HDR Worflow from Lightroom

Rikk Flohr © 2009

  1. ID Images and stack by time
  2. Find bracketed image set in Lightroom
  3. Zero Settings using the preset.
  4. On darkest image set recovery to keep brightest highlights out of Recovery area of histogram. Some images may require an adjustment of 100
  5. Go to middle exposure and adjust Chromatic Aberrations on the Detail tab.
  6. Adjust Chromatic Aberrations on each over and under exposed image individually.
  7. Select all bracketed and go to PHOTO-EDIT IN-Merge to HDR in Photoshop
  8. In Photoshop, process the HDR into a 32 bit image through the Merge to HDR dialog adjusting the sliders to retain highlights and shadows..
  9. Convert to 16 Bit and select the best looking item from the pull down.
  10. Adjust the curves in the Convert dialog to almost touch the blacks and whites.
  11. Close Photoshop. (Save when prompted) (Image will reappear in Lightroom.)
  12. Adjust (in this order) White Balance, Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Clarity.
  13. Set Saturation to +10
  14. Adjust Vibrance to taste.
  15. Crop, fine tune etc.
  16. Edit in Photoshop to do final cloning and miscellaneous adjustments.

For PhotoMatix or Enfuse, substitute steps 7-11 with export and processing through the appropriate program. With PhotoMatix processing omit step 13 as necessary.

Rikk Flohr © 2009

Rikk Flohr writes and teaches photography and image editing in a variety of venues. You can reach Rikk through his website at www.fleetingglimpse.com or his blog at http://fleetingglimpseimages.wordpress.com