In this article we’ll walk step-by-step through the process of creating an HDR image in Lightroom. Lightroom’s HDR merge functionality is extremely convenient for those who already use Lightroom.It doesn’t give you loads of options, but it does work pretty well, especially if you are after a realistic HDR look.
Photomatix gives you robust options and settings, but it does require additional software to purchase. Doing it manually in Photoshop will give you the most control, but it will also take far more time than an automated process. You could use software like Photomatix that has been created exclusively for HDR, you can use Photoshop’s HDR merge, you can do it manually by using layers and masks in Photoshop, and since the release of Lightroom 6/CC you can also do it right in Lightroom with no plugins or additional software needed. In a final twist, both the HDR and Panorama tools produce DNG files rather than JPEGs or TIFFs – and this gives much more scope for image manipulation and enhancement later.There are a number of different ways to merge or blend multiple exposures to create an HDR image. Just two overlapping frames can be stitched together to produce a more normally-proportioned super-wideangle shot. Panoramas don't always have to be in a super-wide letterbox format, of course. It works extremely well, and its a simplified version of the panorama tools in Photoshop, which makes it all the more welcome. Lightroom will produce a perfectly-stitched panorama with no further effort on your part. The stitching process will leave ragged blank areas at the edges of the picture, and while Photoshop has special 'content-aware' technology to fill these in, Lightroom does not, so the Auto Crop option will save you having to crop the edges off manually afterwards.Īnd that's it. Now you just decide whether you want Lightroom to 'Auto Crop' your panorama or not.
A cylindrical projection is usually best for regular single-strip panoramas.
You can leave it to 'Auto Select Projection' or manually choose 'Spherical', 'Cylindrical' or 'Perspective'. Lightroom offers three different 'Projections' – you can think of these as the surface you're creating the panorama on. If you've done this before in Photoshop you'll know that you're then presented with a fairly complex dialog listing different layout options and a list of source files.
First, you select the individual frames of your panorama in Lightroom, then choose 'Photo Merge' and then the 'Panorama' option from the menu. The Panorama Merge feature could hardly be simpler.
Instead of creating a lurid, 'artistic' HDR image with dramatic tonal contrast and 'glow' effects, it produces a very realistic image with all the shadows and highlights intact but without unrealistic tonal compression or flattened contrast. When you hit the Merge button it can take a minute or so to blend the images, and once it's done it's clear that Lightroom has done something different and rather good. There are options too for 'Deghosting' the image, but these may only be necessary if you have moving objects moving between the frames, such as leaves and branches, or passers by.