Creating HDR Images using a normal (phone) camera

By
I was getting a bit annoyed trying to explain a few people (you know who you are) that the iPhone camera is not different from their phone cameras (also having a 5MP sensor) and that with just a bit of hard-work they can also get HDR pictures. All u need is an app that does that for you ...

Ok fine for all the people who do not want to install an app on their phone or want to create HDR using a normal "Digi-cam" there is another way. You can use Photoshop (or GIMP for you Open Source freaks) and make yourself a an HDR image.

The process is fairly simple but this post is just for the above mentioned people and for all the others who are oblivious to the fact that this can actually be done. So is what u need : 
            1) A camera that has adjustable exposure settings  
            2) Photoshop or GIMP (why did they have to name it that?)
            3) A tripod or a stand of some sort that you can put the camera on. (Not really necessary if you have very steady hands)

Now put the camera on the stand and click a bunch of pics of the scene from the same location but with each pic  vary the exposure. The first pic you take should have the least exposure. The next one should have a higher exposure and just keep on increasing till u reach the max exposure.The basic idea is for you to have the same image at different exposure levels.You need at-least 3 images with different exposures(low,normal,high) for this to work but the more you have the better the final output.


Here are the images i took using the camera on Samsung Wave S8500


 Exposure -2.0


 Exposure -1.5


 Exposure -1.0


 Exposure -0.5 


 Exposure 0.0


  Exposure 0.5


 Exposure 1.0 


 
 Exposure -1.5


  Exposure 2.0


For creating the final HDR output just do the following steps(Photoshop only):

File>Automate>Merge to HDR....

Now select all the files u need to be merged and click OK.... After that just adjust the image using the slider to your needs and done.... Save file as .hdr (32bit bpc).

An interesting thing to note here is that if your pics are a bit misaligned then Photoshop will correct it for you but it will take a longer time to calculate the result.

Here is my final output. I could not upload a .hdr file to picasa or flicker so i just took a screen shot of it and made it a .png file

If you are wondering that that looks exactly the same as some of the pics above then you are right and i shall explain why in another upcoming post because this needs a detailed explanation.

Also here is my tripod (well sort off). It is a piece of thermocol with a slit in it to keep my phone in.




If u need the find out what exactly is HDR go to Wikipedia or wait for me to write an article on it (I shall do it soon in another week or so).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hobbiton Style Circular Door

By
Image
Over the last year I have been working on the renovation/remodeling of my hotel in Nainital. Now we had a 1600 sq ft. area that was to be converted into a small restaurant for the hotel guests. Being a huge fan of LOTR I decided I wanted the entrance to the restaurant to look like a the door to Bilbo's house obviously with our own twist. Here are some pics of the build. The door is a two panel design completely circular and 7 feet tall. Its 1.4" thick and each wood panel weight in just over 50 kgs. Wood: Sagwan. The hinges were made from 0.25" thick mild steel and cut using hacksaws and files We still have some work left for the interiors and the tables and chairs and i post those as soon as they are done. PS: I'm really sorry for having used imperial units in this blog post but I used these units in my original design notes so thought that is what I should write about. All the other p
Read more

DIY Polariscope

By
Image
A few days ago I was stuck in one of those YouTube loops (happens once a month) and I came across this awesome video on the  Prince Rupert's Drop  by SmarterEveryDay (Excellent channel BTW). About 3:00 minutes into the video they use something called a Polariscope to check out the stresses built up inside the Prince Rupert's Drop. Watching that I realized that I had all the things needed to build this at home. You need the following things for creating a Polariscope : 1) A polarized light source (White in color preferably) - Since almost all LCD's use polarized light to display images you could use your iPad or Laptop screen displaying a white image. I went for my 22" monitor as I needed a bigger surface. 2) A transparent object - Not all objects work well for this as some don't really have that much stress.            - Things that work well - Glass statues, use and throw forks and knives, glue sticks, etc.           - Things that don't work w
Read more

Carpentry - 1

By
Image
I seem to have gotten a bit of the carpentry bug. The room with the Dragon Door  needed a table and as I did have some spare time I decided to build one. I'm a big fan of really long dining tables because somehow they feel grander. I decided to build one as long as the room would allow. Dimensions : 20 feet 10 inches (about 6.35 meters) x 3 feet 3 inches (about 1 meter) Height (table top) : 29.5 inches Seating capacity : 22 For the table top I decided to reclaim wood left over from the old doors and windows that were taken down during the renovation. I mixed and matched 7 kinds of wood (Tuna, Sal, Pine, Cheed, Sagwan, Sheesham & Deodar), glued and nailed them to a wooden skeleton structure (again made from reclaimed wood). For the legs I decided to make 6 circular rings to match the door of the room. The rings were made with Plyboard & MDF and later panelled with small pieces of deodar wood. After that I started work on the chairs. I
Read more