Hating On HDR
HDR – High Dynamic Range is a technique emplyed by some photographers to try to re-create more accurately in a photograph what the real life subject would look like. Personally I am not a fan.
Occasionally I see it used to good effect and start to wonder about it, then see it used to its worst effect and remember why I have never tried it.
Daze has used it to great effect in some of his car images (check his Flickr set) and then we get to see things like this where the “photographer” has employed the technique just because he can. It’s more like a novelty.
Which is exactly what Jim over at JMG Galleries thinks.
The next reason why I hate HDR photography is that most people doing it approach its use as a novelty rather than an applied solution. In the process most images are completely butchered. This is most especially true of landscape and nature photographs. Much can be said for artistic style and there are a few photographers out there that have used HDR processed files rather creatively, but by and large most photographers are using HDR as a “gee whiz neat” function that does nothing other than create throw away images worthy neither of repeat viewing or print.
Jim goes on to suggest some alternatives to using HDR which are very valid and useful techniques to learn anyway. If you do nothing else, then go and read that post.
I would then suggest that you have a look at some of his photos and subscribe to his RSS feed. You won’t regret it!
adam on August 15th, 2007
i’m generally on board with hating the people who use it something resembling a glorified photoshop filter.
but it does serve a useful purpose, in allowing you to show images that have fine detail both in shadow and in normal light.