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You are watching a free tutorial from HDR Photography Workshop.
To view the entire course, upgrade to Premium or purchase it in the SLR Lounge Store.
INTRODUCTION
In my college years, I learned a Latin term from a psychology professor that I later applied to an aspect of HDR photography. The latin phrase Ceteris Paribus, literally translated as “with other things held constant,” is a term often used for scientific experiments because it plays an important role in determining causation for complex situations. While one variable is allowed to change, all other variables that may potentially interfere with determining causation are held constant.
So what does Ceteris Paribus have to do with HDR photography? What I’m getting at is this: When adjusting the exposure value between a bracketed sequence, the only changing variable should be the shutter speed. There are important reasons for this. We will discuss what would result if you were to:
1. Change the ISO to control bracketing exposures
2. Change the Aperture to control bracketing exposures
Granted if you are using the Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) Function, your camera will automatically bracket your images using shutter speed adjustments. However, it is good to know the reasons why you wouldn’t want to adjust stops of light any other way when bracketing for an HDR photograph.
CHANGING THE ISO
Although the interactions between different value combinations of the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed can result in equal exposures, the act of changing the ISO or the aperture will produce unwanted effects on our images.
The effect of changing the ISO value is going to directly interfere with the whole purpose of creating an HDR image. When creating an HDR image, the goal is to create an image with more detail and dynamic range than possible normally. By raising the ISO, you are increasing grain which destroys detail. In addition, higher ISO levels reduces the dynamic range which again defeats the purpose of HDR photography. If you absolutely must, it is possible to raise the ISO one to two stops beyond your native ISO setting, however anything beyond will generally result in an unusable sequence. By shooting with the lowest possible native ISO you are able to use the maximum amount of color and detail that your sensor will provide. This is why we do not use the ISO to control the exposure values in a bracketed sequence.
CHANGING THE APERTURE
Since the aperture of a camera determines the image depth-of-field, adjusting the aperture to control the exposure value will change the composition and detail within each shot. A large aperture will create a shorter DoF and softer details while a closed down aperture will create a wider DoF and sharper details. Adjustments in the aperture with each exposure will create images with different compositions and detail. Bringing each of these inconsistent exposures together would dilute the overall detail in the final photograph which again contradicts the purpose of high dynamic range photography since we are trying to enhance detail.
CONCLUSION
The shutter speed is the only variable that should be altered when bracketing your images for HDR photography. Because we are using the shutter speed as our changing variable for adjusting exposure, it’s possible that we may run into a couple problems such as motion blur and ghosting. But, we will discuss these problems and their respective solutions in a later article.
Again, remember the AEB Function does this automatically for you in camera. If your camera has AEB, let it do the heavy lifting for you. The purpose of this article is to hopefully provide you with some understanding of the reasons why the shutter speed should be the only changing variable in an HDR bracketed sequence in case one day (heaven forbid) you need to shoot a manual bracketed sequence. Stay tuned for the next article.
- 1.1 HDR Photography Workshop Trailer 5M 22S
- 1.2 HDR Workshop Introduction
- 1.3 What is HDR? 6M 7S
- 1.4 What is a Stop of Light 2M 40S
- 1.5 Boosting Dynamic Range by Combining Exposures 4M 28S
- 1.6 When Do You Really Need to Shoot HDR Images 3M 17S
- 1.7 Improvements in Technology 4M 38S
- 1.8 Installing the Presets
- 1.9 What You Will Need for HDR Photography 3M 51S
- 1.10 Tripod 0S
- 1.11 Remote Shutter Release 3M 39S
- 1.12 Lens Filter 6M 36S
- 1.13 Memory Cards 3M 38S
- 1.14 Backpack 2M 2S
- 1.15 UNDFIND Bag 1M 47S
- 1.16 Laptop
- 1.17 HDR Software 4M 23S
- 2.1 HDR Camera Settings Introduction
- 2.2 What Is Auto Exposure Bracketing
- 2.3 How Many Exposures Do You Really Need
- 2.4 Changing Your Cameras Bracketing Order
- 2.5 Ceteris Paribus (Shutter Speed Changes) 4M 45S
- 2.6 Capture All Shots by Shooting in Continuous Modes 1M 41S
- 2.7 Camera Modes 3M 34S
- 2.8 Metering Modes 3M 38S
- 2.9 Timer
- 2.10 Setting the Correct Median Exposure 4M 50S
- 2.11 Nailing and Locking the Focus 3M 2S
- 2.12 In-Camera HDR 4M 42S
- 2.13 Single Shot HDR (Exposing to the Right) 8M 7S
- 3.1 HDR Considerations Intro
- 3.2 Using a Tripod 2M 55S
- 3.3 Optimal Shutter Speed 6M 31S
- 3.4 Optimal Aperture Settings 2M 56S
- 3.5 Optimal ISO Settings 5M 50S
- 3.6 Moving Objects and Ghosting 4M 4S
- 3.7 Using DSLRs with Faster Frame Rates 3M 14S
- 3.8 Using Mirror Up Mode-Mirror Lockup 3M 46S
- 3.9 Shooting in RAW vs. JPEG 3M 27S
- 3.10 Programming Your HDR Settings into Custom Modes 1M 38S
- 3.11 Clean Your Lenses & Sensor! 2M 38S
- 3.12 Dont Forget the Photographic Composition! 3M 8S
- 4.1 Salton Sea, CA HDR Introduction
- 4.2 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 4.3 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 4.4 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 4.5 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 4.6 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 4.7 Salton Sea HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 5.1 Page, Arizona HDR Introduction
- 5.2 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.1 | How It Was Shot 6M 42S
- 5.3 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preperation and HDR Export 2M 43S
- 5.4 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing in Photomatix Pro 3M 6S
- 5.5 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Adobe Photoshop Import 3M 3S
- 5.6 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending 5M 54S
- 5.7 Horseshoe Bend HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing 7M 41S
- 5.8 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 5.9 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 5.10 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 5.11 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.4 | Final Image Processing
- 5.12 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.5 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 5.13 Antelope Canyon HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 6.1 Moab, Utah HDR Introduction
- 6.2 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 6.3 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 6.4 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 6.5 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.4 | Processing and Photoshop Import
- 6.6 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 6.7 Moab Utah HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 7.1 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR Location
- 7.2 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 7.3 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 7.4 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 7.5 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop...
- 7.6 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 7.7 Salt Lake Union Pacific HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 7.8 Salt Lake City HDR Introduction
- 7.9 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 7.10 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 7.11 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 7.12 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 7.13 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 7.14 Salt Lake LDS Temple HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 7.15 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 7.16 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 7.17 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 7.18 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 7.19 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 7.20 Salt Lake Capital HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 8.1 Salt Lake Mountains HDR Introduction
- 8.2 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 8.3 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR...
- 8.4 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt. 3 | HDR Processing
- 8.5 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and...
- 8.6 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 8.7 Heber Valley Fishing Bracketed HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 8.8 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 8.9 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 8.10 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 8.11 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 8.12 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 8.13 Heber Creeper Train HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 8.14 Uinta Summit Panorama HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 8.15 Uinta Summit Panorama HDR | Pt.2 | Single Shot Faux HDR Processing
- 8.16 Uinta Summit Panorama HDR | Pt.3 | Photoshop Panorama Processing
- 8.17 Uinta Summit Panorama HDR | Pt.4 | Final Image Processing
- 9.1 Bryce Canyon HDR Introduction
- 9.2 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 9.3 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 9.4 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 9.5 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 9.6 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 9.7 Bryce Canyon HDR | Pt.6 | Final Image Processing
- 9.8 Road Side Panorama HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 9.9 Road Side Panorama HDR | Pt.2 | Single Shot Faux HDR Processing
- 9.10 Road Side Panorama HDR | Pt.3 | Photoshop Panorama Processing
- 9.11 Road Side Panorama HDR | Pt.4 | Final Image Processing
- 9.12 Zion River HDR | Pt.1 | Location
- 9.13 Zion River HDR | Pt. 2 | How it Was Shot
- 9.14 Zion River HDR | Pt.3 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 9.15 Zion River HDR | Pt.4 | HDR Processing
- 9.16 Zion River HDR | Pt.5 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 9.17 Zion River HDR | Pt.6 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 9.18 Zion River HDR | Pt.7 | Final Image Processing
- 10.1 Las Vegas and Los Angeles HDR Introduction
- 10.2 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt.1 | How it Was Shot
- 10.3 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt.2 | RAW Preparation and HDR Export
- 10.4 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt.3 | HDR Processing
- 10.5 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt.4 | RAW Processing and Photoshop Import
- 10.6 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt.5 | Photoshop Layer Blending
- 10.7 Las Vegas Aria HDR | Pt. 6 | Final Image Processing
- 10.8 Downtown Los Angeles HDR | Pt. 1 | How it Was Shot
- 10.9 Downtown Los Angeles HDR | Pt. 2 | Single Shot Faux HDR Processing
- 11.1 Heber Creeper Train HDR
- 11.2 Heber Valley Fishing Single Shot HDR
- 11.3 Uinta Summit Bracket HDR
- 11.4 Bryce Canyon Panorama HDR
- 11.5 Zion Entrance Panorama HDR
- 11.6 Las Vegas Cleveland Clinic HDR
- 11.7 Palos Verdes HDR
- 11.8 Shen Zhen Pier HDR
- 11.9 China Street Photography HDR
- 11.10 Stearns Wharf HDR
Total Course Run Time 13H 6M 50S
Course Progression
Tutorials Completed 0 / 143
Quizzes Completed 0 / 0
Assignment Completed 0 / 0
Q&A Discussions
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