Chapter 1 is an in-depth explanation of the ideas
and concepts behind HDRI.
This chapter is the
foundation, on which everything else is built up on. To
understand the full range of opportunities, we must
question some very basic concepts of digital and analog
photography. You will be amazed to find out how little
progress digital imagery has made until now, and how a
simple twist on the basic premise of digital - on the
bits and bytes - can suddenly push it beyond the
boundaries of what has been ever thought to be possible
in analog.
Chapter 2 presents all the tools needed for a high
dynamic workflow.
Conventional image formats have
proven to be insufficient, and conventional software is
still quite limited when dealing with HDR images. I
will introduce and compare new image formats and
programs, rate them and give advice on how to integrate
them into your own workflow. This chapter is also most
useful as quick reference, that will come in handy on a
million occasions.
Chapter 3 is all about capturing HDR
images.
You get to know both: the scientific way
and the easy way. I will walk you through different
methods, and compare the results, so you can choose the
method that suits your own situation best. Also, we
take a peek into some research labs and learn about the
future of taking HDR images. It‘s only a question of
time that High Dynamic Range will be the standard and
not the exception. So let’s look ahead to be prepared
for tomorrow’s standard.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to Tonemapping.
You get
introduced you to automatic algorithms as well as
creative methods to reduce the tonal range of an HDRI
while preserving all the details. This chapter is
especially designed for all you photographers, because
here is where you learn to create superior prints from
HDR images. There is no right or wrong here, there is
only creative potential to be explored. To inspire you
in finding your own ways, Uwe Steinmüller and Dieter
Bethke will showcase their personal workflow in
practical tutorials.
Chapter 5 reveals new opportunities for image
editing and compositing.
You will see a wide
variety of workshops, that can easily be recreated with
the material on the supplied DVD-ROM. We then compare
the results to those of traditional methods. Learn how
the pros used to work with HDRI to create more lifelike
composites for film and television. There is an great
wealth of established techniques, that can easily be
applied to still image editing as well.
Chapter 6 is dedicated to panoramic HDR
photography.
This chapter is a cornerstone of this
book, because this is where the worlds of photography
and computer graphics come together. And indeed, it is
written by Bloch and Vogl to equal shares. Together, we
show you all 4½ ways of shooting panoramic HDRIs; we
compare them all and rate them based on the workload
necessary, expense of equipment, and quality of the
results. Chapter 6 is full of practical tips and
tricks, that will be an invaluable help in the field.
Chapter 7 finally demonstrates how HDRIs can be
used in 3D rendering.
I will break down the
technical background for you, so you understand how
rendering algorithms work, and how you can make it work
better for you. Step by step you will find out what the
ideal lighting setup looks like. Then we take it a step
further, and present a brand new lighting toolkit that
automates the most common HDRI setup. On top of that,
we show some unconventional applications that will
encourage creative uses of HDRI.
All of the methods described in this book are
based on publicly available software, that you can just
buy in a store, or sometimes even find as freeware.
They run on standard platforms such as Windows or Mac
OS-X, preferably both. It is very important to me that
you have a chance to follow each workshop step-by-step.
That is why proprietary in-house software or
commandline programs are not covered here, even if they
have proven successful in production for some
privileged postproduction companies. The main goal is
to make HDR working methods accessible to everyone, so
friendly software with a graphical user interfaces is
always preferred over scripting methods here.
