 it and get a clear idea of what the heck they're looking at as opposed to 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:16.000 creating something that is better art or more natural looking. Speaking of better 00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:20.000 art and more naturally looking, what in the heck were those? You may have 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:24.000 noticed some absolutely stunning examples of HDR landscapes just there. 00:04:22.479 --> 00:04:28.400 All of which were downloaded from shutterstock.com using our account, 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:32.800 which we love because of how much easier it's made finding graphics and images 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:38.160 for use in fast as possible. Shutterstock.com has over 35 million 00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:41.759 stock images to choose from. All the way from simple little vector graphics that 00:04:39.840 --> 00:04:45.759 we use to illustrate the points that we're making to shots of models 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:50.000 depicting emotions that we want to express to beautiful HDR images like the 00:04:48.479 --> 00:04:54.720 ones that you just saw. And the best thing about it is that it's hassle-free. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:58.400 You grab images alakart or in a monthly subscription bundle like us and you 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:02.240 never think about royalties or usage rights again. They've got plans designed 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:05.600 for small groups like us all the way up to enterprisegrade plans suitable for 00:05:03.919 --> 00:05:09.680 broadcast television. And it's absolutely free to try. Head over to the 00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:13.759 website and use their incredibly powerful search tool to start browsing 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.880 their entire image library and pick the ones you want. Just make sure when it's 00:05:15.520 --> 00:05:21.759 time to check out, you use offer code techquicky 514 so you can save 20% and 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:24.960 so they'll know who sent you. Thanks Shuttertock for sponsoring today's 00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:28.720 episode. Thanks to you, the viewer, for watching. I'd also love to hear your 00:05:26.320 --> 00:05:32.000 comments on this topic. Please mash those like and share buttons if you 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:38.080 enjoyed the video and hit that dislike button at least twice for each moment that bored you. It helps us improve. 00:05:35.520 --> 00:05:42.000 Leave a comment on whether you use HDR, what you use it for, and whether you 00:05:39.520 --> 00:05:46.800 believe in the legitimacy of it as a as a piece of, you know, practical photo 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:50.560 taking or video capture, you know, technique that you keep in your arsenal 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.000 and that all got awkward really fast. Post requests for future techquickie 00:05:52.320 --> 00:05:58.479 topics to the comments or on the line techtips.com forum. 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