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2021 – What a year for Capture One

Wrapping up and looking ahead: 2021 was just the start

2021 was a busy and exciting year for Capture One.

Throughout the year, we released a succession of fantastic updates to Capture One 21 and rounded it off with the launch of Capture One 22 in December. Together, this delivered must use new tools like Style Brushes and the Magic Brush, highly requested features like Panorama Stitching and HDR merge, updates to our core workflows like the redesigned Importer and Exporter, wireless tethering for select Canon cameras, and a long list of newly supported hardware.

We’ve also invested heavily under the hood over the last year. We ported our Mac codebase to run natively on Apple’s M1 silicon, and brought code and speed optimizations to Windows, making Capture One noticeably snappier and more stable on both platforms.

It was also a year of great growth and development for our Community engagement programs. We received plaudits where we deserved them and we stood to listen when we didn’t get things quite right. We welcomed a new and diverse slate of Ambassadors who continue to awe us with their work, their creativity and their innovative approaches to professional photography. We hugely value our Community, so we’ve world tiredlessly to follow up our words with actions, and are committed to continuing to do so.

Inside the house, we’ve also been very busy hiring a new team and building the infrastructure required to run Capture One as an independent company, with about one-third of the Capture One team joining in the last year. We also expanded our footprint in Athens, where we opened an Engineering site in the summer of 2020, and moved into our permanent office there.

We can’t wait to get started with 2022.

To some extent, 2022 started early for Capture One. We gave you a sneak preview of Capture One Live, our first Cloud product, we disclosed our progress on porting Capture One to the iPad and we introduced stable and reliable wireless tethering.

We’re incredibly excited about the future of photography.

We are witnessing the emergence of a multi-device, collaborative photography workflow, including Cloud, Mobile, Social and Collaboration platforms, and we understand

the importance and value of bringing our core strengths in image quality, reliability and efficiency to meet the rapidly evolving requirements of photographers and image creators.

We’re pumped about our plans and we hope that as all the parts start to fall into place, you will be too.

Most importantly though, I would like to heartfully thank our worldwide community of photographers for your engagement and custom. The work you do tirelessly, your diversity, your creativity and your wizard-like skills inspire us to do our best work.

Thank you for your support in 2021, on behalf of the Capture One team around the world, I wish you and your loved ones all the very best in 2022.

Rafael Orta
CEO

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 HDR photography has become a pejorative  term  due to the unnatural results we have all witnessed  in say,   real estate and landscape photography, as photographers relied on presets and automatic image blending  to yield  affected images.

Personal Vantage

As an architectural and interior design photographer,  I heavily rely on manual HDR post-processing techniques.  Since early 2016,  Capture One has been my photo editing software of choice  due to its unmatched tethering stability and the control offered by its powerful features. So far, my workflow  mainly consists of image capture and adjustments in Capture One followed by advanced retouching and image blending in  Photoshop using  luminosity masking  techniques.

For a while,  the current high dynamic range tool in Capture One—despite its ability   to recover highlight and shadow—lacked  the ability to blend several exposures together. Therefore, I was particularly excited  about  Capture One 22’s  new features.   I was recently asked to evaluate the new HDR Merge tool and see how it could fit into my architectural image editing workflow. So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

HDR and Interiors

The interior image below was shot during a recent shoot for PCL Construction of a new branch of the Canadian Western Bank in Edmonton. In this case, a bracket of  three  images with 1.0 EV between each image was shot using a tripod. I made sure that the brightest  exposure had details in the shadows and the darkest one showed enough details in the highlights.

At this stage,  I would normally make some adjustments to my base exposure in Capture One,  then  apply the same adjustments to each image in the bracket, and finally stack them as layers  in  Photoshop. I would then create luminosity masks in order to keep my highlights and shadows under control. Finally, the color of different areas of the image that require corrections would be selectively adjusted. The new HDR Merge tool in Capture One made things significantly easier.  For starters,  I  only  had to select the RAW images I wanted to merge without adjustments, right click, and select “Merge to HDR” within Capture One.  To the  reader: when  applying adjustments to the images prior to merging, it’s not  required because the algorithm uses the original unadjusted RAW files only.

A dialog box then appeared with  two  options:

Auto-adjust,  which as the name implies automatically applies adjustments to the exposure, contrast, brightness, high dynamic range and levels. I chose to leave it off because I really wanted to compare the actual RAW file with the new merged image in its purest form.

Auto-align, which is self-explanatory and useful in cases where the images are not shot on a tripod. Even though everything was captured on a solid tripod in that case, I decided to leave that one on.

Auto adjust off

After pressing “Merge” a new window popped up to let me know that the merging process was starting.

The images were shot at full resolution on my Sony A7R IV and it only took   30 seconds to generate the HDR .dng that appeared next to the input images. I then made some adjustments to the new HDR .dng file like I would on any RAW file and compared it to the original image with the same adjustments applied:

As you can tell in the close-up above the difference is significant in the highlights: the windows on the left don’t have blown out areas anymore and the light fixture highlights in the merged image at the bottom look cleaner as well. Most importantly everything was accomplished without leaving Capture One.

Auto adjust on

The same merging process was repeated with “Auto Adjust” selected

I am generally not a fan of auto adjustments, but the tool did a fantastic job recovering highlight details and creating a well-balanced image. I personally like my images more contrasty and felt the algorithm under-exposed the image a bit to keep the highlights under control. Still, moving a few sliders wouldn’t take much effort to enhance the result. Pretty impressive considering it all occurred in one step!

Advanced color adjustments and a few touch ups were then performed in Photoshop to produce the final image that was delivered to the client.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the increased dynamic range obtained when merging bracketed images directly within Capture One and will definitely add the new HDR Merge tool to my toolbox when editing future images.

The Brenizer Method

Imagine you’re in a situation where a lot of bokeh and negative space would benefit the look you’re aiming to create with your image. Typically negative space and bokeh are hard to achieve because both features negatively affect each other. Why? In short, to achieve a short depth of field, one needs a long focal length combined with a short focus distance. Conversely, creating negative space requires less focal length and more focus distance, resulting in less bokeh.

So how do you attain both negative space and bokeh? For starters, a special technique is required, so that photographer can get close to its subject without sacrificing focal length. Usually, this approach results in a very tight frame with almost no negative space. But if a panorama technique is implemented, negative space can be created by stitching the images together in post. That way, one can create an image that boasts excellent bokeh and plenty of negative space. And that’s what’s referred to as the ‘Brenizer Method,’ also sometimes referred to as ‘Bokeh Panorama.

For those unfamiliar with the Brenizer, it’s a technique that can deliver incredible results when used to subtly illustrate the setting of an image and how the subject of said image connects to their surrounding. For example, the image of the girl and her dogs basking quietly in the sunlight that enters this church.

How to Employ the Brenizer Method

Equipment needed:
– Camera with a long focal length lens (85mm or more).
– Tripod, ideally also an extension plate (both optional).
– Capture One software that can assemble panoramas.

Settings:
– Camera set to manual (M) mode.
– NO automatic exposure.
– Aperture wide open.

Set your camera to the settings listed above. If you’re working with a zoom lens, zoom it in as far as you can.

Start with a tightly composed shot of the subject. After the first shot, start photographing the scene around the subject. Precisely recompose every image to slighty overlap the images you shot before. 1/4th overlap is enough. Keep shooting like this until you think your panorama is big enough. While photographing the panorama keep the following rules in mind:
– Do NOT re-focus for the following shots! Whole images  being totally out of focus is exactly what you want.
– Do NOT change the exposure,  focal length or aperture throughout the process.
– Do NOT move the body from its position after  the first shot, only rotate. A tripod does help  for this, but it’s not impossible to freehand.

Things to Keep in Mind:

– This process only works when the environment is perfectly still. Avoid things like moving water, trees on windy days, traffic, etc.

– It’s far more effective if you get closer to the subject. A short focus distance while maintaining a long focal length makes for a short depth of field, which creates blur. In doing this, you will also need to stitch more images together to create the same space.

– Longer focal length lenses are easier to work with because they make ‘flatter’ images with no distortion, making for better stitching.

– When working too close to the floor to create a foreground (as seen in the example below), a tripod becomes mandatory. The surfaces close to the front of the lens tend to misalign when the camera isn’t perfectly stationary when recomposing the panorama photos.

Also, with long lenses like mine, the swinging of the lens can cause misalignments. By bringing the axis of rotation closer to the frontal glass, the element will help eliminate parallax effects. This can be done with an extension plate.

Post processing

Before the images can be merged together, you need to make sure they are free of vignetting.
To remove vignetting, find the ‘Lens correction’ tab and use the ‘Light fall-off’ slider to remove any vignetting. Upon completion, the image should have an even exposure across the whole frame. Repeat this process for every image.

After these preparations the images can be merged together. Select all images that you plan to merge together, and hit the right mouse button on one of them. A menu appears, find the line ‘stitch panorama’ and select it.

The new Panorama feature will appear on your screen shortly.

As shown in the left column there is a few scaling options. Merging dozens of photos together can result in monstrously big files, mainly if a high megapixel camera was used. A resulting image of over 500 megapixels isn’t uncommon. Files like this can cripple your computer, so consider using the scaling option to size it down to a more manageble format.

If the photos were taken correctly, no artifacts should occur in the result.
If it does occur use the cloning tool to get rid of it.

Mood and Light flow

Start making layers with radial gradient masks and make them originate from the scenery’s natural light source. The inside gradient will be light and the outside will be dark. Like a vignette. This will create a dreamy and dramatic touch. Feather both gradients out a lot, the transition from light to dark should be as smooth as possible! If done properly it should give a sense of ‘flow’ of light troughout the scene.

I masked out two of the window frames, the light-gradient caused it to clip. The devil is in the details…

Pay attention to the sharpness of the subjects. What is important with this technique is to make sure nothing gets clipped by the light-gradient. Tone down highlights if necessary, sharpen gently and retouch if you have to.

Amazing how sharp these subjects are isn’t it? This picture is huge! Another benefit of the Brenizer method.

Once the image looks nice and clean, the Brenizer process is finally complete. Finish it off with an edit of your own style.
Good luck fellow photographers!

Shooting HDR for Landscape

By Rachel Ross

Introduction

Very quickly it’s important to establish what HDR merging is and why it’s so useful for landscape photography – because it is. If you’ve ever picked up a camera you’ll know that what the camera captures often doesn’t quite match what you see with your eyes, especially in situations of high contrast. Your eyes and brain work in tandem to provide an image that is balanced through the entire tonal range, but cameras aren’t quite there yet.

Cameras still struggle to capture the full dynamic range spectrum of darks, shadows, mid-tones and highlights in a single frame, as usually a camera will expose the shadow areas correctly or the highlights or takes some average of the two that doesn’t accurately expose any of it. HDR merging is the solution, as it captures the full range of tones in multiple frames of the same scene (this is ‘bracketing’), and blends them together to show the full range of light in a single image.

So, HDR is really perfect when you want to see the detail in both ends of the dynamic range spectrum in a single image. This effectively allows you to overcome the limitations of your camera’s sensor and allows you to recreate the scene as you witnessed it in the field – and Capture One does this with finesse in just a few clicks.

Now that we’ve established what HDR merge is and why it’s useful, we’ll walk through an example with an image of mine shot in Iceland of a scene that posed a real challenge to capture in all its glory. I should mention up front that I have never been accused of being an early adopter, especially when it comes to software. Instead, when I find something that works for me, I stick with it. That is, until a forced software update makes me change my ways.

You know the story.    When presented with the opportunity to test the new HDR Merge (a.k.a., High Dynamic Range) feature in Capture One 22, I must admit I was skeptical about how I would use it. After all, most full frame cameras can capture 14.5 stops of dynamic range in a single image. While this is less dynamic range than the human eye can perceive (21 stops to be exact), it’s certainly more than what’s required to photograph most landscape scenes.    When I do need to bracket exposures, I do it manually rather than use the automatic settings in a camera. Then, I blend the exposures together using layers in Photoshop, adjusting the opacity of my brush as I blend.

My Experience

Occasionally, however, there are exposures that are difficult to blend using this technique. Take this series of ice cave images I took during my time Iceland. I remember feeling very excited about the images while I was shooting. Yet, when I later opened the files on my computer, I was quite disappointed. The dynamic range of the images made them very difficult to process. I did manage to edit two of the shots with my manual blending technique, but it was a lengthy and frustrating process. For that reason, the remaining images have been sitting on my hard drive, untouched, ever since.

Until now.    I can’t begin to describe my joy and amazement as I clicked a series of photographs and watched them blend seamlessly and effortlessly with the new HDR Merge tool in Capture One 22. An edit that I had struggled with for more than a few hours took little more than a few clicks and a few seconds for the software to produce a blended DNG file.    I tried several different edits with varying combinations of images, and ranges of exposure values. I was beyond impressed to find the software could seamlessly blend as few as two images. What surprised me, though, was that HDR Merge could blend my manually bracketed photos and produce clean results. Repeatedly, I caught myself muttering under my breath, “No way… No way!”

It’s also worth mentioning that many HDR images produced by other software can look really overdone and unrealistic, but Capture One’s HDR Merge avoids that and its robust toolset allows you full control over all the image parameters to ensure you can tweak the image to look precisely as you like, or as it was.

Moral of the Story

I learned a forced update is not the only reason to try something new. I found unexpected inspiration working with the HDR Merge tool in Capture One 22. Furthermore, I know now that there exists a whole new host of tools for landscape photographers to look forward to in the latest version of this powerful software.

Rachel also shared her experiences of HDR and examples of her work in this Webinar