Improve your pictures with an HDR program!

NOLADG · Jun 29, 2020

I am sure this is old news for many of you, but I am just experiencing. I just downloaded a free program which combines three like pictures with different exposures and automatically chooses the best exposure in different regions and combines them into one image. There were several choices however I downloaded HDRtist which is free with some paid features on the App Store. I set my drone on AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) and I dropped three photos into the program and BAM! It automatically picked the darkest exposure for the sunset and the lightest exposure for the landscape.

SoccerRef12 · Jun 29, 2020

Pretty neat, but Mac only. [emoji53]

NOLADG · Jun 29, 2020

@SoccerRef12 I am sure there are similar programs for Windows - just do a search. I am not necessarily promoting the program I chose. (I thought I would try it since it was free) But the concept is amazing.

SoccerRef12 · Jun 29, 2020

I think you can do similar editing in the DJI GO app.

NOLADG · Jun 29, 2020

@SoccerRef12 Hmmm. I have the latest version of the DJI Go 4 app for iOS and just looked and I don't see where this capability is available. Maybe on Android. But merging three differently exposed pictures is quite different than just adjusting the contrast, darkness, saturation, etc that many programs can accomplish.

Another pilot wrote me privately that he was using Photomatix Essentials from Hdrsoft.com which is available for Windows and Mac. It can be had free due to Covid. See their website for details.

Dragonfly Joe · Jun 29, 2020

On Windows10, I use a program called Photomatix Pro for bracketed photos. You can see if it's something you like and download a free trial version HERE.

John.H · Jun 30, 2020

NOLADG said:
I am sure this is old news for many of you, but I am just experiencing. I just downloaded a free program which combines three like pictures with different exposures and automatically chooses the best exposure in different regions and combines them into one image. There were several choices however I downloaded HDRtist which is free with some paid features on the App Store. I set my drone on AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) and I dropped three photos into the program and BAM! It automatically picked the darkest exposure for the sunset and the lightest exposure for the landscape.

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Thanks for the software info. Does the spark have a AEB option?

NOLADG · Jun 30, 2020

John.H said:
Does the spark have a AEB option?

Yes! The spark does have AEB under the photo settings.

RotorWash · Jun 30, 2020

NOLADG said:
I am sure this is old news for many of you, but I am just experiencing. I just downloaded a free program which combines three like pictures with different exposures and automatically chooses the best exposure in different regions and combines them into one image. There were several choices however I downloaded HDRtist which is free with some paid features on the App Store. I set my drone on AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) and I dropped three photos into the program and BAM! It automatically picked the darkest exposure for the sunset and the lightest exposure for the landscape.

View attachment 13043

Nice work, great looking sky!

HDR photography is especially popular for landscape scenes and drone cameras in general have a more limited dynamic range then say with a DSLR so shooting AEB can help a lot with getting the exposure you want. I shoot AEB near 100% of the time as it only takes a fraction of a second longer to do than with a regular exposure and your first of three shots is what you would have taken for a standard shot anyway. This allows me to go with just the one shot if it's all I need or combine up to the three if more dynamic range is required. The only thing I lose by shooting AEB most of the time is a little space on my memory card and a few minutes merging them in software.

I also generally shoot with a ND/polarizer as well and when you combine that with AEB the result is usually a good exposure with less glare and more color saturation. There are many apps that will do HDR but I like using Photomatix most of the time. Another app that I've recently tried and liked is Affinity Photo, it’s a general photo app that has a lot features, works with Mac (incl iPad) or PC and will do HDR as well as panos, good price as well ($50usd). Haven't had much time to get into it but the few panos I tried stitched together very well, seems better than with the freeware ICE.