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| (c) Bakkes Images |
HDR is a process that establishes a more even distribution of highlights and shadows in an attempt to achieve images in closer proximity to that of the human eye. The nature of photography and cameras differs from the human eye in that it captures a narrower spectrum of exposure and therefore shadow and highlight combinations. The mimicking of the HDR eye theory resulted in the modern HDR images we see so often.
Regardless of its background, for this portrait I was looking for an alternative method of shooting since the overcast weather was typically gray and flat. After I shot a couple of shots of the subject I removed him from the scene and shot the 5 exposures of the scene fixed on a tripod same as when he was in the shot.
In post-production, the HDR result was very pleasing and with a couple of minor adjustments a suitable background was available. I used Photomatix by Nic Software to create the HDR.
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| 5 Exposure HDR Creation (c) Bakkes Images |
The subject's portrait was then applied to the HDR background and carefully etched to naturally blend him into the scene without making it look superimposed. Some more color adjustments were made for the best results and a rainy day came to life with an impressive strong portrait. The final adjustment was to convert the image to black and white - always a classic technique with cloud cover and HDRs in my opinion.
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| Background & Subject Merge (c) Bakkes Images |
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| (c) Bakkes Images |