Have you ever wanted to create stunning HDR pictures like that one but don't have access to the proper equipment or software?

You may be interested to know that there is an easy way to create the same effect by only using a single image and Adobe Photoshop CS. There is an adjustment effect called 'Shadow/Highlight', which can create amazing effects just by simply moving some sliders.

In the next few minutes I'm going to show you how to take an image like the above and turn it into this...

Firstly lets take a look at the 'Shadow/Highlight' box.

HDR effects with Photoshop CS 2 & 3

When you start this adjustment you will notice that the image instantly looks better and with a bit of tweaking we can make it look like an HDR photograph. Before you start it's best if you auto-adjust the levels of your picture, this gives you a better foundation for your image and you'll get better results.

The box is divided into three sections: Shadows; Highlights and Adjustments. Moving the 'Amount' sliders will make the shadows and highlights lighter or darker depending on how far you slide them e.g. when you first begin the 'Shadow' slider is already set to 50 which brings out details in the shadows by making them lighter. If you were to move the 'Highlight' slider it would make the lightest areas slightly darker and bring out areas on detail in overexposed parts. Playing with the 'Radius' and 'Tonal Width' gives you different effects, it is very much a personal preference as to how you set these sliders. Lastly in 'Adjustments' you can alter how much saturation you want in the picture's colour range and also bring out more details in the mid range of tone by increasing their contrast. Below are my setting for creating the HDR version, yours may differ from mine.

HDR effects with Photoshop CS 2 & 3

The settings for different images will vary quite extensively so it's best to play around with sliders and see what you can come up with. Good luck!

Bill Harbison.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and allows you to merge several images together to create an incredible range of tones and detail, that simulates what the human eye sees.

They are especially useful in low light situations or areas where you have two subjects lit differently, such as a bright window or a night time scene, but they can enhance many photographs by allowing you to manipulate more information in the highlights, midtones and shadows.

Step 1: Taking the Picture

For my HDR image I decided to take a night time photo of some steps. I used a tripod so my image would remain consistent for all three shots. Because we are placing photos on top of each other, any movement would create a ghost effect where the images are different. If you have a remote shutter, you can use that to further help keep the camera steady, especially when using long exposures like in the case of this night time scene.

Keep the f-stop the same, changing only the shutter speed for each image. This process is known as bracketing and you'll need to put your camera into manual mode to do it.

You may take as many exposures as you like, but I am keeping mine simple with just 3:

It was a windy night and my tripods not very sturdy, so the focus on these is going to be a little soft.

My first shot is underexposed, with at F13 for 2 seconds

My second shot is more accurately exposed at f13 for 4 seconds

My final shot is very bright, shot at f13 for 10 seconds Now I'm ready to start merging my photos.

Step 2: Merging your photos using Photoshop's HDR tool

For this process, you may want to use either Photoshop CS3 or Bridge, which comes with Photoshop.

To use Photoshop:

Go to > File > Automate > Merge to HDR…

At this point, a box will open that allows you to either select open files or browse for files on your computer. If you use select open files make sure you don't have anything extra opened. If you are using RAW images I recommend browsing for files so you don't have to covert these before you merge them.

Once you click OK Photoshop will begin open this window you. Don't worry if the image doesn't look very good at this point. Change the file to 16 bits/Channel and select OK. Photoshop will merge the images.

Select Local Adaptation and Click on the Arrow by Toning Curve and Histogram

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By adding points to this curve and adjusting it into a simple S curve, I can create contrast without losing too much information. Just play with the curves until you get an image that you looks the best. If you accidently create a point you don't want, simply click it and hit delete.

At this point, my image looks something like this:

Now this image has a very smokey quality to it.

This can be helped by going into Image AdjustmentsHue/Saturation or by clicking Ctrl + U ( Command + U for you Mac users) and pushing the saturation up just slightly.

I also thought the midtones turned out a little washed, so I went into ImageAdjustments Levels and slid the middle slider to the right to darken those.

As a final step go to ImageMode 8 bits/Channel - Here is my image.

HDR image Middle Exposure

Looking back on these images, I should have taken more bright exposures, to get my full range of shadows.

Either way-I hope your HDR images come out looking great!

Feel free to send me some examples of your own (and hopefully better looking) HDR images.