HDR Pano? How is it done?


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windforce

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Oct 14, 2007
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Hi all

I've been doing some research on how to make a HDR pano and i didnt get much results only some who did pano stitch then HDR.

however i faced a lot of problems when doing pano stitch then HDR as the stitching isn't uniform across the 3 (-2 0 +2) photos causing the features to not being able to match when doing the HDR. also the frustration when its hard to crop the panos perfectly into the same size while still having the features matched together.

So in the end i did the HDR first then stitched it up. The 4 HDRs are tone mapped in the same settings but they still look slightly different esp at the edges but still stitchable. All done with Photomatix + PS CS 4.

Here is the final





By windforce86





C&C welcomed! Want to know the others do it.

Thank you for reading.
 

Looks good, it would be better if the horizon is in the rule of 2/3
 

oh wow, this is reaching new heights of radioactivity.

my poor eyes.
 

any other constructive comments as to how things are supposed to be done?

there is nothing much to say,

you have a program to play with, i played with it before, you can make it look more natural,

you can make it extreme, like how it is done here.

you obviously prefer what i do not, how am i supposed to suggest to you what to do? just expressing what i think of the photograph, i cannot agree with the approach you have taken here. as to how to do it more naturally, you only have to tinker with the tone mapping settings.

as to what i mean by radioactive, your island in distance is glowing, your trees on left are glowing, rocks on right are glowing. this is because you have overdone the tone mapping in my book. but i am only waiting for the people who embrace radioactivity like it is the best thing in the world to tell you that it is good, then all this will be forgotten.

have a nice day, don't stress so much; if you like it, then you like it, you don't need to conform to anyone else's standards, that much is true.

but if you want something that stays someone's attention longer, then maybe something more natural will be better
 

I'm actually not so much into asking about how HDRs are done but more of how HDR + Panos are done. in terms of workflow.

as i've already mentioned. do most ppl stitch first then HDR? or vice versa. n advantages or what other difficults they face etc.

i understand how HDRs are very subjective and you do have a point in it glowing and what sorts becoz i haven figured out to how to tune it yet.

thanks.
 

I shoot in manual, tone map in photomatix with same parameters for all photos, then stitch with Microsoft ICE.

If you're using a tripod properly there should be zero problems with feature matching.

Manual stitching is a PITA unless you have a dolly setup of some sort. I hope that's not what you're trying to do.
 

ok thanks. maybe its the stitching plug from PS that isn't all that good. will try on other softwares and see the diff.

thanks once again
 

I've tried HDR before stitching. HDR with the same setting, and stitch. There's some problem stitching. I'm uploading the photos, so i will post again once the uploading is done.

I've tried stitching before HDR too. Seemed like the second method is better.:dunno:
 

maybe you can try hugin, its a freeware for pano and hdr
 

#1
Panoramic1-HDR.jpg

This is HDR done with same setting before stitching Pano. You can notice the blending line.
#2
Panoramic2-HDR.jpg

The rest, are done stitching before HDR.
#3
Panoramic3-HDR.jpg

#4
Panoramic4-HDR.jpg

#5
Panoramic5-HDR.jpg


I'm still new to HDR, so pardon the dark patches on certain photos. Still test and trial on the settings.
Does anyone know what exactly causes the dark patches? Even when it's tonemapping after pano stitching.
 

Another example.
DSC0071HDR-copy.jpg

Look at the sky. It's grey. I've been trying and trying. :dunno:

One last qns. Before you press on the "Process" button, you got the wanted result on the preview window. After it's processed, it's totally different from what you see in the preview window. That's the tonemapped pic, before you 'save as'. Why so?
 

Hello,

I am using Tonemapping V1.1.2 (Photomatix) Plugin + CS4 Photomerge to perform the stitching.

For me, I will perform tonemapping to the images and then Photomerged them. All done in CS4.

During my little experiment, I found Photomatix standalone gives a little more surreal look than plugin.

IMHO, you have overdone your HDR a little, that is where you have different exposure during the final stitching. Slide down the bar a little and try again.

Here is couple of the Pano or Verto HDR done with Plugins + Photomerged in CS4....

1.
3550382181_ced52fa901_b.jpg


2.
3366552629_cfedfc8559_b.jpg


3.
3348108919_627011bfbc.jpg


4.
3458266145_08c1a37372.jpg


Not the best HDR's in CSer but hope it helps...Still learning...:)

Good weekend!
 

I'm still new to HDR, so pardon the dark patches on certain photos. Still test and trial on the settings.
Does anyone know what exactly causes the dark patches? Even when it's tonemapping after pano stitching.

if your dark patches are referring to the grey areas where the sun should be in the photos,

it is because when you captured the scene, i believe you did not include a set where it was exposed properly for the sun. hence, blown out highlights give you the grey areas.
 

Windforce,

I use PTAssembler for stitching my panos so I cannot comment on the PS plugin you use.

In the case of HDR or blended exposure panos, I first stitch the pano for each exposure set, then combine in software as opposed to combining each frame and then stitch (per the method you described).

I assume you are shooting in Manual everything on a tripod. My workflow is as follows:

1.) Stitch all of the +2 exposed images first. These typically have more detail for control point picker to find. I use the Autopano plug-in for PTAssembler for finding control points.

2.) I stitch the 0 and -2 exposed images using the saved parameters from the stitch in Step #1. PT Assembler has a feature that allows you to apply saved parameters from a previous stitch into the new stitch. In most cases the resulting panos are identical except for exposure. No ghosting when you combine due to shifts in image features by the stitching software.

3.) Blend exposures with software or combine using HDR software.


PTGui can do the same, possibly Hugin as well. PTGui, at least the older versions, PTAssembler, and Hugin all use the same free control point plugins and blending plugins. If Hugin has a way to save stitching parameters and apply it to subsequent stitches, you should be able to do all of this at no cost.

Lastly, I have played with HDR but prefer the results of blending multiple exposures using masks or Tufuse over HDR for my personal images. So none of the examples below are HDR, but all are 3+ exposures. Workflow should be the same except the last step. Good luck.

3x2 image pano
original.jpg


6 image pano
original.jpg


2 x 2 image pano
original.jpg
 

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if your dark patches are referring to the grey areas where the sun should be in the photos,

it is because when you captured the scene, i believe you did not include a set where it was exposed properly for the sun. hence, blown out highlights give you the grey areas.

Ok, i guess i need to try more. :D
And the last qns.

One last qns. Before you press on the "Process" button, you got the wanted result on the preview window. After it's processed, it's totally different from what you see in the preview window. That's the tonemapped pic, before you 'save as'. Why so?
 

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