The real problem with doing HDR’s well is the fact that just a few years ago, their were only a few decent programs available, and those were hard to use without getting these unwanted “trippy” looking results or bad image artifacts as a result of the HDR processing and “tonemapping”. Fast forward to 2010 and 2011 when HDR started to get mainstream attention from software companies with new apps like Nik HDR EFEX Pro, Oloneo PhotoEngine and HDRengine and even Adobe added HDR functionality within Photoshop. Not to mention dozens of other, smaller software companies making HDR apps such as my friends at Ohnaware HDRtist among some of the older, established apps like Photomatix Pro from HDRsoft. All of which I have used, most I own and all I highly recommend for different reasons.

I just want to make a single “raw” file with more dynamic range than any one exposure could otherwise do in-camera.

With that said, any HDR program has either limited controls to simplify the process for “new” to “average” photographers to doing HDR images. While the other half have advanced controls, but may be difficult to learn or understand. I’ve been using Photomatix Pro for as long as I can remember and I still don’t understand what every slider and control does to the final image. (Though they’ve come a long way in making it easier to use in recent versions.) But in reality, what I’ve wanted for as long as I’ve used any HDR processing program is the ability to “process” the image just like I would process any camera RAW file format in Lightroom, Aperture or Adobe Camera RAW. After all, I just want to make a single “raw” file with more dynamic range than any one exposure could otherwise do in-camera.

LR4.1 32bit HDR Before & After Processing

Enter Lightroom 4, or more specifically, version 4.1 which is currently (at the time of this article) only available from Adobe Labs website as a “release candidate” as Lightroom 4.1 rc2. This is a fully functional Lightroom (though I believe does still require a valid software license to install and use it) but has several new features added that were not initially included at release. One feature is new advanced color “defringing” controls which I feel is a vast improvement over the old sliders. The other feature is the ability for Lightroom to process 32bit image files. While it may work with 32bit PSD or other HDR specialty formats, I’ve created my base 32bit files in TIFF format from within Photoshop CS5 (using the process shown in the video) and find that it works perfectly good this way.

As much as I enjoy using the array of HDR applications for various “look and feel” that each gives me, I’ve found that I can do everything I could have ever wanted with my 32bit TIFF image from within Lightroom. I can essentially process it just like any other camera RAW file, but with far more dynamic range and even improved detail over any single exposure. On top of that, I don’t get the unwanted halo’s, increased noise (in some cases I had reduced noise) or other odd and unwanted image artifacts that most if not all of the other HDR programs can have. And because I am very adept in Lightroom, I find it completely fits in with the remainder of my image processing workflow without jumping from program to program any more than necessary. In fact, I only needed Lightroom 4.1 and Photoshop CS5 to do any of the work. (I’ve found that versions of Photoshop as early as CS2 have the Merge to HDR function, although earlier versions may not work as well as CS4+ for this purpose.)

In any case, I’ve created a detailed video on how to do this yourself using only Lightroom 4.1 and Photoshop to create the necessary 32bit TIFF files and how to process them in Lightroom and export them back into Photoshop for any further edits you may like to do.

As usual, all of my videos are in HD so for the best quality I recommend watching them full-screen in 720p.

Needless to say, that is what this video tutorial is about. Although it’s not my very best work, I felt it was a worthy image and I was working on it already since I captured this image just the night before.

On to the video!

As I mentioned before, I LOVE to do HDR captures and find that I can really push the limits of “reality”, sometimes I prefer to push the limits of a single exposure to get the most realistic image possible without any chance of getting a “fake” look out of it. (Even with the best HDR software and techniques, sometimes it’s difficult to make a realistic end result.)

As always, for the best quality watch in full-screen 720p HD mode.

On the same subject, look for my upcoming full-length DVD video tutorial showing how to do your own HDR blends based on my award winning recipe for amazing HDR images. I will post more information about that as soon as I am ready to share more.

Press release after the jump:

Oloneo PhotoEngine HDR Tone Mapping Preview

Paris, France – April 20, 2011 – Oloneo today announced PhotoEngine v1.0, the only High Dynamic Range (HDR) and RAW processing software offering photographers full control over light and exposure in real-time. PhotoEngine v1.0 for Windows is scheduled to ship on May 31st 2011 at US$149 / €125. Beta users who register with Oloneo before May 31st will benefit from a 25% discount to acquire PhotoEngine v1.0 at US$110 / €93.

Countless photographers have been enthusiastically participating in the public beta testing of PhotoEngine over the last 9 months. Their numerous feedbacks and suggestions have been key in making PhotoEngine a growing reference among professional photographers and amateurs.

“We have devoted our entire time discussing and implementing the requests received from the beta testers, thus ensuring that PhotoEngine perfectly suits their needs in terms of features, usability and speed,” said Antoine Clappier, President of Oloneo and main developer of PhotoEngine. “The number and quality of the images created by the beta users is a testimony to the potential of PhotoEngine.”

By offering an almost unlimited control over exposure and lighting in real-time, PhotoEngine provides photographers with a completely new way of handling, processing and improving digital photos.

“PhotoEngine has radically boosted my workflow and increased my level of creativity and excellence,” said David Giral, a professional photographer and longtime HDR specialist. “PhotoEngine is clearly miles ahead of the competition and manages to create stunning images efficiently.”

Oloneo PhotoEngine v1.0: Main Features

HDR ToneMap(TM): high dynamic re-exposure in real-time
A full real-time, high dynamic range (HDR) re-exposure module to merge and edit single or multiple RAWs, JPEGs or TIFFs. Capable of creating a wide range of styles, from realistic to artistic, HDR ToneMap includes four tone mapping engines, Natural HDR processing mode, auto-exposure correction with fine-tuning, auto-contrast, detail size and threshold controls, halo control, edge sharpening, ghost removal tools, auto-align, auto-orientation, batch processing with interactive mode, over 40 interactive factory presets and user-defined presets, and more. Users also have the possibility to modify exposure the traditional way by turning off tone mapping while still benefiting from a 32-bit, ultra-wide gamut and full resolution environment.

HDR ReLight(TM): take pictures then set-up lighting
An image-based relighting tool using merged RAWs, JPEGs or TIFFs to control in real-time the settings of individual light sources after the photos are taken. For each light source, parameters include white balance, brightness, temperature, tint and color. Other features are the auto-detection of ambient light and each light source’s color temperature.

HDR DeNoise(TM): remove noise and keep details
A powerful image noise and grain reduction tool using stacked RAWs, JPEGs or TIFFs, with the added benefits of full detail preservation, no smoothing and no artifacts, even with low-contrast and low-light photos.
Complete, high-end RAW photo processing
Oloneo PhotoEngine also features a complete RAW and image processing module including a customizable Color Curve Equalizer(TM) with hue/saturation, hue/luminance and hue/hue curves, a brightness curve, a unique color saturation curve, a color toning tool, an advanced white balance control and more. PhotoEngine handles most RAW photo formats, with thumbnail and preservation of key EXIF metadata, fully supports color management and uses the ICC profiles generated by most colorimeters on the market today.

Availability
The English/International version of Oloneo PhotoEngine v1.0 for Windows platforms is scheduled to ship on Tuesday, May 31st 2011 for electronic delivery directly from Oloneo at www.oloneo.com.

Pricing: a Special 25% Discount for Beta Users
Oloneo PhotoEngine v1.0 will be priced at US$149 / €125.
In appreciation of their active participation during the beta testing, Oloneo will be offering a special, time-limited discount of 25% to the PhotoEngine beta users who register with Oloneo before May 31st:

US$110 (reduced from US$149)
€93 (reduced from €125)

To register with Oloneo and qualify for this offer, users need to sign up to the Oloneo Newsletter at www.oloneo.com before May 31st 2011. Special beta user offer valid from May 31st to June 30th, 2011.

System Requirements
Windows:
OS: 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows XP with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista or Windows 7
Hard disk: 200MB of available space
CPU: 1.6 GHz Intel or AMD with SSE2, dual-core recommended
RAM: 1.5GB
Screen: 1280 x 720

Mac OS:
A Mac OS version of PhotoEngine is not available at this time. The product runs with good performance on a dual-core Mac with Parallels Desktop 5.

So, lets get those votes in for my entry please!! I’m begging all my friends, go vote now!

Anyway, click the link below to see and vote for my image by clicking “MY FAVORITE PHOTO” link on the Facebook page.

This link http://apps.facebook.com/fromedge/showentry?entryurl=%2Fcontests%2Fshowentry%2F747503 should take you right to my entry which looks like this (without the borders):

Fire In The Sky

Oloneo PhotoEngine HDR Tone Mapping Preview

I would like to think that I have a large amount of experience with HDR imaging having worked with it since about 2002. Since then, I have had a number of HDR images win awards from professional photography competitions and many positive comments from professional photographers around the country. Having done many of those images “the old way”, most had 40-80 hours of work into the finished product, now that has all changed with the Oloneo PhotoEngine software. (Currently in Beta testing for Windows only.)

The Oloneo PhotoEngine software is not a new concept as Photomatix Pro and a number of other HDR processing programs have been available for at least 5 years now. However, what sets PhotoEngine apart from others is the speed, control and overall processing quality of images created by this software. To get realistic results from most HDR software, you must learn advanced controls and even then you may still have “halos” and “contrast speckling” that are difficult to fix. With the Oloneo PhotoEngine, I’ve found that I can get very realistic results with none of the usual drawbacks without learning difficult controls AND still have very good control over the image before exporting it as a low dynamic range file to be further edited.

The software itself has both controls for Tone Mapping and something called “Re-Light” which is completely unique to the PhotoEngine software. The Re-Light option allows a user to take images with a constant exposure (must have same ISO, aperture and shutter speed to use Re-Light) and then “remix” the lighting within the software. To do this, you would take exposures with different lights on and off and then the whole scene lit and unlit. This gives you the ability to light and blend lighting in post-processing with nearly as much control as you could doing it at the time of capture. However, I don’t have an example to demonstrate this process for this review and tutorial.

The Tone Mapping controls are what I would like to focus on with this review and tutorial. First, to start a new HDR project, you simply load a series of bracketed images into the Browser window. From those, you select the images you want to add to the project, then click “Add” to use those images. They are then listed in the project window with the embedded image data displayed for comparison. Once the information is correct, the software allows you to start the Tone Mapping which is where the magic happens.

When you click the “Create HDR ToneMap Project” button, this will process the images into the high dynamic range image for user editing and processing. This can take a few seconds to several minutes depending on the number of captures, file sizes and of course the speed of your computer. However, I found the software to be fairly fast to process the images. Once processed, the Tone Mapping controls show up and the base image is displayed in the main window. This window has a number of controls depending on which tone mapping mode you have it set to. These controls can include Tone Mapping Strength, Detail Strength, Exposure and Color Temperature. In addition to the typical tone mapping controls, the PhotoEngine software also includes a number of controls for more fine-tuning of the image including Curves for both Brightness and Saturation plus H/S/L sliders to fine-tune individual color ranges. This is something I really feel makes this software stand out from most other options.

Overall, the controls allow for a wide range of adjustment and tone mapping allows for image processing from very realistic through very hyper-realistic and “HDR-like”. Watch the video for more examples of each control and the overall speed of the software. Although their are several controls I would like to see but are not included in the Beta currently. I think a lack of output sharpening, noise reduction controls and controls to do fine rotation would be a nice addition. (But all could easily be done after outputting the image to a tone mapped TIFF or JPEG.)

Although the software is currently in Beta testing, it is fully operational until the end of testing. It is also currently only available for Windows users. They are apparently planning a Mac version in the future, in the meantime it does run well within a virtual PC using Parallels or VMWare Fusion. Oloneo has not announced a release date or pricing as of yet. Check out the Oloneo website here and download the Beta here: http://www.oloneo.com/

As usual, here is the HD video review and tutorial. For the best quality, view in 720p full screen.