Lightroom Classic CC: Creating High-Dynamic Range (HDR) Photos

Learn how to use the Photomerge feature in Lightroom Classic CC to gain more control over dynamic range and create incredible full-color and black-and-white HDR images.

While HDR photography has its fans and its detractors, just about every photographer loves having some control over dynamic range. Lightroom 6 and Lightroom Classic CC offer an entirely new approach to HDR imaging with the ability to merge multiple exposures into an all-new Digital Negative (DNG) file. This file gives you even more precise control over shadows, highlights, clarity, and contrast—with minimal changes to your shooting and post-production workflow.

In this course, Rich Harrington shows how to get the most of Lightroom's Photomerge command and its image development and enhancement features to get more control over the dynamic range of your images. Along the way, he provides tips for shooting HDR photos, creating black-and-white versions of images, and combining Lightroom with Photoshop and Photomatix Pro.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What you should know before watching this course
• Using the exercise files

1. What You Need to Create HDR Photos

• Shooting strategies for HDR photos
• How many brackets do you need?
• Additional HDR photography equipment
• Breaking the rules and fixing it in post

2. Organizing HDR Photos

• Manually sorting HDR images after import
• Automatically stacking HDR images based on shoot time
• Organizing HDR images with collections and stacks
• Develop and merge or merge and develop?

3. An Introduction to HDR Photomerge

• How Lightroom is different from Photoshop's Merge to HDR Pro
• Required metadata and properties for merging HDR photos
• Speeding up the HDR Photomerge process
• Analyzing the preview image
• Correcting lens issues with lens profiles
• Developing the new HDR DNG file

4. Advanced Controls for HDR Merging

• Organization and naming strategies for merged files
• When to skip auto-aligning
• When to skip Auto Tone
• Choosing a deghost amount
• Modifying the crop after the merge

5. Refining the Image after the Merge

• Additional ghosting strategies
• Choosing a custom white balance
• Using the HSL controls to remove color cast
• Using split toning to refine color balance
• Invoking upright and manual adjustments
• Manually toning the HDR image
• Reducing noise in the HDR file
• Sharpening the HDR file

6. Saving Time Creating HDR Photos with Automation

• Running in Headless mode
• Viewing progress in the Activity Center
• Modifying the image and reusing the settings

7. Creating Compelling Black and Whites with HDR

• Shooting strategies for black and white images
• Merging for black and white
• Refining contrast in the black-and-white image
• Creating a custom black-and-white mix

8. When to Combine Lightroom with Photoshop

• The Creative Cloud connection
• Preparing the HDR file for Photoshop
• Exchanging the HDR file with Photoshop
• Advanced strategies to correct color cast
• Advanced healing and cloning in Photoshop
• Additional lens correction
• Invoking Camera Raw as a filter
• Sending the image back to your Lightroom catalog

9. When to Combine Lightroom and Photomatix Pro

• What is Photomatix Pro?
• Exchanging raw files to Photomatix Pro
• Advanced deghosting in Photomatix Pro
• Exchanging a merged file to Photomatix Pro and Tone Mapping

Conclusion

• Next steps