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Greg Benz Photography
United States
Registrace 10. 10. 2011
I got hooked on photography back in 2000, when I was living in London for six months, and have been obsessed ever since. These days I call Minneapolis home, but continue to travel the world in search of incredible cityscapes and landscapes. My goal is not just to create art, but to connect with other photographers to share the vision, tools, and technique behind my work. I don’t believe I’ve ever found a camera that automatically captures the beauty of the world I see, so I use Lightroom, Photoshop, luminosity masking, or HDR for nearly all of my images. These topics can seem intimidating, so my goal is to help make them a bit simpler through tools and tutorials that I share on this channel.
Get my free luminosity masking panel, tutorials, and more at:
gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/
Other places to see my photos and tutorials:
gregbenzphotography.com/
gregbenzphotography
GregBenzPhotography
Get my free luminosity masking panel, tutorials, and more at:
gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/
Other places to see my photos and tutorials:
gregbenzphotography.com/
gregbenzphotography
GregBenzPhotography
How to setup Photoshop for photography
See the full written tutorial for more details at gregbenzphotography.com/photoshop/how-to-set-photoshop-for-photography/
===================
Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/
For more information on the Lumenzia luminosity masking panel, please visit: gregbenzphotography.com/lumenzia/
Connect with me at:
► INSTAGRAM: gregbenzphotography
► FACEBOOK: gregbenzphotography
► TWITTER: gregbenz
===================
Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/
For more information on the Lumenzia luminosity masking panel, please visit: gregbenzphotography.com/lumenzia/
Connect with me at:
► INSTAGRAM: gregbenzphotography
► FACEBOOK: gregbenzphotography
► TWITTER: gregbenz
zhlédnutí: 5 418
Video
The "old" HDR vs "new" HDR
zhlédnutí 9KPřed měsícem
There is a lot of confusion around "HDR" these days, as the same name is being used for a completely new and unrelated technology. In this video, you'll learn how the new HDR (true high dynamic range display enabled by new hardware) compares to the old HDR (tone mapping, for old standard dynamic range displays). See the written tutorial for more details at gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-photos/the...
How to compress raw files by 90%+ in Lightroom
zhlédnutí 10KPřed 2 měsíci
Learn how to compress your RAW files up to 92% with no visible loss of quality in Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW (or even more at lower resolution) using the new JPEG XL compression capabilities. See the written tutorial for more details: gregbenzphotography.com/lightroom-acr/shrink-your-raw-files-with-compressed-dng/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com...
Generative Remove in Lightroom ACR
zhlédnutí 8KPřed 3 měsíci
Lightroom / ACR just added "Generative Remove" to allow you to do advanced cloning right on your RAW file, non-destructively! See the full written tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/lightroom-acr/generative-remove-ai-in-lightroom-acr/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/ For more information on the Lumenzia luminosity maski...
How to extract fur detail with luminosity masks
zhlédnutí 6KPřed 4 měsíci
See the full written version of this tutorial at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking/how-to-extract-fur-detail-with-luminosity-masks/ Learn more about AI Denoise at gregbenzphotography.com/photography-reviews/ai-denoise-lr-acr/ Photo provided courtesy of Darren Hebert: darrenhebert.com/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tut...
Enhance lightning in Photoshop with luminosity masks
zhlédnutí 4,2KPřed 4 měsíci
In this tutorial, you'll how to target subtle detail with luminosity masks created with Lumenzia - including a comparison of multiple approaches to masking and why you might choose one or another. See the written version of this tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking/make-lightning-glow-with-lumenzia/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com...
How to use the new Point Color tool in ACR
zhlédnutí 6KPřed 5 měsíci
Adobe Camera Raw / Lightroom's new "Point Color" offers complete control to target any color with the precise hue, saturation, and luminosity tolerance for perfect results. See how it works and an important caveat in this video. See the full written tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/lightroom-acr/how-to-use-the-new-lr-acr-point-color-tool/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at...
Lightroom: "RAW" histogram?
zhlédnutí 8KPřed 7 měsíci
Lightroom and ACR don't have a RAW histogram, but you can use the new HDR-mode histogram to learn a lot more about your RAW images. See the full written tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/photoshop/what-the-hdr-histogram-can-teach-you-about-your-raw-images/ If you want to explore the actual RAW histogram, you might want to check out RAW Digger: www.rawdigger.com/. I have not personally used it...
Custom luminosity masks with Lumenzia v11.7
zhlédnutí 9KPřed 8 měsíci
The Lumenzia luminosity masking panel for Photoshop now features completely interactive previews so you can quickly click and drag to target specific colors or subjects in addition to luminosity. For more details, see gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking/custom-luminosity-masks-with-lumenzia-v11-7/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-m...
How to avoid color shifts with Lightroom curves
zhlédnutí 11KPřed 8 měsíci
See the full written tutorial: gregbenzphotography.com/lightroom-acr/how-to-avoid-color-shifts-with-lightroom-curves/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/ For more information on the Lumenzia luminosity masking panel, please visit: gregbenzphotography.com/lumenzia/ Connect with me at: ► INSTAGRAM: gregbenzphoto...
How to share HDR images on the web with Lightroom
zhlédnutí 3,9KPřed 9 měsíci
See the full written tutorial and sample gallery at gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-images/how-to-share-your-hdr-photos-on-the-web-directly-from-lightroom/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/ For more information on the Lumenzia luminosity masking panel, please visit: gregbenzphotography.com/lumenzia/ Connect with me at: ► INST...
Record Lumenzia in Photoshop actions
zhlédnutí 5KPřed 10 měsíci
You can now record anything Lumenzia does as part of a Photoshop action. This enables not only fast workflows and automation, but also the opportunity to assign shortcut keys or Wacom / StreamDeck buttons to anything Lumenzia can do. See the full written tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking/record-actions-with-lumenzia-v11-6/ The B&W tutorial: gregbenzphotography.com/photograp...
Lightroom now supports true HDR display!
zhlédnutí 39KPřed 10 měsíci
Adobe just added HDR ("High Dynamic Range") monitor support to every version of Lightroom (including iPhone and Android). You can now finally display the full color and detail in your RAW files on a supporting screen, such as to show a sunset which is both bright AND colorful. See the full written tutorial and get tests and more info for HDR monitors at gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-images/lightr...
NEW: gain maps ⇨ better photos
zhlédnutí 9KPřed 11 měsíci
THIS IS AN HDR VIDEO - If the gear icon at bottom right of the video does not show "HDR" in red, you are going to see greatly reduced image quality which does not reflect the benefits of HDR. Also, avoid FireFox on an HDR display (does not render properly). For the best HDR display, view on an M1 or M2 MacBook Pro with Chrome or on an iPhone / Samsung Galaxy in the native CZcams app (not in a m...
Lumenzia v11 5 Custom Color Masks How to select any color in Photoshop
zhlédnutí 12KPřed rokem
You can now target any adjustment to any color (including by hue, saturation, and luminosity) using Lumenzia v11.5. Get Lumenzia: gregbenzphotography.com/lumenzia/ See the full written tutorial at gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking/how-to-select-any-color-in-photoshop/ Get my free luminosity masking panel and tutorials at: gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/ For more in...
Export for any ratio with Generative Fill
zhlédnutí 5KPřed rokem
Export for any ratio with Generative Fill
Exporting AVIF and HDR with Web Sharp Pro v5.6
zhlédnutí 3,8KPřed rokem
Exporting AVIF and HDR with Web Sharp Pro v5.6
Photoshop's amazing new AI Generative Fill
zhlédnutí 112KPřed rokem
Photoshop's amazing new AI Generative Fill
Incredible new AI noise reduction in LR : ACR
zhlédnutí 43KPřed rokem
Incredible new AI noise reduction in LR : ACR
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 2 of 3
zhlédnutí 1,9KPřed rokem
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 2 of 3
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 3 of 3
zhlédnutí 1,5KPřed rokem
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 3 of 3
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 1 of 3
zhlédnutí 3,6KPřed rokem
What's new in Web Sharp Pro v5 part 1 of 3
Make city lights glow with HDR in ACR (no h-meta)
zhlédnutí 11KPřed rokem
Make city lights glow with HDR in ACR (no h-meta)
ACR 15 massively expands dynamic range with HDR
zhlédnutí 41KPřed rokem
ACR 15 massively expands dynamic range with HDR
also.. what is a game map ?! im trying to google it. ? Im getting lots of info about video games.
Gain map: gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-photos/jpg-hdr-gain-maps-in-adobe-camera-raw/
i notice how switching on HDR rescues highlights as opposed to bringing back shadow detail. Guess HDR monitors and HDR is about the higher end of the luminance range.
Love this tutorial.. thankas again. So, I'm a moron and set my internal too long. :-D Namely, my shutter was set at 30" and interval at 60". So my trail end have a 30" gap. Any way to fill such a large gap?
Could try to rotate your image with the center of rotation set to the North Star (ie duplicate and blend in lighten blend mode)
@@gregbenzphotography Thanks, I just thought of that as well, however for this image I'm not totally north as I like to get the hourglass effect when including a bit south of "due west". Might have to crop. ;-) Lesson learned I suppose. Check your settings. ;-)
@grega9220 yeah, so many things to remember with a complex shot like that
I was unaware Lightroom now uses JPEG XL for lossy DNGs. This is excellent, thank you.
I'm working on an image with very fine tendrils of lightning and finding I can not get a selection on those. The image is was taken late afternoon, and the tendrils are backed by medium dark grey sky. No problem getting a selection on the main bolts. I've tried using various levels of exposure for the sky during the initial processing for brightness/contrast as well as for the diff. I'm wondering if there is a limit as to how 'small' a selection can be processed. Any suggestions?
If the values are sufficiently different, you should be able to dial things in. You might need to work in phases with multiple selections if things are too similar to separate in a single attempt.
Hi Greg, thanks for the great video... I don't currently own an HDR monitor so I cant really test this, but a question comes to mind: is this supposed to be used specifically with HDRs generated with multiple exposure raws ("real" hdrs?) or can it be used also with just single exposure raw files? Thanks!
With both the old and new types of HDR, multiple exposures are almost never needed, that is especially true for this new HDR you see here. Key is proper exposure to the right, most people who need to merge exposures do so because the exposure was not accurate in camera.
@@gregbenzphotography thanks!!!
By the way, your phone is probably HDR (Lightroom Mobile supports many) and your TV likely is too (see my e-book for how to connect to a computer with HDR support: gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/)
Hey Greg, Thank you for these tutorials, you are the only one I could find that is covering HDR. Do you have a way to show HDR-photos on a (OLED) TV? At the moment the only way is to connect a laptop through HDMI and showing it in Lightroom or Bridge. Are there any other ways? Thank you!
That or Photos app on a mobile device connected over HDMI are the ways I know. Note that Bridge ain’t an option, LR (and not in slideshow mode) works for now. Might be other options, email me if you want to chat further- I’m doing some digging next week.
@@gregbenzphotography Ah I haven't even tested Bridge, I just assumed it would work since it is a adobe program. I will contact you!
They’ve done so much for HDR, but I don’t believe Bridge is there yet
Finally having an HDR monitor its like a whole new digital world has opened up in front of me. Sadly windows is pretty limited as far as HDR and wide color gamut support goes. Its going to be probably a long while before we can even view HDR still images in anything that isn't the web browser but I'm still hopeful. I wish more people cared about proper HDR like this though. I've always felt like I was trying to tell people about an idea that never existed whenever I mentioned HDR photography in different photography communities. They would either say that its useless, or they would assume that I'm talking about the "old HDR" and it would be redundant. So hopefully this will change now that we are starting to get HDR capable displays built into consumer devices like laptops.
We’ve got browsing and editing, so that’s a great start. Obviously more ,complete support will be great. What other software would you find helpful for HDR photography? Which monitor are you using with Windows now?
@@gregbenzphotography At the moment its the Innocn 27m2v. I originally added it to my amazon wish list about a year ago at the price of $1129 CAD. It looked like a pretty good deal considering its a vesa displayHDR 1000 certified monitor, 1152 local dimming zones, 4k resolution 160hz refreshrate and displays both p3 and adobe RGB perfectly. I heard the factory calibrations weren't the greatest but I was just happy it did it good enough. However about a year later, the price dropped twice and I even found an available coupon for it. Snagged it for $550 CAD with free shipping. (roughly $400 USD). It seems the factory calibrations have even improved too. The average delta E is below 1 for sRGB, Adobe RGB, and P3. I think the last time I saw a monitor that could display colors this well was during a field trip to the profusion expo event in toronto, a benQ representative was there showcasing a 4k 10 bit monitor with a huge many-four figures price tag. A monitor that maxed out at 250 nits and had no local dimming or HDR capabilities at that, requiring you to sit underneath a monitor hood in order to see anything in the partly sunlit room. But then here I am, viewing HDR content in all its glory with magnificent 1500-1600 nit peaks on an awesome budget monitor snag from amazon, with the monitor sitting right next to a sunlit window half the time. In terms of software though, I use a free open source software called HDR merge to merge large amounts of camera RAWS into a single image, and then I edit it in luminar AI. Unfortunately neither of these supports true HDR, not even the new version of luminar. But its the software that I've used for years, and didn't require breaking the bank as a student. Also if you are curious, the computer I use is a framework laptop 16. (7840HS, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SN770. RX 7700S). its my work, school, and personal computer for everything I do. Probably my most expensive piece of equipment but I've made great usage out of it already. My old computer was some 2 in 1 slab of plastic that acer used to make, it could hardly handle editing photos but I somehow managed to use it for over four years. Editing all of my photos on its glorious, 1080P, 6 bit screen with terrible sRGB color accuracy. Looking back I have no idea how I thought that was even acceptable, but at least it wasn't as bad as the terrible 768 and 720p LCD screens in my school's commtech classroom. Oh how things have changed since then.
Simply GENIUS
Thank you so much!
Can you do this upon import?
I don’t believe so. There is a menu option to help convert in a batch though.
Thank you Greg! I bought your plugin and course specifically to learn more about blending these types of images, architectural interiors and exteriors. I'd LOVE a few more updated tutorials on this, especially by an architectural photographer regularly using Lumenzia.
Thank you for the feedback. It’s not a subject I shoot often, if you e got source images with rights and are willing to let them be used in a CZcams tutorial, please email me.
@@gregbenzphotography Thank you, will do. I've found your playlists on the topic and will follow those first. :)
Sounds good
Its amazing to finally have a monitor that can reasonably display actual HDR content. Its like opening up a window into a whole new world.
Great review ... one feature I use for that narrow column of icons is to simply make the column slightly wider, so the name of the panel appears. (Some of the icons are not obviously suggestive of the tool.)
Yeah, I thought of showing that, and then forgot when recording. I don’t use it, but it would be helpful for learning - especially for those who put numerous icons there.
greg, great video with lots of good information. But when I did the configuration for Luzemina and got the color menu drop downs I can't figure out how to go back to normal. They drive me nuts.
Edit / Menus and set the dropdown to the PS defaults
@@gregbenzphotography Thanks in advance,
That doubble click/collapse trick was new to me, thank you. I do a lot of compositing, so I almost always need easy acces to most of the menus. It is nice that Photoshop offers the option to completely customize the menu / info system to many different needs.
With Photoshop being part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, do you know if you login to a different computer and install Photoshop on that computer, will your custom workspace settings be available on that computer? Would be nice if you didn't have to go through customizing the workspace on the other computer.
You can export and share menus, toolbars, and workspaces to load on another installation of PS
Awesome video Greg, do you think you could do a video on working between LR and PS? I find myself ending up with a bunch of versions of the same image or just a big mess of different file types like TIFFs, RAWS, PNG. I guess an overall workflow video where you go from LR Import, Opening in PS/maybe even using some other programs like Topaz Labs (if you have those) and then finally exporting from Web Sharp Pro. I find myself avoiding PS because its so much easier for me to just do basic edits in LR and then export them all at once without the fuss of having to open all 50 of my images in PS. Kind of rambling at this point but would love a video like that, thanks Greg!
Sure. What questions do you have on that workflow / integration?
@@gregbenzphotography well it’s mainly I’m just curious how you would go from Importing to LR and then finally exporting, I’m assuming you use your Web Sharp Pro plugin which I have. I guess I find myself with a bunch of JPEGs/Pngs in random folders that I use for uploading to social media but then I go into my LR catalog and I’ll find random Tiffs from various projects. I’d love to see how a pro keeps the flow all organized.
Sounds good. Yes, I primarily use WSP for exports.
Greg ...you have created a GREAT overview, filled with GREAT suggestions based on your needs as a photographer for Workplace set up ..thanks
Thank you
I still notice something similar to false banding even with these settings enabled. I have a 16-bit image that shows banding only in Photoshop, but it shows no banding in any other program I use. Saving in photoshop results in an image without banding when I open it with other programs. Only in photoshop, It shows banding.
Flatten the image or zoom to 100% to confirm the banding is not real. I don’t know if some configurations skip this 16-bit preview for the sake of speed (such as with an old GPU). I wouldn’t be surprised if it is subordinate to performance goals on older computers.
nothing about editability? dynamic range? exposure? is it similar to the original file?
All same as original
I don't understand why this tool is so stupid when a similar tool in phostohop works great.
Well thought out video. Very pleased with your ability to stay focused. I wish more youtubers learned this skill. Keep up the good work!
Thank you
so basically, HDR goes to 11.
This is such a game changer for me. I used to actually use the pen tool to get selections of the outdoor views . I always had a problem with curtains having a messed up colour tones .. but with this technqiue it takes care of all this and in just a second.. Cant thank you enough for this carzy revelation ... thank you !!!!!!!!
Glad that was so helpful!
I don't think of "old" and "new" HDR as different versions of the same thing. "Old" HDR was a trick to squeeze more dynamic range out of the limitations of cameras in the mid-to-late 2000s. I've found, more often than not, that one exposure out of my three bracketed exposures has all the dynamic range I need, and this with a Canon Digital Rebel back in about 2010, so it's increasingly useless to me, especially with newer cameras. Occasionally fun, but useless. "New" HDR is just using the capabilities of modern displays to unlock what our camera has always captured. I just wish the technology was more standardized.
So I've got a great HDR Display and I edit my image in HDR... now what? I certainly can't print it. And I can't share it, as most people I know have SDR Displays. I think HDR is phenomenal, love it for movies and gaming, but for me at least, it's still pretty far off before I'll be using it for editing my photos.
Share as a gain map and it will look great on any display. Printing is simple, but part of the learning curve. You do both (do not directly print the HDR), and it is very simple to do with the right workflow. gregbenzphotography.com/hdr#printing
@@gregbenzphotography Thanks you're site is an amazing resource! However, looks like I'm missing out using Firefox on my M1 MacBook Air... When I switch to my desktop with QD-OLED Monitor and Chrome, everything just pops! When will the rest catch up?
@b34k97 Thanks! Safari and FireFox are currently missing support for HDR photos (they support HDR video). I’m not aware of any public roadmaps for either. Chrome, Brave, Edge, and Opera have great support already.
I don't have LR, can this be done in Aurora HDR? Great video Greg!
That uses the old HDR. Options for creating with the new HDR displays I’m aware of include LR, Adobe Camera RAW, Photoshop, Affinity, and Pixelmator/Photomator.
More info at gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/
@@gregbenzphotography Thanks so much, Greg, I'll take a look.
I am all for the proliferation of HDR images, videos, and displays!! Let's stop using standards from 30 years ago!!!
how does a histogram relate to a monitor?
It doesn't generally, as it is a measure of the image data. However, the HDR histogram from Adobe shows the number of stops of headroom supported by the display - as well as clipping warnings based on the limits of the display. So that info is based on the monitor for the HDR histo in LR / ACR (the actual histogram plot is still just image data there).
I created one to test on Instagram, I can see it on my side, but a couple friends with iPhones see only the SRD copy, even though they see yours on your page just fine. any idea why?
Could be a failed upload (local caching can let you see HDR even if it fails). If you aren't uploading an iPhone capture from an iPhone or similar with Android, there are a lot of complications at the moment - initial support appears targeted at phone captures (which makes sense since they vastly outnumber any deliberate HDR editing on a computer, etc). This should get much easier in time. See gregbenzphotography.com/ for latest details, I'll keep it up to date. There also appears to be some split testing on IG that causes some HDR devices to show SDR. That isn't surprising for a new feature (to get feedback on how people use it, like it, etc). I'd expect that ends soon enough, but may go on for a bit. You can test for HDR support with this post I made: instagram.com/p/C76n00Fskd5/
What happend to the lights under the benches in the 'new' HDR?
I didn’t merge or blend exposures to pull in that light. In my source material, the lights turned off between shots. In the intro image, I finished it by blended it in so it wouldn’t be distracting.
@@gregbenzphotography thank you 🙏
It seems like this new HDR calls into question the age old aphorism that "raw files come out flat". That was true in the days where we needed to do all manner of tone map coaxing, but now just with clicking a button even raw files have plenty of lifelike punch.
Yeah, when you open it into a lower dynamic range space, it’s biased towards looking pretty flat. In many ways, the new HDR makes it easier to get things to a place that feels both true and engaging.
This photo is taken in Luxemburg 😉 Great tutorial... thank you!!
wow thats wild. All of a sudden all these photos I used to think looked great look so flat
It’s crazy how much of a difference it makes
Excellent video Greg! Also, Meliá is a great hotel to stay at when you're in Luxembourg :)
Is this revelant for printing?
You should not directly print the HDR photo, but you can easily manage both print and HDR display. See gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/#printing
@@gregbenzphotography Thank you!
1. Watched it on an old TV. That probably doesn’t even cover the SDR range. And I still could see the difference between those images in tonal range… if it would just be about compressing information into the smaller range, I shouldn’t have seen any difference. So what gives. 2. In the past before all that, I got the best results with 32 bit hdr s in photoshop processed in ACR. Sometimes 2 or 3 times. One processed for highlights, one for shadows etc. and then blending them in PS. (Nowadays, with the added masking capabilities in ACR maybe even one processing would be sufficient. 3. Maybe I am getting old… but until I see an HDR Monitor at my parents and on every desktop in the office… I think it’s interesting but not the time for it, yet…
HDR video (which I'm using) gets tone mapped to the SDR range (which you are watching). So you are seeing a dark and low contrast version of the video which lacks any "wow" factor, but the relative tones are ok and it communicates the issue. Try watching it with an M1 or later MacBook Pro and you'll see something much more interesting. Most iPhones and Android sold in the past 4 years will support an HDR view of this video in the CZcams mobile app (not necessarily in a web browser on the same phone though). HDR isn't just computer monitors... the majority of phones and TVs already have the hardware. So platforms like Instagram (where there are far more people seeing your work on mobile phone than computers) are already well suited to offer benefit to a lot of people. And most Apple laptops have support. It's far more common than you'd expect, largely because we are only now getting the software to support (and there are some key gaps yet to close, but we're seeing rapid progress on that).
Thanks Greg, any recommendations for a true hdr monitor in 4K?
Yes, I have details on how to shop and recommendations on some specific options at gregbenzphotography.com/review-best-hdr-monitor-for-photography/
@@gregbenzphotography thanks mate
Do you usually margin into HDR in Lightroom or Photomatix Pro, what is your preference?
I rarely merge anything - regardless of the old or new HDR, or what software I use. A single, properly exposed RAW (with noise reduction as needed) is more than enough for all these techniques. When I do merge, I use LR for the new HDR (since I process there) and would tend to use Photomatix if using the older HDR (but I almost never use that anymore now that I can edit for true HDR display).
What being shown is past and present. In the past editing resulted in cartoon like images but we had no choice back then. The only thing available was Photomatix pro, for like me with a Canon T2i was to use Canon editing SW. Reason PS/Lr both cost $800+ as well each full update only the companies with deep pockets could afford. I saved all my images from 2005 and on and have gone back and reedited and results are like a expensive camera. One other thing Photomatix pro was good for is combining a number of images getting like a moon (which moves) and foreground both bright and in focus, today the camera setting is 5 at +/- 3ev where ISO/SS = 125 and f/# is F/8 to 11 for sharpness of the moon a center start of .5 . The problem is ghosting and Photomatix pro lets you play with ghosting. Also available make then was Nik Collection Free Efex HDR that also the same way. The norm for DSLR cameras with mirrors was 3 at +/- 2 EV but a device called Promote Control (still have) let you do as many at any +/- number keeping the mirror up the whole time. Today we just take a stock image and clone it over the bright blown out moon just like was done in the Dark Room during film days.
certainly people will continue to merge exposures (though in my experience it is unnecessarily the vast majority of the time, something including the moon would be a good example as you're mixing subjects both with direct sunlight and almost no light). Tone mapping will remain relevant as you won't always want to use the full encoding range. But it won't look like Photomatix, it'll be much more like what's already built into LR for RAW processing. I imagine we may see other creative tools in time, but they will probably be presented more like filters than as tone mapping software. But we already have great mechanisms with "gain maps" to manage the entire PQ range (10,000 nits), so deliberate reduction of tonal range is optional. We'll probably use AVIF gain maps rather than JPG gain maps to do that, but we should have that long before 10,000 nit displays are common (though models have been shown publicly and Sony's flagship TV is already ~4000 nits). My point here mostly being that it will be an artistic choice - you won't always want to use the full HDR range, even if the original data might naturally be that bright. And the workflow won't look anything like the old HDR approaches, probably more like just standard RAW processing.
New HDR feels like the first time that camera and display technologies are finally growing beyond their deep roots in film photography. We are embracing a format for display (and capture and edit) that film and paper cannot achieve due to hard, physical limits. The ultimate limiting factor will always be biology, our eyes. Nevertheless, new HDR brings us closer to that insurmountable limit. It might be a marginal gain, but pushing the margins even a little bit provides the space for new things.
It’s a huge gain, often up to 12 stops of dynamic range (vs 8 for SDR). We’ll probably see that grow in the coming years, some new TVs are already at 4000 nots or higher, which would support 5-6 stops of headroom (ie 14 stops of dynamic range, vastly beyond SDR and similar to the dynamic range of human vision when we don’t have time to adapt).
@@gregbenzphotography There's still a tension in the audience, though, isn't there? What is the trend towards film photography or film emulation if not a nostalgia for SDR? If I recall correctly, the SDR standard was initially conceived as a way of capturing the range and limits of print. Describing film photography as nostalgia for SDR is a bit facile, elevating a side effect to the main cause. As this new ground opens up, the parameters of editing need to adjust. In an SDR image, you can reduce the white point on a luminance curve and smooth it out to replicate an old film log curve you find in a 1970's Kodak reference manual. But what RGB values are you affecting to get that "smooth rolloff"? 210-255? In an HDR curve, what are those values? More importantly, we end up back at biology. 210-255 in the SDR scale really just map to Zones VIII-X, right? Whether we use SDR's numbers or whatever numbers we settle on for HDR, we're still probably going to ground those new numbers and technical standards in the Zone System's qualitative terms.
@@davidturner5 It's hard to say what the reaction will be, as so few people have ever seen it. My personal experience (having introduced a large number of people to it on a good display) has been overwhelming excitement. My expectation is that most people will love it - when edited properly for the right image. You can certainly make bad images with any editing tool, and HDR isn't going to improve all images. Some are inherently lower contrast (such as corporate head shots, a lot of foggy forest scenes, etc). Some people will certainly continue to prefer the older SDR - either because they work with subjects / lighting. where there is less dynamic range, or because they prefer the older look. There are plenty of people who prefer black & white exclusively, and I'm sure we'll have some people who just never want to use HDR. That's fine, it's all a matter of personal preference and suitability for the image. I see it as a technology that will benefit a large percentage of images in the eyes of a large percentage of viewers. So I'm just trying to do my best to help others become aware of it to learn more.
@@davidturner5 for your question on zones, HDR is mapped to new values. If you used the same numbering system, HDR would be values greater than 255 (up to 4095 would be equivalent for a system supporting 4 stops, which is the current capability of Apple MacBook Pros). But we use different numbering for HDR. In LR and ACR, the values are shown as the number of f-stops over SDR, so it would be up to +4 stops. In Photoshop, HDR is shown in 32-bit linear values. There, the SDR range is 0.0 - 1.0, and HDR is above that. It would reach 16.0 for +4 stops. Note that 32-bit can go to over 4 billion and translating that to nits (assuming the 203 nit standard for photography) means roughly 870 billion nits. For reference, the sun is only 1.6 billion nits. So one of the odd things about HDR is that we no longer have any limit in the data (you can even use negative values). The displays have a limit of course, but they can already often show values brighter than would be artistically ideal. So rather than boosting contrast to the limits (as we often do now for standard images), we have to be more clear on how far to push HDR.
@@gregbenzphotography Agreed on all of the above. New HDR is a tool like any other; nails don't need screwdrivers. It seems like it will drive an irrevocable split in how photographs are processed. No print medium can adequately display a new HDR image and, as you video mentions, conversions for the print medium lose in translation. Photographers who embrace new HDR as part of their style sort of commit to never printing their images. (Not at best quality, anyway.) That's what I was trying to get at above. It feels like a real fork in the road.
Hi Gregg, Thanks for the 'Fog lifting' ! In the end of the video you say 'click on the next video' .Is that the 'Lightroom now supports ' from 9 months ago or the one ' HDR (greater dynamic range) update 6 days ago ? Thanks.
I have an HDR playlist to see all the videos on my channel. This is also a great place to learn more: gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/
What happens when an image processed for HDR monitors is displayed on a standard monitor? My guess is it will be awhile before HDR monitors become very common outside the photography community.
If you use a gain map, they’ll get a great SDR (standard dynamic range) image, even if the browser doesn’t understand gain maps either. In other words, it safely falls back to a regular image if the enhanced HDR is not supported. gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-photos/jpg-hdr-gain-maps-in-adobe-camera-raw/ These displays are already far more common than most people know. They are the majority of viewers on Instagram already (mobile first), most TVs, and nearly all Apple displays since 2018 support it to some degree, with the M1 and later MacBook Pro being absolutely stunning. The gap is shrinking, but it will certainly be a while to get to 100% support - so gain maps are a critical technology that makes it safe to share these images now, without waiting for universal support.
Yes, the distribution of HDR displays is interesting. Because outside the photography community, HDR is actually becoming dominant faster than it is inside the photography community. In addition to most iPhones and many Android phones supporting HDR luminance, we have reached the point where if you buy a new TV it is going to support HDR unless you go out of your way to avoid that. Today the Best Buy website lists 961 TVs; if I click the HDR box it lists 896…so HDR TVs are 93% of the new TVs they sell. Many probably do not reach an ideal luminance for HDR editing, since there are a range of HDR standards. But the point is, they are ready for at least some degree of HDR viewing. So HDR is already becoming entrenched for the most common displays (phones and TVs) that most regular people use daily, which means, oddly, it is the pro photo users who are lagging behind, for two reasons. First, end-to-end full HDR hardware and software workflows have become established and routine in pro video, while pro photographers are just now learning about it. Also, if a photographer wants an HDR computer display they still have to intentionally go look for it because most computer displays still don’t support HDR. With the exception of 14/16” MacBook Pro users as Greg said, since all of those fully meet the Adobe HDR standard of 1000 nits sustained HDR luminance.
@@gregbenzphotography Thanks for the video and information. To continue this question, now when you show this video on youtube. Did you rendered a video which is HDR capable? and then when uploaded to youtube, is the HDR information being streamed through youtube? Thank you
@@kaori-3882 this video is a true HDR video. It will display as HDR on a supporting display (the CZcams gear icon at bottom right will say "HDR" in red when supported). When not supported, the video will be automatically tone mapped by CZcams down to the SDR range. It will look dark and is not nearly as optimized as what we can do for HDR photos (using gain maps), but for teaching purposes still helps get the point across. Of course, the HDR "wow" factor will be totally lacking on an SDR display for this video.
@@gregbenzphotography Thank you
Great explanation video. Many thanks. May I ask a very basic question: how would handle printing an image that has been processed using the new HDR?
You shouldn’t print it directly, but it’s easy to manage both: gregbenzphotography.com/hdr#printing
@@gregbenzphotography Great. Many thanks for the feedback
Great explanation
Thank you so much Greg! This has been wildly helpful, I really appreciate how concisely your shared this.
This has to be a simple fix but am having a hard time finding the solution My actions continue to fail every time because when recording the steps, it records specific to a image (name + extension) IE: Name.CR3, how do I prevent that from happening? Thanks in advance
Lumenzia does not record anything image specific. It remembers which button you clicked and some panel specific info (such as slider values, feathering, etc). You must be recording steps using something other than Lumenzia to see a file name, I’m not sure what that would be. If you have file-specific steps for saving, Photoshop has a batch option which lets you adapt your action better. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss in greater depth.