Addicted to Design Blog

Use custom brushes and the smudge tool in Photoshop to create an interesting motion blur effect. This Motion Blur effect has been heavily used by Nike and many other Sport Brands and is usually achieved with multiple exposures while the subject is moving. In this video tutorial you will learn how to achieve the same effect from a single photo. (Video Tutorial by Corey Barker)

What you need for HDR Photography:

1. Digital Camera with “Manual Mode” or Auto Exposure Bracketing feature.
2. Tripod for appropriate image alignment.
3. The Scene Must be Still. Differences will show as blurs.

Step-by-Step HDR Shooting Guide:

• Mount your camera on a Tripod.
• Select either RAW (best quality), NEF, High Quality Jpeg or Tiff format.
• Set the Image quality to “Best”.
• Select the lowest ISO (typically ISO 100) to avoid digital noise.
• Set your camera to Manual Exposure Mode.
• Select a small Aperture if you need more Depth of Field. (f/8, f/16 or less recommended)
• If your camera has Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) set it to +/- 2 or more in 1/2 steps.

If you are taking shots manually and don’t have auto bracketing follow these 3 steps below:

1. TAKE THE FIRST SHOT and take a note of your exposure time. In our case it was 1/250 of a second (Image should look more or less normal)

2. Divide the first exposure time by 4 (Example: 1/250 : 4 = 1/60) and set your new exposure. TAKE THE SECOND SHOT (Image must be overexposed and very bright)

3. Now multiply the first exposure time by 4 (Example: 1/250 X 4 = 1/1000) and set your new exposure. TAKE THE THIRD SHOT (Image must be underexposed and dark)

This should be enough to cover the dynamic range of your scene. You are now ready to import your images into an HDR software of your choice and combine them into an HDR image.

More HDR Photography Tips:

• Start with slightly underexposed image and step up until your image is very bright.
• Use Self-Timer when shooting HDR with (AEB) to avoid the camera shake.
• Many cameras with Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) will shoot 3 or more images automatically when Self-Timer is enabled (it’s “THE” best option for shooting HDR images).
• Use Mirror-lockup to avoid shutter vibration (available mostly on Pro and Pro-sumer cameras).
• 1 EV stop is the equivalent of doubling or halving the exposure time.
• 2 EV stops are the equivalent of dividing or multiplying the exposure time by 4.