Photomatix Pro 2.5 User Manual
Contents
1. 4 _ Saturation Highlights 0 Output Depth 8 bit Saturation Shadows 16 bit gf 360 image Option C Process with Tone Compressor Check this option is you want to automatically tone map the HDR image with the Tone Compressor method Click the Settings button to open a window which allows you to adjust the Tone Compressor settings described in Section 2 You may load settings which were saved in an XMP file in this window amp Batch Processing lets you tone map your HDR images with Details Enhancer and Tone Compressor simultaneously Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 24 Section 4 Batch Processing Previous Tone Color micro S H White Point 0 650 4 gt Black Point 0 00 m ee 16 bit Output Option D Average Check this option if you want to combine the source images using the average method Option E H amp S Auto Check this option if you want to combine the source images with the exposure blending method Highlights amp Shadows Auto Option F H amp S Adjust Check this option if you want to combine the source images with the exposure blending method Highlights and Shadows Adjust Option G H amp S Intensive Check this option if you want to combine the source images with the exposure blending method Highlights amp Shadows Intensive Light Enhanced Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 25 Section 4 Batch2. Processing amp This exposure blending method can only process 8 bit source images amp Selecting this option will prompt a warning window when you click Run indicating that this exposure blending method will take a long time to process Step 3 Select a number of source images to process at a time 2 11 or All All should only be selected if you are using the Process Subfolders option or if the folder processed contains only one set of bracketed exposures When All is selected Photomatix will attempt to process all images in each folder so it is important that only one set of source images be in each subfolder Ye It is possible to Batch Process multiple series of source images with varying numbers of source images if each series is in its own subfolder and All is selected Xx If all source images from multiple series are in a single folder each series must have the same number of source images Images are processed alphabetically so each series should be assigned a logical naming method For example A_Castle1 jpg A_Castle2 jpg A_Castle3 jpg followed by B_Sunrise1 jpg B_Sunrise2 jpg B_Sunrise3 jpg Step 4 Check Align Images if necessary to correct for slight camera movement between source photographs When Align images is checked the images will be cropped after alignment in order to remove invalid areas on the edge due to the correction for mis alignment shifts If you want to skip the cropping then check the Don t
3. computer before processing them Photomatix Pro can merge image files saved in JPEG 8 bit or 16 bit TIFF and PSD formats It can also create HDR images from the RAW files of several camera models There are two pieces of universal advice for creating differently exposed source images 1 Make sure to take a sufficient number of exposures to properly cover the dynamic range of the scene from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights 2 Use a sturdy tripod to keep your images perfectly aligned Photomatix Pro incorporates Image Alignment functions but using a tripod is still recommended Automatic Exposure Bracketing AEB for DSLR and compact digital cameras Shoot with available light whenever possible The flash may try to balance the exposure of all the images when a range of exposures is the goal Select a low ISO to minimize image noise Select Continuous shooting mode on the camera s drive setting to ensure that the bracketed photos will be captured with a single depression of the shutter button Consult your camera manual for model specific instructions on using this setting f possible use the camera s self timer setting or a cable release to minimize camera shake Set your camera to Aperture priority A setting so that only the shutter speed varies between the exposures Set the camera to Auto Exposure Bracketing AEB which takes several photographs of a scene in a row one at the proper exposur
4. crop option This option may be useful if you are processing images intended to be stitched together to create a panorama Step 5 Choose a source folder Select the source file folder from the list of folders in the source section If you want to batch process several folders then check the Process Subfolders option amp Use Process Subfolders if you have multiple series of source images which vary in the number of source images they contain The Batch Processing can process series with varying numbers of source images if each series is in its own subfolder and All is selected Select a file type from the Filter by File Type dropdown if necessary Options are All TIFF JPEG PSD and RAW amp This option is useful if a source folder contains RAW JPEG from a camera and you are processing only one file type Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 26 Section 4 Batch Processing Step 6 If necessary select a Destination location By default Same as source is selected With this option the Batch Processing will save the resulting images in a subfolder within the source folder The resulting folder will be prefixed by PhotomatixResult Checking Select allows you to select a specific different location on your computer Destination Foe f Select tx VeniceFinished C Same as source Save As JPEG JPEG quality 100 5 f Save HDR image As Radiance RGBE 7 Remove generated HDR image afte
5. Page 6 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Step 1D Click OK to proceed further X If the exposure information can not be found in the meta data or if two or more source images share the same exposure information Photomatix will show a window where you can input the relative Exposure Values for each one of your images This window will also show if two or more source images have the same exposure setting The Generate HDR Options for merging source images to HDR window will appear E Generate HDR Options for merging source images to HDR fe IO x v Align source images ox E Attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts 9 Hoving objects people Take tone curve of color profile recommended Attempt to reverser engineer tone curve applied Ho tone curve applied pixel values are linear The above window is for the case when the source images are JPEG TIFF or PSD files When they are RAW files the window will display slightly differently see screenshot on the next page Step 1E Check the desired options on the Generate HDR Options window The Align source images option is checked by default This option corrects for misalignment problems if the camera moved slightly between the bracketed frames which may happen even when shooting with the aid of a tripod If the scene has moving objects and you find the resulting ghosts are not desirable then check Attempt to reduce ghosting artifac
6. Photomatix Pro 2 5 User Manual Introduction Photomatix Pro processes multiple photographs of a high contrast scene into a single image with details in both highlights and shadows This manual offers step by step instructions for using the main features of the Photomatix Pro software The first section offers tips for taking photographs intended for High Dynamic Range HDR processing The second section describes how to create HDR images and process them through tone mapping The third section deals with the Exposure Blending functions and the fourth section with the Batch Processing tool The following icons are used throughout the manual Jx Useful information and important note L Tips and recommendations Photomatix Pro User Manual Table of Contents Table of Contents Section 4 Batch ProCeSSil6 cccccccccceccecceceeecuecuecueceesueeduedeesueduesesesuesdessussuestsseeseess 22 Photomatix Pro User Manual Section 1 Tips for Taking Successful Source Images Section 1 Tips for taking photographs intended for HDR processing Photographing a high contrast scene requires taking several exposures in order to capture information in both the brightest highlights and deepest shadows of the scene Photographs can be made with digital or film based cameras The only requirement is that the exposure can be adjusted when taking pictures If you use a film based camera you will need to scan them into your
7. Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 17 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Bit Depth output image 8 bit is the program s default and will allow you to save the tone mapped image as JPEG or 8 bit TIFF Select 16 bit for a tone mapped image with 16 bits per color channel that you can later save as 16 bit TIFF file The default bit depth can be changed under the Tone Mapping tab of Default Options which can be accessed from the View menu amp When the bit depth of the output image is 8 bit the default fi e format for saving the image will be set to JPEG You can change it to TIFF instead using the Default Options dialog Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 18 Section 3 Exposure Blending Section 3 Exposure Blending In addition to the two step HDR processing described in the previous pages Photomatix Pro also offers several single step exposure blending methods that combine differently exposed images to show detail in both shadows and highlights ye The Exposure blending methods work either with Batch Processing section 4 or via the Combine menu with opened images It is recommended that you use the Batch Processing functionality particularly with large files These blending methods combine differently exposed photographs into a single image using the existing shadow and highlight detail from the source images to make a single final blended image with an expanded tonal range Here are some limitations to keep in mi
8. and not for its tone reproduction curve Since the HDR image values are in linear space they do not have a tone curve The tone curve of the profile associated with the image will only be applied during the tone mapping step and not to the HDR image itself Step 1F Click OK to create the 32 bit HDR image A progress bar will display in the Generate HDR Options window Once the HDR is generated the HDR image and the HDR Viewer window will display on screen Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 8 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Step one of the two step process is now complete Until Tone Mapping is applied the 32 bit image seen on screen can not display its full tonal range The small window called the HDR viewer shows a local section of the HDR image viewed at the appropriate exposure amp Saving the 32 bit HDR image at this point will allow you to apply different Tone Mapping settings to the HDR source image without repeatedly following the Generate HDR procedure However note that the color profile information of the source images will not be preserved once the HDR image has been saved as Radiance or OpenEXR file X Photomatix Pro allows you to create a 32 bit HDR image from a single RAW file To do this open one RAW file using File gt Open and Photomatix will convert it into a pseudo HDR image However it is important to note that an image created with a single RAW file can not rea
9. at once Step 2 Select Combine gt Highlights amp Shadows Adjust A preview window will display the exposure blending of your opened source images Gi Veriice Mask Expo 2 jog 56 Ei Venico Mask_Expo 2 jpe 56 2 Vernier Mack Suri ine 1 KAM i Fy Hightipt R 2 ts amp Shadows Adjust lt lt Darker Baghter gt gt gt Radius Mere BB Ahon source images The following files wal be combined Verece Mask_Expo 2 jpg a Verece Mask_Expo 2 jog LL S TT amp The sliders to the left of and below the preview move the image section in the preview window Click Zoom Out for a full image preview Step 3 Adjust the controls to achieve the desired effect Blending Point Moving this slider to the right favors the overexposed images Moving it to the left favors the underexposed images Radius Moving this slider to the right increases sharpness and blending accuracy Moving it to the left reduces halo artifacts Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 20 Section 3 Exposure Blending Step 4 Click OK Photomatix Pro will output an Exposure Blended file titled Highlights amp Shadows Adjust Highlight amp Shadows Adjust Resulting blended image Step 5 File gt Save will save your image You can rename the file and change the save location and file type if desired Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 21 Section 4 Batch Processing Section 4 Batch Processing The Batch Proces
10. de to ensure that you have captured the entire tonal range of the image You should have at least one picture without a large peak at the left side of the histogram and one picture without a large peak at the right side of the image Self timer mode a cable release and mirror lock up options if available will help minimize any camera shake especially for exposures slower than 1 15 second Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 2 Section 1 Tips for Taking Successful Source Images 100 0363 Figure 2 1 Histogram depicts the brightest Hic elements highlights slightly underexposed Adobe RGB 10 18 06 21 29 i 00 1 8 3 5 M 36 48 E 4M1 20m E0200 100 0375 Figure 2 2 Histogram depicts the darkest image elements shadows slightly overexposed Adobe RGB 10 18 06 21 30 amp 00 30 3 5 M 48 48 43 43we 150200 Manual Exposure Bracketing with Compact Digital Cameras Consult your camera s user manual to determine if manual exposure is possible If this is possible you can follow the steps for Manual Exposure Bracketing with a DSLR f your compact camera does not have an AEB setting or allow you to set the exposure manually you can use the exposure compensation setting to manually bracket The series below shows the same scene captured at 2 0 and 2 LCD display Film photo techniques for creating HDR source images Follow the advice for shooting with a digital camera keeping in mind that you will not hav
11. e one or more underexposed and one or more overexposed o Most cameras allow to select the amount of over under exposure in one third or one half increments The suggested exposure increment is 2 for optimal exposure range If your camera does not offer 2 exposure increment select the maximum possible Consult the camera manual for model specific instructions on choosing this setting DSLR LCD window showing AEB icon with 2 increments selected Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 1 Section 1 Tips for Taking Successful Source Images o Select an appropriate number of auto bracketed frames if your camera offers different options for the number of frames For instance if your camera can auto bracket at a maximum of 1 EV increments then select 5 or more frames if your camera allows it Five frames spaced by 1 EV increment will give you the same dynamic range coverage as three frames spaced by 2 EV increments After capturing the bracketed images check the histogram previews in playback mode to ensure that you have captured an adequate range of exposures It is important to remember that the number of exposures needed depends on the dynamic range of the scene in addition to the exposure increment For most outdoor scenes three exposures taken at 2 exposure increment will be sufficient provided the scene does not include the sun However for the interior of a room with a bright view out of the window you w
12. e folder v Photomatix Pro can process subfolders with different numbers of source images in each folder and can filter files by file type amp It is important to note that when you are processing different sets of source images in a single folder each set must contain the same number of source images If each set contains a different number of source images you will need to place them into separate folders and select the All option for the number of files to process Step 2 Select the processes to be automated At least one option described below Options A G must be selected to run the Batch Processor Option A Generate HDR image Check this option if you want to create a 32 bit HDR image Click the Settings button to open an option window The first checkbox will allow input of EV spacing and will be used if no EXIF information is found in the source files F af bof not found take spacing of x ev attempt to reduce ghosting ert acts G If there are moving objects in the source e g z z a images and you find the resulting ghosts are ae e a eaa sor not desirable check Attempt to reduce Pn eee ghosting artifacts with the option Moving at objects people selected If there are elements in the scene that follow a rhythmic pattern flowing water for instance oscillating between shadows and highlights then select White Batane RES instead the option Ripples Prenes temple Tocca E O
13. e the option of previewing the live histogram to determine your exposure range Scan your film or slides not prints Photo labs will attempt to make the best print from each of your source images and you will not achieve good results scanning these in for HDR generation Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 3 Section 1 Tips for Taking Successful Source Images Turn off your scanner s auto exposure options so that you are manually controlling the exposure Make sure to select the Align images option in Photomatix Pro when combining your images Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 4 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Creating images that display the High Dynamic Range captured by photographs taken under different exposure settings is a two step process The first step is to merge your differently exposed photographs into a single 32 bit HDR image Because of its high dynamic range a true 32 bit HDR image will not display properly on conventional monitors In the second step this 32 bit HDR image is then processed or developed via the Tone Mapping tool This tool will reveal the dynamic range captured in the HDR image and produce an image which can be properly displayed on conventional monitors and printed Yx The order of files in a bracketing sequence is not important Photomatix Pro will systematically sort the image files based on exposure information retr
14. ecial option in the RAW converter to leave the image in linear space then check the option No tone curve applied pixel values are linear Only check this option though if you are 100 sure that the tonal values of the image are linear relative to the values of light captured Please note that the terminology linear may be used with a different meaning depending on the RAW converter in Adobe Camera RAW for instance linear is relative to the Adobe RGB color space and not to the values of light When the source images are RAW files The Generate HDR Options window will display with additional options By default Photomatix will use the As Shot White Balance read from the EXIF metadata when converting the RAW data to HDR You iG eek iss ds can adjust the White Balance by selecting a Monna cbyects peoctie pre defined white balance from the drop down oven menu or specify the color temperature in Kelvin A preview lets you see the effect of the change on the source image Zj Align source mages The RAW data is in a color space specific to Mata above box is disabled because RAW files do not heve a tone curve the camera Photomatix will convert the data RAW conversion settings into a standardized color space by default ane pan Adobe RGB but you can select sRGB or EA ProPhoto RGB instead Color primaries HOR based on It is important to note that the selected color space is used for its color primaries only
15. he left gives a more natural look to the resulting image Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 11 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Ton justments White Point Black Point Both sliders control how the minimum and maximum values of the tone mapped image are set Moving the sliders to the right increases global contrast Moving them to the left reduces clipping at the extremes The White Point slider sets the value for the maximum of the tone mapped image pure white or level 255 The Black Point slider sets the value for the minimum of the tone mapped image pure black or level 0 Gamma adjusts the mid tone of the tone mapped image brightening or darkening the image globally Color adjustments Color Temperature Adjusts the color temperature of the tone mapped image relative to the temperature of the HDR source image Moving the slider to the right gives a warmer more yellow orange colored look Moving the slider to the left gives a colder more bluish look A value of zero preserves the original color temperature of the HDR source image Saturation Highlights Adjusts the color saturation of the highlights relative to the color saturation set with the Color Saturation slider Values higher than zero increase the color saturation in the highlights values lower than zero decrease it Saturation Shadows Adjusts the color saturation of the shadows relative to the color saturation set with the Color Satu
16. ieved from the EXIF data or their relative brightness levels when the exposure information is not available Step 1 HDR Generation Step 1A Use the HDR gt Generate HDR menu The Generate HDR Specifying source images window will display E Generate HDR Specifying source images O Load Rei exposed images Browse Yx If your source images are large TIFF files use instead Batch Processing to generate the HDR image Batch Processing includes an option called strip by strip processing that lets you create HDR images from large source images in TIFF format without exceeding the available memory RAM Step 1B Click Browse The Select differently exposed images window will display to allow you to select the source images to be combined Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 5 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping ere rere E AL mages Croa j FF Shen preview Rershmoa 3504 x 2336 tmel depth Step 1C Highlight the images taken under different exposures that you wish to use for HDR Generation Then click OK The selected image files will be listed on the Generate HDR Specifying source images 3 008552 p9 v Photomatix Pro can generate an HDR image from 8 bit 16 bit and RAW source files Supported file types include JPEG TIFF and RAW files from Canon Nikon Fuji Olympus Kodak Minolta Sony Pentax Panasonic and Leaf as well as DNG files Photomatix Pro User Manual
17. ill need at least five images taken with an exposure increment of 2 or 9 images taken with an exposure increment of 1 Manual Exposure Bracketing for DSLR cameras In scenes with extreme differences between light and dark details manual exposure bracketing over a greater exposure value range may provide better source images than Auto Exposure Bracketing and it is the only option if your camera does not automatic bracketing over a wide enough range to cover your scene The following suggestions will help you to take optimal pictures using manual exposure bracketing Choose a low ISO to minimize noise and make the highest quality source images Keep a constant aperture and ISO Control image exposure by changing the shutter speed in full stop increments When taking pictures use either the Aor M setting which both allow you to fix the aperture Shoot a series of images starting with your brightest image elements highlights being slightly underexposed see figure 2 1 below to the darkest image elements shadows being slightly overexposed see figure 2 2 below You may or may not want or need to use every exposure in the series for HDR processing but it is easier to delete a picture at processing time than to return to a location to take additional images Experiment with different combinations of the bracketed source images in Photomatix Pro to achieve your desired effect Check your DSLR s Histogram preview in playback mo
18. image Yx HDR gt Undo Tone Mapping will undo the tone mapping settings applied to the original HDR image The tone mapped image will revert to a 32 bit HDR image which can then be tone mapped again Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 13 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Step 2D Save the resultant file using the File gt Save menu You can rename the file and change the save location and file type if desired HDR gt Save settings will save the applied tone mapping settings as an xmp file so you can easily reproduce the same Tone Mapping process in the future ve If you are tone mapping a large HDR image file more than 40 MegaPixels for instance do not open the HDR image in Photomatix Pro Instead click on HDR gt Large File Processing and load the HDR image file from there You will get the same tone mapping window and the preview as shown above The only difference is that the 100 magnification view will not be enabled The Tone Mapping window offers additional settings which are explained after tone mapping with Tone Compressor instructions on page 17 E JE008652 jpg 8 O 4 s6008651 jpeg 8 s Me In the example above the HDR image was generated from these three source images Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 14 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Tone Mapping with Tone Compressor Step 2A Select the HDR gt Tone Mapping menu to launch the Tone Mapping tool for the act
19. is useful to cut out noise in the dark area of a photo taken under low light situation Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 12 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping her setting 360 image This option needs to be checked when the image processed is an equirectangular image intended to be viewed as a 360 panorama This is because Details Enhancer takes into account local contrast and will assign different tonal values to the 360 seams of the panorama This will produce a visible seam once the resulting image is rendered in a panorama viewer Checking this option will correct for this The 360 image option should only be checked for equirectangular 360 images Checking it in other cases may produce less optimal results Checking the 360 image option increases the amount of memory necessary to process the image by more than 50 Processing times will also be increased Step 2C Once you are satisfied with the results of the Details Enhancer adjustments select a bit depth for the tone mapped image A value of 8 means 8 bits per color channel and will allow you to save the image as JPEG or 8 bit TIFF file Avalue of 16 means 16 bits per color channel and will provide a higher precision at the expense of a larger file size on disk amp If you plan to do additional processing in an image editing application 16 bit is recommended This is particularly recommended for print output Click Apply to create the tone mapped
20. ive open HDR image If you have used the HDR gt Generate menu to create a new HDR source image it will be the active image Otherwise open a saved HDR image via the File gt Open menu Step 2B From the Tone Mapping window select the Tone Compressor option button o me Mapping R Method Details Enhancer Output depth 8 bit 16 bit Tone Compressor BH 360 image Piewew sce Os12 768 1024 Step 2C Use the slider controls to adjust the image The preview on the right provides a view of what the image will look like once Tone Compressor is applied to the entire HDR source image Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 15 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Tone Compressor incorporates the following image adjustment sliders Brightness Influences the tone mapping process done on the HDR image in regards to overall image brightness Tonal Range Compression Controls how the tonal range of the 32 bit image is compressed into the 0 256 range of 8 bit monitors The higher the value the more both shadows and highlights will be shifted toward the center of the histogram The Tone Compressor tone mapping method ignores local context Contrast Adaptation Sets how much the contrast is adapted to the intensity of the pixel values processed White Point Black Point Both sliders control how the minimum and maximum values of the tone mapped image are set Moving the sliders to the right increases global contra
21. lly be considered High Dynamic Range It is a rather a pseudo HDR image The important characteristic of this pseudo HDR image is that it is unprocessed Its dynamic range however is not much larger than the range of an already converted file Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 9 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Step 2 Tone Mapping The generated HDR image can not be represented properly on screen without further processing An unprocessed HDR image is somewhat similar to a film negative or the RAW file of a digital camera It needs further processing for display or printing In Photomatix Pro this processing is called Tone Mapping There are two tone mapping methods for processing the HDR image Details Enhancer and Tone Compressor Tone Mapping with Details Enhancer Photomatix Pro defaults to this option when the Tone Mapping window is opened Details Enhancer utilizes a local operator to develop the HDR image This means that it takes into account the local brightness context a pixel of a given value in the HDR image will be mapped differently depending on whether it is located in a bright or dark area of the image Step 2A Select the HDR gt Tone Mapping menu to launch the Tone Mapping tool for the active open HDR image If you have used the HDR gt Generate menu to create a new HDR source image it will be the active image Otherwise open a saved HDR image via the File gt Open menu Step 2B Use the slider c
22. n the future Additional Tone Mapping Settings In addition to the image adjustment controls the Tone Mapping window includes several other options and settings which apply to both the Details Enhancer and Tone Compressor methods Preview Photomatix Pro offers three preview sizes 512 768 and 1024 Asize of 1024 for instance means that the preview will be 1024 pixels wide for an image in landscape mode and 1024 high for an image in portrait mode Select the radio button for desired size amp Click the mouse on the preview to zoom in to 100 magnification Click the mouse again to return to full image preview Previous Load Default Save Undo Last Setting Redo Last Setting These six buttons allow you to use pre set values for the Tone Mapping settings Previous reverts to the settings that were used the last time you use the Tone Mapping tool Default resets the settings to their default values Save allows to save the settings to an XMP file that you can later re use Load allows to load previously saved settings from an XMP file Undo and Redo last settings allow for quick switching between the current and previous settings done on the Tone Mapping window amp If you save the tone mapped image as a TIFF file the tone mapping settings will be automatically embedded as XMP metadata in the TIFF file If you open the file in Photoshop you can then view the tone mapping settings under File gt Info gt Advanced xmp
23. nd The blending methods do not process RAW files The Highlights amp Shadows Intensive method only supports 8 bit images There is no limit to the number of source images you can blend except when using the method Highlights amp Shadows 2 images which can only blend two photographs and is not available with Batch Processing The available blending methods are Average Highlights amp Shadows 2 images Highlights and Shadows Auto Highlights amp Shadows Adjust Highlights amp Shadows Intensive Xx The Exposure Blending methods are mostly automatic It is recommended to execute them via the Batch Processing function especially when blending 16 bit source images Batch Processing has the additional advantage that you can blend the images with several methods in just one run and then select the most visually appealing image at the end The remainder of this section details the Exposure Blending method Highlights amp Shadows Adjust used via the Combine menu For Exposure Blending via Batch Processing please refer to section 4 Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 19 Section 3 Exposure Blending Highlights amp Shadows Adjust This method allows the user to control the blending point and radius of the blended image and provides a preview window Step 1 Open your source images into Photomatix Pro via the File gt Open menu Use the Shift or Command key select and open multiple files
24. nly check the Attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts option if it is needed When source mage are RAW files If the source images are large TIFF files check the option Process strip by strip With this option the HDR image file will be created in several passes processing and loading only one strip of each image into memory at a time One strip is composed of a limited number of rows set to not exceed around 512 MB of RAM once loaded This option is particularly useful when processing large panoramas If the source images are RAW files White Balance and Color Primaries may be selected Please refer to step 1E under the HDR Generation chapter of section 2 for details on those settings Option B Process with Details Enhancer Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 23 Section 4 Batch Processing Check this option if you want to automatically tone map the HDR image with the Details Enhancer method Click the Settings button to open a window which allows you to adjust the Details Enhancer settings described in Section 2 You may load settings which were saved in an XMP file in this window When the option Save is checked the settings will be saved in an XMP file alongside the tone mapped images This option is checked by default Details Enhancer Settings Strength Color Saturation ee 55 0 Luminosity Light Smoothing r r o Previous Load Tone Color Micro S H Iv EEIE Temperature
25. ontrols to adjust the image The preview on the right provides an approximation of what the image will look like once Details Enhancer is applied to the entire HDR source image Note that in the case of the Details Enhancer tone mapping method the preview is not always an accurate representation of the final tone mapped image Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 10 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Method Details Enhancer Output depth amp bit 16 bit Tone Compressor BB 360 image White Point 4 Black Point F Details Enhancer incorporates the following image adjustment sliders General adjustments Strength Controls the strength of contrast enhancements A value of 100 gives the maximum increase in both local and global contrast enhancements Color Saturation Controls the saturation of the RGB color channels The greater the saturation the more intense the color A value of zero produces a grayscale image The value affects each color channel equally Light Smoothing Controls smoothing of light variations throughout the image A higher value tends to reduce halos and give a more natural look to the resulting image A lower value tends to increase sharpness Luminosity Controls the compression of the tonal range which has the effect of adjusting the global luminosity level Moving the slider to the right has the effect of boosting shadow details and brightening the image Moving it to t
26. r processing Naming options Select a file type for saving JPEG or TIFF If JPEG is selected select a JPEG Quality from 10 100 If applicable select an HDR file type for saving the HDR image file Radiance RGBE or OpenEXR If you want to save only the Tone Mapping results and not the 32 bit HDR image check Remove generated HDR image after processing Click Naming Options to choose a naming strategy Xr Start with Set Number or Start with Filename of first image in the set are the main options Start with Set number will yield long names such as Set01Enhancer3from_IMG_3421 jpg Checking Use shortened version will yield shorter names that do not reference the source files Set01Enhancer jpg for example Start with Filename of first image in the set yields file names that start with the first image in the set IMG_3431_2 3Enhancer jpg for example Suffix optional will append additional file name information to the end of the assigned file names Step 7 Click Run to start batch processing The window below the Run button will show the status of each process in real time Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 27 Section 4 Batch Processing gt Processing HDR image with Details Enhancer gt Processing HDR image with Tone Compressor gt Loading 3 images starting with JE000397 jpg gt Aligning 3 images starting with JE000397 jpg gt Combining 3 images starting with JEQO0397 jpg using Highlights amp Shadows A
27. ration slider Values higher than zero increase the color saturation in the shadows values lower than zero decrease it Micro adjustments Microcontrast Sets the level of accentuation of local details Micro smoothing Smoothes out local detail enhancements This has the effect of reducing noise in the sky for instance and tends to give a cleaner look to the resulting image x Important note The 100 magnification view displayed when clicking on the preview may not properly show the effect of this setting when the area magnified is uniform If you want for instance to see the effect of the micro smoothing setting at 100 resolution on a uniform area such as the sky you will have to select an area that contains an object in the scene in addition to the sky Shadows Highlights adjustments Highlights Smoothing 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 to prevents white highlights from turning grey or uniform light blue skies becoming dark blue grey It is also useful in helping to reduce halos around objects placed against bright backgrounds Shadows Smoothing Reduces the contrast enhancements in the shadows The value of the slider sets how much of the shadows range is affected Shadows Clipping Controls the clipping of the shadows The value of the slider sets how much of the shadows range is clipped This control
28. sing function of Photomatix Pro allows you to automate the processing of your images Batch Processing may be used to Process many exposure series to create HDR image files ready to be tone mapped individually If you open another session of Photomatix Pro you can start working on the first images while Batch Processing is still processing the remaining exposure series Apply several different tone mapping or exposure blending methods to one set of source images Apply the same tone mapping or exposure blending settings to several different sets of source images Apply both of the above processes at once applying many different tone mapping or exposure blending methods to several sets of source images Step 1 Click on the Automate menu and select Batch Processing V Generate HDR image Settings Process with Details Enhancer Settings Process with Tone Compressor Settings F Average H amp S Auto Redes F H amp S Adjust z Deia H amp S Intensive I Light Enhanced j Destination Select Same as source Save As prec gt JPEG quality 100 z Save HDR image As z V Remove generated HDR image after processing I Process subfolders r Naming options Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 22 Section 4 Batch Processing amp The files to be processed are selected alphabetically Ensure that the files are named in a logical alphabetical manner if you have multiple file sets in on
29. st Moving them to the left reduces clipping at the extremes The White Clip slider sets the value for the maximum pure white or level 255 The Black Clip slider sets the value for the minimum pure black or level 0 Color Temperature Adjusts the color temperature of the tone mapped image relative to the temperature of the HDR source image Moving the slider to the right gives a warmer more yellow orange colored look Moving the slider to the left gives a colder more bluish look Avalue of zero preserves the original color temperature of the HDR source image Color Saturation Adjusts the color saturation of the tone mapped The greater the saturation the more intense the color The value affects each color channel equally Step 2D Once you are satisfied with the results of the Tone Compressor adjustments select a bit depth and click Apply to create the tone mapped image vs HDR gt Undo Tone Mapping will undo the tone mapping settings applied to the original HDR image The tone mapped image will revert to a 32 bit HDR image which can then be tone mapped again Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 16 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping Step 2E Save the resultant file using the File gt Save menu You can rename the file and change the save location and file type if desired HDR gt Save settings will save the applied tone mapping settings as an xmp file so you can easily reproduce the same Tone Mapping process i
30. ts with the option Moving objects people selected If there are elements in the scene that follow a rhythmic pattern flowing water for instance oscillating between shadows and highlights then select the option Ripples instead In both cases first try leaving the Detection option set to Normal If you find that the resulting HDR image still shows too much ghosting then try again with the option set to High Only check the Attempt to reduce ghosting artifacts option if it is needed Checking it in other cases will lower the quality of the resulting HDR image Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 7 Section 2 HDR Generation and Tone Mapping When the source images are JPEG TIFF or PSD files The recommended option Take tone curve of color profile is selected by default and is usually the best option when the images files come from a DSLR camera or have been converted from RAW files This option loads the Tone Reproduction Curve data from the ICC color profile associated with the source images in order to determine the non linear function applied to the raw sensors data If no profile is available it uses the tone reproduction curve of the Adobe RGB color profile When the images are scanned films or taken with a compact camera it may be worthwhile checking the option Attempt to reverse engineer tone curve appliea If your source images are 16 bit TIFF files that have been converted from RAW files with a sp
31. uto gt Generating HDR image from 3 images starting with JE000397 jpag gt Processing HDR image with Details Enhancer gt Processing HDR image with Tone Compressor gt Loading 3 images starting with JE000400 jpg gt Aligning 3 images starting with JE0O0400 jpg gt Combining 3 images starting with JEOO0400 jpg using Highlights amp Shadows Auto gt Generating HDR image from 3 images starting with JE000400 jpg gt Processing HDR image with Details Enhancer gt Processing HDR image with Tone Compressor Batch has been executed Results are in C images Venice others PhotomatixResults Photomatix Pro User Manual Page 28
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