D3300 and Producing HDR Photos

TedG954

Senior Member
For those of you that worried about my ability to produce HDR with the D3300 (w/o bracketing)........ you can quit worrying. But, thanks for your concerns. ;)

Like a Cremesicle.jpg

Wooden Wheel.jpg

Red Truck.jpg
 

Rick M

Senior Member
Lol, I can finally sleep tonight! :). Seriously, spectacular shots Ted!! Love the colors! #2 is my favorite, sharp with perfect OOF elements.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
These are all wonderful, Ted, but I REALLY like the 3rd because of how you captured the reflection in its hub cap. ;) Did you manually bracket while using a tripod?
 

TedG954

Senior Member
Thank you. They're all single-frames processed at +/-2 in Photomatix.

PS.... the hub cap reflection was a bonus I realized during processing.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
There is also a neat trick to taking handheld bracketed shots on the 3300. I used to use this method on my 3100 in good light.
 

aroy

Senior Member
Would you please share how to do this? I just got my D3300 on a costco special, but may exchange it for something that has AEB.

You can get HDR out of the camera.
. Select Effect with the top dial
. Now use the thumb wheel to select HDR.

The only problem is that you get jpg only, no RAW

If you want to bracket then
. Shoot the scene in aperture priority
. Press the +/- button on the top and rotate the thumb wheel to increase or decrease the exposure (each click is 1/3EV)
. Shoot the scene with different exposure compensations, normally a -5, -2, 0, 2 and 5 will be sufficient for most software to do its job.
 
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mikeD3000

Senior Member
I have a d3000 and it hasn't the ability to do bracketing so i just do multi shots at different exposures then combine them from lightroom into photoshop raw editor
 

aroy

Senior Member
I have a d3000 and it hasn't the ability to do bracketing so i just do multi shots at different exposures then combine them from lightroom into photoshop raw editor

You do not have facility for automatic bracketing (neither do I with D3300), but you can always do manual bracketing as described in one post above yours.
 

AlanShore

New member
The fact of the matter is HDR is not that easy on D3300 as it is being made out to be if you want professional level results in your pictures. But if you do it right there is no other camera like D3300 for HDR shoots. I use HDR for a few real estate interior shots and there are lots of settings that you have to change to make it good.

First, use a unshakeable tripod. There is no point in getting some cheap tripod for HDR. The auto align on Lightroom is not good enough. And manual alignment can change other parameters.

Second, make ISO manual at 200 to get noise-free images on D3300.

Third, though most people would say take the pictures on aperture priority it is best to make all the adjustments on manual mode. In real estate the contrast between highlights and shadows can be so stark that you might have to take 10 shots to get a good HDR. You may even use flash of various kinds to make the outcome good. D3300 will help you in getting exact focus even when in manual mode.

Fourth, switch off the D-Lighting facility on D3300 as it can manipulate the image automatically.

Fifth, make the focus and metering centre point so that you can gauge the exposure correctly.

Sixth, always shoot HDR pictures between f/8 and f/11 which will ensure your depth of field is large and everything is in focus beyond 4 meters till infinity. But beyond f/11 the pictures on D3300 can be a little substandard. But the real world is not that simple. You would have to take a few HDR shots at larger aperture just to get the entire dynamic range. Or even use speed lights.

Seventh, use a ND filter if you are shooting in very bright conditions so that you don't have to go beyond f/11. The only issue is that HDR pics are quite unpredictable and so it is best to download at site and check if the exposures have come good. Even without the ND filter the adjustments on the camera to get the right exposure can be nerve racking. I guess, there are still a few more small things that matter during HDR shoots which you will have to take care of.

Eighth, and most importantly, never go for a HDR shoot with a slow lens. For real estate it is imperative that you have lens of F/2.8 or faster. Most reviewers on internet who talk about lenses conveniently forget to tell you that a f/3.5 or f/4.5 lens should be thrown out of the window because at such small aperture you will end up taking every shot in HDR. That would mean that what other professional photographers would take a day to complete you would be struggling to get the project done in three or four days.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard Alan. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

You do realize that you are posting to a thread from 2015 and that aroy has not posted for sometime.
 
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