An HDR is an image made up of layers of the same image in different exposures to create one image with stunning detail.
After downloading Luminance and taking at least 3 photos at different exposures open Luminance. You should see a screen like this.
Next to start a brand new HDR we click "New HDR Image". Then a screen like the following should appear. Click Next.
After clicking next we will enter the load images screen. To load images we click the green + button which will allow us to browse our files. Select all the images you took for the HDR and click open. The files will then gradually load onto the program in a table showing the exposure of the image. the program automatically detects the exposure of the images. If the images were taken with a tripod and the camera wasn't shaken you can leave the "Hugin's align_image_stack" circle checked in. If the photos were not taken on a tripod you should also check the auto align box. After the images are loaded click next.
Then we are bought to a screen showing the histogram of our images. I personally just keep all the default settings on this page but you can change the mode and add anti ghosting if you want to get rid of any transparent or duplicated edges. Click next.
The next screen is how the program will colourize and adjust your HDR. Again I recommend keeping the default setting for your first HDR. Click Finish.
After clicking finish we get back to the main interface and we get a dull image of our desired HDR. To start adjusting the detail and contrast of the image we have to choose from one of the templates created by the program located on the right of your screen. I will use Mantiuk '06 in my tutorial as I prefer it to add more hidden details. So go ahead and click your template.
After clicking your template you should open an untitled tab with your HDR in it. The opened HDR will look pixilated, so to get rid of the pixilation increase the result size (found on the left side of the screen) this will clear pixilation. Since the program does not automatically preview changes every time you change something the tonemap needs to be clicked to view the change. In Mantuik "06 you get to adjust contrast, saturation, and detail factor (all found on the left side of screen). The contrast helps highlight hidden details but also it can be used to smooth out an image. The saturation is great for adding vibrancy and colour to the image. Then the most drastic change to the image can be done by the detail factor. Be careful in using this slider as too much can result in an unreal looking image. After playing around with the adjustments and getting a desired outcome click save as and save it in a image based file type and now you have created an HDR.
I hope this tutorial was helpful, there is a video tutorial below and a download link for the program below. I would like to hear any tips or see any HDRs created by you.
Download Luminance : http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/
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