Saturday, December 17, 2011

Practical HDR Using Gimp

This tutorial will help you learn how to use gimp to make HDR images in a practical way.  

What You'll Need:
A RAW-Shooting Camera. Check out my list of Affordable RAW-Shooting Cameras. 
  UFRaw gimp addon  

More Information:
Related lesson - Layer Masks Using Gimp
The Benefits of Shooting in Raw  

Original Image:
Final Image:
Gimp Video Tutorial:
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8 comments:

  1. RickDecember 17, 2011 at 11:41 PM

    Good stuff, Alex, thanks for posting this. I had just responded to your email when I saw this. I've used GIMP in a very similar fashion to this, but sometimes the area I need selected is far more intricate than I can do with a simple free select and brush. I'd like to be able to select some areas by a specific brightness level, then apply the mask to that selected area. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks again for this great tutorial and for the work you're doing here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex's gimp tutorialsDecember 18, 2011 at 5:29 AM

    Thanks Rick,
    This is a basic overview of this process - but what you're trying to do consists of more advanced layer masks. Simply put, it's the same process, but a more complicated layer mask.

    If you are wanting to make a layer mask based on how bright or dark parts of your image is, all you have to do is initialize the layer mask to "grayscale copy of layer" and then make some exposure adjustments until you're happy with the result. Often times you'll have to further adjust the layer mask manually to really get what you're looking for.

    Hope that makes sense. Thanks for droppIng by and leaving a comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 18, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    Good tutorial! I appreciate the link to the list of affordable raw cameras. You don't strictly need RAW output if your camera can do automatic exposure bracketing, right?

    I think when demonstrating working with layers, it helps to occasionally turn off the background layer momentarily to remind the viewer that you're working on a layer, and how exactly the mask works. (Maybe next time.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alex's gimp tutorialsDecember 18, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    You're right - a camera that will automatically take a photo and give you multiple brackets of that photo could produce a similar result. The only disadvantage of this is the lack of simplistic control you get when editing a raw image.

    Thanks for the suggestion! I'll keep that in mind.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JackyJune 1, 2016 at 11:42 PM

    The video tutorial is professional .

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnneJune 1, 2016 at 11:45 PM

    Practical HDR using gimp Video is more important to me .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mindful GamerAugust 30, 2017 at 12:41 PM

    Background removal tool is one the most useful photographer tools. I personally spent months to find the one that would fit me most. I have found this background remover at the web site for myself, my be you could check it out too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Robert SmithMay 25, 2018 at 9:03 PM

    Fantastic tutorial again. I am really so benefited. Thanks. And keep posting more tutorial in future. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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