![]() ![]() Highlight and shadow clipping can be seen in the highlighted areas, but they are not enough to warrant special attention. This is the 32 Float v2 screen you see after exporting the 32-bit HDR merged image that resulted from Photoshop’s Merge to HDR Pro. I didn’t see any benefit to enabling the dark noise setting, since brightness noise seemed to do the trick, so I asked Unified Color’s John Omvik about this feature. ![]() Actually, this is a subset of luminance noise, which is addressed as “brightness noise” by the program. Unified Color includes what they call “dark noise,” defined as noise affecting shadow areas. Noise reduction is handled in the final module, along with sharpening. Interesting approach, but I’d like it better if it were keyed to a specific range of tones or colors, so that the tool only affected highlights to improve cloud details, for example, or the tonal intensity of greens for foliage (maybe even saturation sliders). There is also a new Dodge & Burn tool that lets you set a limit on how far you go. The Tone Tuning module features a simplified tone curve with specifically light, mid-tone, and dark sliders. Tone mapping settings encompass exposure, highlight/shadow recovery, and contrast. You can also create new Presets and you can design Presets for specific settings, which makes it easier to tailor images without altering anything else. But you can always make changes on the fly. You can also choose to use the “Reset” Preset, which lets you basically start from scratch with manual adjustments. The provided global Presets are a good starting point, employing automatic tone mapping. ![]() It lets you select up to three colors and adjust brightness for each. ![]() The more complex tool is Color Tuning, under Color Settings. Not shown as part of that is the Dodge & Burn tool, which is interesting but not entirely practical. Tone Tuning features a simplified three-stage tone curve. Processed files can be exported out of Expose 2 as 16-bit TIFF or 8-bit JPEG sRGB, Adobe RGB, or ProPhoto RGB. The program then merges the selected images in the proprietary Beyond RGB color space, which, like a Raw file, can afterward be reprocessed in Unified Color’s HDR software-provided you opt to save the 32-bit BEF (Unified Color native) file. But this also means that Lightroom adjustments are abandoned in the process, which includes distortion, vignetting, and perspective corrections any such corrections should be applied to the returned HDR file. HDR Expose 2 works best with Raw images, from which the greatest detail can be extracted. You can accept what you see or go further with the image. Within a few moments the merged image emerges, together with a set of Presets and adjustment modules (groups of settings). (Note: when working with other than Raw files, do not modify exposure or contrast in advance to avoid tonal distortions.) Use the default settings in the opening dialog box to initiate the HDR merge process in Expose 2 for starters. And that also meant a lesser chance of ghosting resulting from movement.Įxport the selected Raw files to HDR Expose 2. I actually shot nine-bracketed exposures, but only selected those mentioned as representative of the tonal range I wanted to restore. Shown is the bracketed series (+2, +.67, -.67, -2, metered) used for the HDR merge (all Raw files). Unfortunately, the bright sky and deep foliage proved to be obstacles to capturing the image I saw. I was drawn to the almost rustic setting and the beautiful tapestry of colors. You can then simplify things by exporting a 16- or 8-bit layer back to Photoshop and save that file, although there is the option to preserve the 32-bit layer for now. Speaking of ghosting, the one advantage to working with Photoshop’s HDR merge tool is that it does a very competent job in eliminating ghosting (be sure to enable this feature in Merge to HDR Pro), producing a 32-bit HDR merge that can be further processed with 32 Float. Of course, using a tripod for all HDR work is best practice. Ghost images may result, for example, from leaves/branches blowing in the wind or people/cars moving through the shot. I opted to begin with the “Tone Map + Mid-tones” Preset.įewer exposures mean a reduced chance of ghosting when there is movement in the scene. Except for “Reset,” the included Presets employ auto tone mapping, which can be modified at any time. You can select a Preset and just export the HDR image as is, or you can get more involved and fine-tune the image using the settings on the right. The HDR Expose 2 interface starts out simply enough. ![]()
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