Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: low dynamic range, white balance, surface smoothness, High Dynamic Range, Adobe Photoshop, Photomatix Pro (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this book, well-known expert Jack Howard leads you on an exploration into the exciting new frontier of High Dynamic Range Imaging. HDRI is a method to digitally capture, store, and edit the full luminosity range of a scene in ways that are just not possible with a single captured image.

Jack's illustrated text is easy to understand as he takes you from the initial image capture and into the digital darkroom. Here is where you will learn to use this cutting edge photographic technique to achieve spectacular results.

Covered are the most popular and effective HDR programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS3, FDRTools, Dynamic Photo HDR, Photomatix Pro, and more.

Topics include: Illustrated step-by-step tutorials Basic and advanced workflows Post-production optimization for both web and print File management Advice on cameras and software A wealth of HDR images, ranging from subtle to surreal Real-world shooting tips from Jack's personal experiences as both a creative photographer and photojournalist.

HDR imaging for the photographer can be challenging and frustrating for the uninitiated, as it involves both field and computer expertise. However, Jack Howard explains this complex subject matter in a practical way that will not intimidate the beginner, nor bore the experienced photographer. The emphasis is on the creative process and how to make it work for you-rather than the science behind it.

About the Author

Jack Howard first picked up an SLR camera as a teenager over twenty years ago and has been exploring the photographic process ever since. Starting in the wet darkroom and now exploring cutting-edge digital imaging techniques, he's thoroughly embraced the evolution of the photographic process.

Currently Jack is the Director of New and Social Media for Adorama Camera where he blogs and podcasts about all matters photographic. He was previously the Editor of PopPhoto.com, the online home of "Popular Photography" and "American Photo" magazines. He is also an established photojournalist whose work has appeared in "The New York Times," "The Star-Ledger", "The Asbury Park Press" and many other newspapers. Practical HDRI is his first full-length how-to book.

Jack holds a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in History, with Minors in English and American Studies from Rutgers University. His photographic skills are self-taught, although having a photographer for a father, and two brothers who are also mad for cameras has helped a lot along the way.

Jack lives in New Jersey with his wife Corey and their German Shepherd dog, Bailey, a betta fish, Finn, and more camera gadgets than you can shake a stick at.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Rocky Nook; 1 edition (September 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933952326
• ISBN-13: 978-1933952321
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #430,994 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak ..., September 23, 2008

By	Darwin's Bulldog (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews

It's hard to give this book a good rating although parts are very instructive. The book begins at a very elementary way; what exposure is, what the focal length of lenses mean. There are much better books for such basic stuff; and this one if far from comprehensive.

The following information on how to use the HDR software, encompasses little more than 'move the sliders around and watch what they do.' There is a bit of instruction on what various buttons are for, and where to find more sliders on the unintuitive HDR software interfaces.

The book then makes a huge jump into advanced techniques that assume a high level working knowledge of Photoshop. For someone who is really starting in HDR photography at the same level that this book starts, the section that describes deghosting one image using 14 sets of 7 bracketed exposures using Smart Object stacks in Photoshop CS3 Extended will be totally, completely beyond their capabilities!

The production values of the book are excellent as are all the Rock Nook books; full color throughout, good binding lots of screen shots of good size (Something a lot of Photoshop books don't get right). There does not seem to be any way to get copies of any of the images in the book, so no chance of following along. (Several other of the Rocky Nook books do provide links for test images.)

The advanced techniques provide a lot of good tips for experienced Photoshop uses and photographers. The 14x7 deghosting strategy mentioned above is excellent. I hope he does another version at a much higher level.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific intro to HDRI for beginner or pro, September 23, 2008

By	P. LeFevre "TelescopeMaker" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whether you're an experienced photographer (I'm a professional commercial photographer) or a beginner, this is a great introduction to HDRI. While the book does, of necessity, have some basics for beginning photographers, there's more than enough "meat" for those already well-versed in photo technology but new to high-dynamic range imaging. I found the tutorials clear and helpful, and the examples inspiring. Howard obviously knows his subject, having been one of the few that was pushing HDRI before it was "mainstream," and being someone who experimented with all kinds of uses for HDRI.
If you've never done HDRI, and you want a good guide to getting started and pushing the technology, this is the book for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Inspiration here . . . . sleepy instruction. hummm . . . WAIT!, September 24, 2008

By	Delmar B. Ihle "Photo-Arts" (Orange Park, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading (and using) Ferrell McCollough's excellent "Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography" I was more than ready to dive deeper into HDR photography. I recently returned from Japan with about 500 HRD images to process, so I purchased the book at hand looking for guidance. This book is useful mind you, but it does not generate the excitement I found the the McCollough's work. The many controls of several popular HDR programs are described, and that will help, but I felt the information was a little mundane and somewhat patronizing. The price is expensive compared to the McCollough work ($16 vs $22). Another text (by Christian Bloch) has received high ratings on Amazon. Guess I'll try that one next . . .

UPDATE: After a few months, I've gone back to using this book more. It's more useful than I first thought! In "fact" it's been quite helpful giving me a working overview of Dynamic HDR software functions. I'd upgrade my rating to 4 stars if I knew how. The price isn't so expensive either, considering the amount of information provided.