Why all the hate? 98% of the automotive HDRs look like cartoons first off. They look 100% fake and obviously HDR. While I will admit some of my attempts turned out to be similar they are not my favorites. The broken window in the room is my favorite and it doesn't scream HDR and is pretty desaturated.Originally Posted by swollix
Most of the time a car is shot in a parking lot at dusk. Or at dawn. Well they should be for some sweet lighting... In those situations the photo can EASILY be exposed in one single shot. So then in my opinion it should be done in one shot and many times will look better. If your shooting a car that is your focus. If you can expose a car in one shot but maybe the shadows lack a little detail in the background it is not as important.
Just some examples. Not choosing Matt's shots because they are bad or wrong. I actually like his open window shot as much as mine. But you can see that by creating an HDR/multi exposure you can grab some highlights from the shadows and tone down the highlights.
1st Photo Comparo:
You realize that over time there is mold on the windows. It looks like from age they have been hazed over and maybe they were tinted. Some of that detail is lost in the single exposure due to the harsher lighting outside the building.
Up in the roof area some detail is lost in the shadows. Not a lot but some detail is lost.
2nd Photo Comparo:
In this shot I knew that a single proper exposure was going to blow out top of the photo due to the window at the top of the stairs. Using the HDR/Multi Exposure you can see in my photo that there was a window at the top but you don't lose the wood panel details in the highlights.
In the shafows you lose the full details of the stairs themselves. You can barely tell that the 3rd step is actually damaged.
The real humor is the end result. I like Matt's photo better than mine on the stairs shot.
Sorry I am using your shot Alex. It just makes a point. In this shot do we need/want the details through the window of the outside of another builidng? All the nooks and crannies of the shadows have details and just beg for attention. We should be focused directly on the car. BAM there is a white M3 right here! Look at me.
Normally when I see a cartoony HDR it could have been done in 1 shot properly. Your car is multiple shades of grey and then some white throw in there.
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