Is HDR ruining photography?

Dave Hickey , Aug 15, 2008; 11:27 a.m.

Hi all,

I ask the question, Is HDR ruining photography? Not as a gripe or any dislike of HDR, in fact I am quite sold on HDR, if not fully addicted to it, and that is the problem.

Where once I took images in sinlge shots, now I always take three, just so I have the option of HDR processing them if I want to.

Why not combine the two methods I hear you say, but what if I get a single shot that I am pleased with, but yet at the back of my mind I know it would have been so much better with HDR. Where once I was happy, now I am not so happy.

Make three shots from one RAW then, but again, not as good as the full dynamic range available from three shots, so again, less happy.

So now I go on holiday and instead rattling off a couple of thousand shots over a two week period, I take six thousand shots. More kit, more storage, more expense, more effort. Again less happy.

I used to hand hold prety much all the images I took, what with L lenses and IS, I could do this very well, HDR now means I have to lug a tripod around all the time, with angle viewfinder and cable release etc etc.. More expense, more kit, less happy.

Every picture I take now has good light distributed all the way through it thanks to HDR and I love it, but all my previous pictures that I had taken on expensive holidays abroad and that I was once felt proud of and will never get the chance to visit again, now don't seem as good as I once thought they did, and have been consigned to the back of the hard disk. Less happy.

Oh and this goes without saying about the blooming, or cartoony effects over processing images can produce, or the RSI I get from selecting and aligning images into HDR pictures, or the wife berating me and saying why don't I marry that damn computer, you spend so much time hunched over in front of it. Less happy.

But every now and then, an HDR image appears on my screen that blows me away and I think, wow! I took that.

So yes I am totally addicted to HDR, and wish it had never been invented.

Dave

Responses

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Michael Lawson , Aug 15, 2008; 11:35 a.m.

I don't think the day would be complete anymore without an HDR good\bad thread. It's neither, and both. Depends on how it's used and what you like. It's just another dimension to the awesome field of photography.

Thorir Vidar , Aug 15, 2008; 11:40 a.m.

if hdr makes you happy it seems like an easy decision. if your marriage however seems to be in trouble because of it, well, only you know if to continue on the path of hdr or not...

personally i don't think hdr is ruining anything. just that the vast majority of "hdr photos" are plain ugly - to my eyes. but then, i probably see a bunch of hdr photos that don't scream hdr, where the technique truly adds something to the image instead of being used just for its own sake. and that's where its strengt lies imo.

Geoff Sobering , Aug 15, 2008; 12:03 p.m.

Perhaps you need to start a new organization: HAA ("HDR Addicts Anonymous")

"Hello, my name is Dave and I'm addicted to HDR." "Hello Dave!"

Seriously, I think you make some good points. HDR can make some spectacular photos, but it's a real PIA to do. Perhaps the next step in your development is to work past the "HDR for everything" phase and start being more selective about choosing when to use it?

Anders Christensen , Aug 15, 2008; 12:20 p.m.

Treating every shot as an HDR image would seem to me to take the pleasure out of photography. Not every image should be sensationalistic, as if you are working out-in-the-field for an advertising job. Take advantage of the classical restraints of photography as a medium while they are still standard. It sounds to me like you don't trust your capabilities.

Frans Waterlander , Aug 15, 2008; 12:25 p.m.

To answer your question: yes. It's become a fad applied mostly in bad taste. Contrast between clearly visible details and details hidden in the shadows is mostly lost with HDR, not good for an image that leaves something to the imagination. HDR should be used in rare cases only and then with the greatest possible care. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Josh Root , Aug 15, 2008; 12:53 p.m.

It's not ruining photography for me. I don't shoot, or particularly care about, the style of photography that lends itself to HDR.

For me, photography is about "moments" rather than "scenes". You can't make the same "moment" happen 3 times.

Roger Smith , Aug 15, 2008; 01:00 p.m.

Look up high speed HDR on Outback Photo- no tripod needed.

Or shoot color negative film and you'll get all the DR you ever need.

Josh Root , Aug 15, 2008; 01:07 p.m.

The outbackphoto stuff still requires three frames. If you can make three of the exact same moments in time exist, I'll point you towards the pope and introduce you as the second coming of christ.

Marshall Goff , Aug 15, 2008; 01:38 p.m.

If your photography is making you unhappy, change your photography. If HDR makes you happy, decide when you care enough to use it and when you prefer not to.

Obviously, HDR isn't ruining photography, marriages are. (Do I even need to insert the smiley?)

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