Photomatix Pro User Manual Version 4.1 © 2011 HDRsoft. All rights reserved.
Contents 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taking Photos for HDR .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction Photomatix Pro works with photographs of the same scene taken under different exposure settings, often called “bracketed” images in reference to the auto-bracketing exposure functions available on many camera models. If you have not taken bracketed photos, you can start using Photomatix Pro with the sample images available from the download page of the Photomatix Pro website – http://www.hdrsoft.com. Use the information in Section 1, Taking Photos for HDR to try Photomatix with your own images.
1 Taking Photos for HDR The shooting phase is essential for getting good results with Photomatix. To photograph a high contrast scene, you need to take several exposures in order to capture information in both the highlights and the shadows of the scene. The exposures taken must properly cover the dynamic range of the scene, especially the shadows. The number of photos you need depends on the scene. It also depends on the Exposure Value (EV) spacing separating the photos.
1.1 Setting up the Camera • Set your camera to Aperture priority (A setting) so only the shutter speed varies between the exposures. • Select a low ISO, such as ISO 100 or lower. • Turn off the flash. The flash may try to balance the exposure of all the images, when the goal is a range of exposures. • Mount the camera on a tripod whenever possible. Even though Photomatix Pro offers automatic alignment of handheld photos, using a tripod is always better.
1.3 Using Film-Based Cameras • Follow the camera setup listed at the top of Section 1.1 and the tips on selecting exposures in Section 1.2. Keep in mind that you will not have the option of previewing the live histogram to determine your exposure range. • Scan film or slides, not prints. Photo labs attempt to make the best print from each of your source images, and you will not achieve good results scanning these for HDR generation. • Turn off your scanner’s auto-exposure options.
2 Loading and Pre-Processing Images This section describes how to load and merge bracketed image files of a scene taken under different exposure settings as well as how to load single images into Photomatix Pro. 2.1 Merging Bracketed Images Photomatix Pro merges bracketed images that are in 8 bit or 16 bits/channel mode, as well as Camera RAW files. Supported file types include JPEG, TIFF, PSD, DNG, and RAW files from many camera models.
Using the Workflow Area or the File Menu To load images using the Workflow Shortcuts Area or the File menu: 1. Click Load Bracketed Photos in the Workflow Shortcuts area OR Select Load Bracketed Photos from the File menu. The Select bracketed photos dialog displays. Note If you check the Show intermediary 32-bit HDR image box, you will be able to save the pre-processed 32-bit image in an HDR image file format such as Radiance or OpenEXR.
2.1.2 General Pre-Processing Options After the bracketed images are selected, the pre-processing settings for the images may be customized before the 32-bit HDR image is generated. Refer to the following list for a description of the available options for merging bracketed images: Alignment Options The Align source images option is checked by default. It corrects misalignment problems when the camera moves slightly between the bracketed frames.
Noise Reduction Options The Reduce noise option processes source photos with high-quality noise reduction and is recommended when processing RAW files directly in Photomatix. • Strength: Increases or decreases the strength of the noise reduction relative to the automatically determined value based on the noise level in the image. Values range from 50% to 150%.
Right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) inside the selected region and select Mark selection as ghosted area from the pop-up menu. The line around the selected region changes from dashed to solid to indicate that the area has been selected for deghosting. At any time, use the Brightness slider to increase or decrease the brightness of the image. Or, use the Zoom slider to zoom in and out. If necessary, you can remove a region from the deghosting selection.
To make more selections or modify existing regions selected for deghosting, click Return to selection mode. You may continue selecting regions of the image and previewing the results until you are satisfied with the results. Click OK to apply the deghosting to the image or click Cancel to stop merging the images. 2.1.4 Pre-Processing Options for RAW Files Photomatix Pro offers additional pre-processing options for RAW files.
2.2 Working with Single Image Files Photomatix Pro supports Tone Mapping of single image files. To load a single image file: 1. Drag the image file to the Photomatix Pro application (Windows) or icon on your Dock (Mac). OR Select Open from the File menu. A file browser window displays. Navigate to the file and open it. 2. To process the image using Tone Mapping, click Tone Mapping from the Workflow Shortcut bar.
3 Adjusting Images Using Tone Mapping or Exposure Fusion Photomatix Pro provides access to HDR Tone Mapping and Exposure Fusion methods in one window. The window includes a preview, so you can see how adjustments to settings or changing the adjustment method affect the result. This section describes the workflow for adjusting and processing images and details the Tone Mapping and Exposure Fusion settings. 3.1 Note Exposure Fusion is only available when bracketed photos were loaded.
Undoing Adjustments and Reprocessing an Image After processing an image, you can return to Tone Mapping or Exposure Fusion to make further changes if you are not satisfied with the results. You may undo processing using one of the following methods: • Select Undo Tone Mapping or Undo Exposure Fusion from the Process menu. Photomatix Pro returns the image to its original state.
3.2.2 Preset Thumbnails Panel The Preset Thumbnails area provides access to built-in settings, each with its own corresponding thumbnail image. The built-in presets are “factory” settings showing various effects. The thumbnails provide a way to quickly view the effect of the settings on the image. Using the Preset Thumbnails Panel to Adjust an Image (shown in horizontal mode) The following built-in presets are available: • Enhancer – Default: Default settings for Details Enhancer.
Saving Custom Presets There are two ways to save custom presets as an XMP file for future use; during the image adjustment phase or after Tone Mapping or Exposure Fusion is complete. To save custom presets during image adjustment: 1. In the Adjustments panel, click the Presets drop-down list. 2. Select Save Settings from the list. 3. Enter a name for the preset in the File name field and click Save.
More Options • Smooth Highlights: Reduces the contrast enhancements in the highlights. The value of the slider sets how much of the highlights range is affected. This control is useful for preventing white highlights from turning grey or uniform light blue skies becoming dark blue-grey. It is also useful for reducing halos around objects placed against bright backgrounds. The default value is 0.
3.4 Tone Mapping Tone Compressor Settings • Brightness: Adjusts the overall brightness of the tone mapped image. The default value is 0. • Tonal Range Compression: Controls the compression of the tonal range. Move the slider to the right to shift both shadows and highlights toward the mid-tones in the tone mapped image. The default value is 0. • Contrast Adaptation: Adjusts the influence of the average brightness in relation to the intensity of the processed pixel.
3.5 Exposure Fusion Adjust Settings • Accentuation: Adjusts the strength of local contrast enhancements. The default value is 0. • Blending Point: Adjusts the weighting given to the underexposed versus overexposed images. When you move the slider to the right, overexposed images are favored, which has the effect of brightening the image. The reverse applies when you move the slider to the left. The default value is 0. • Shadows: Adjusts the brightness of the shadows without affecting the highlights.
3.7 Replace Selection with Source An HDR-processed image might look exactly the way you want, except for one area. For example, the sky might have more contrast or be darker than desired. The “Replace selection with source” feature lets you replace that area with the same area from any one of the source images, to bring the tonemapped or fused image closer to what you want. 3.7.1 Selecting the Area to be Replaced To enable this feature, click the Selection Mode checkbox.
3.7.2 Fitting the Selection to the Area’s Edges The area to be replaced usually has at least one irregular border (such as the mountains in the sample photograph). It’s difficult to draw irregular borders exactly, and you don’t have to. You can draw rough borders, and Photomatix will fit them for you. Finding the edges The borders of the area you want to replace are almost always at edges — large changes in brightness between adjacent pixels.
3.7.3 Replacing the Selected Area Right-click (Windows) or control-click (Macintosh) anywhere within the selection. A contextual menu appears. – If you loaded bracketed photos, the menu identifies them by their exposure difference, relative to the “normal” exposure. Click the photo at the EV you want. – If you loaded a single image, click "Replace with source". Replacing the selected area If you prefer not to see the lines marking your selection, uncheck the Selection Mode checkbox.
4 Automating with Batch Processing Use batch processing to automatically process image files. The batch processing tool saves time processing many images. Photomatix Pro offers two different batch modes: • Batch Bracketed Photos: Processes bracketed sets using HDR Tone Mapping and/or Exposure Fusion all in one step, which can save you a lot of time when you have many series of photos to process. • Batch Single Photos: Processes single image files using Tone Mapping. 4.
3. In the Source area, select the folder where the bracketed photos are located. The files are arranged in alphabetical order. N files at a time are processed with N being the number specified in the previous step. 4. To save the results in a different folder than the folder containing the source photos, select the Custom location option in the Destination area at the bottom right of the window. 5.
4.1.3 Batch Processing Subfolders When your bracketed series are located in multiple folders, they can Note all be processed in one run, provided they are in subfolders of the All of the subfolders must be contained same parent folder. To batch process multiple subfolders, check the in the main parent folder for this option Process subfolders option at bottom of the Source frame on the to work properly. Batch Processing dialog and select sequentially.
4.2 Batch Processing Single Image Files Photomatix Pro supports processing of single image files using tone mapping. To batch process single image files: 1. Click Batch Single Files from the Workflow Shortcut bar or select Batch Single Files from the Automate menu. 2. To select the source folder that contains the files, click Select Folder. 3. Navigate to the folder that contains the files and click OK. Photomatix Pro displays the folder/path and the files in the folder. 4.
5 Tips and Techniques This section provides tips for working with images in Photomatix Pro. More tips and techniques, and regularly updated information, can be found on the Photomatix Pro FAQ on the HDRsoft website at http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_photomatix.html. 5.1 Integrating Lightroom with Photomatix Pro You can export photos for processing in Photomatix Pro directly from Lightroom and reimport them back into the Lightroom library.
5.3 Dealing with Noise When you process your photos using Exposure Fusion, the fused image will tend to show less noise than the source images. This is because Exposure Fusion works by directly combining your bracketed photos, thus averaging out noise. However, when you create a 32-bit HDR image, your bracketed photos are assembled in linear space into an image that spans the full range of luminance values captured by the camera.
Glossary Mode (Automatic Exposure Bracketing). DSLR cameras and some compact digital cameras offer this feature. It enables you to automatically take three or more exposures in a row: one at the proper exposure, one or more underexposed, and one or more overexposed. Aperture Priority In Aperture Priority mode, you select the aperture and the camera determines the correct shutter speed for the available light. The shutter speed also depends on ISO sensitivity.
HDR High Dynamic Range. HDR Image Strictly speaking, an HDR image is an intermediary image with 32 bits per color channel (96 bits per pixel). An HDR image is the result of merging photos of the same scene taken under different exposure settings and stored in special HDR image format. The 32-bit intermediary HDR image must be processed with tone mapping for proper display on standard monitors and prints.
Resources You can find more tips, techniques, and regularly updated information in the Photomatix Pro FAQ on the HDRsoft website at http://www.hdrsoft.com/support/faq_photomatix.html.
