Author: Capture One

Using HDR for architectural photography

While blending or merging several exposures into one final High Dynamic Range (HDR) image remains a popular creative option for landscape photographers over the years, its use in architectural and commercial shoots has some big benefits that are unique to the challenges of shooting these genres. In many scenarios, especially outdoors, photographers can normally rely on graduated filters to balance a scene by blocking large parts of the frame with a neutral density layer – evening up the brightness from the shadows to the highlights. But while this works well on large, sweeping horizons and foregrounds (i.e., landscape shooting), when it comes to making that process work for odd-shaped buildings and structures with various hotspots and dark areas, we’re often unable to use the same approach. And where using a filter isn’t an option, or where the sheer amount of “fill light” you’d need to balance the scene becomes prohibitive, that’s where Capture One’s HDR Merge function can now deliver the results you need. How It’s Used HDR Merge relies on you capturing two or …

Into the Wild with Landscape Photographer Leroy Souhuwat

Hailing from the Netherlands and with roots in South Maluku, Iceland-based nature and landscape photographer Leroy Souhuwat brings an exploratory passion and a worldly perspective to his images, which are punctuated by raw, powerful landscapes – and the odd adorable puffin or two. Leroy’s work aims to inspire humans to reconsider their relationship with nature, particularly when confronted with its enormity and unpredictability. We spoke with Leroy about his photography journey and how the untamed landscapes of his new home, along with the support and encouragement of the wider photographic community, have inspired his creative endeavors. How did you get into photography? In 2018 I moved from The Netherlands to Iceland, it was a very impulsive move, but it might be one of the best decisions I have made so far in my life. In that first year, I went on many road trips around the country and took all my photos with just my smartphone. I wanted to share all the incredible views with my family and friends abroad. Then I got so into …

HDR 101: Interior

How to Capture an Interior Space and All Its Charm by Christophe Bénard Despite the ongoing effort from camera manufacturers to increase the dynamic range of digital camera sensors, capturing the full range of tonal values in a scene remains a critical challenge for most photographers. But what is dynamic range exactly? In photography, dynamic range refers to a camera sensor’s ability to record details  both  in highlight and shadow areas. In other words,  dynamic range marks  the difference between the darkest and lightest tones in an image. The best sensor on the planet,  which is  the human eye  has an astonishing 21-stop dynamic range while the best cameras  available  today  can only  achieve approximately 15 stops. In order to broaden the range of contrast in a single image while maintaining details in both highlights and shadows, digital photographers, for years, have  relied  on a  post-processing technique called high dynamic range merging, also known as  HDR.  HDR  consists of digitally combining several images taken at different exposure levels by varying the shutter speed. Unfortunately, over the years …