Photo How To

Dynamic range is a crucial concept in photography that describes the range of tones from the brightest highlights to the darkest shadows in an image. This comprehensive guide from the Hamed Photography YouTube channel explains how to enhance these attributes in the camera and during post processing.

It’s important to understand that the human eye can perceive a much broader range of light intensities that even the most sophisticated cameras. When looking at a bright landscape, for example, we can see details in both the sky and shadow areas, but a camera struggles to do the same. That's because most modern cameras have a limited dynamic range of between 12-15 stops.

Therefore, when a scene encompasses a greater range of tones, either the highlights get blown out or the shadows are overly dark and devoid of detail.  Hamed explains that, "to overcome these limitations it's necessary to employ HDR settings, Auto Exposure Bracketing (AED), or Active D-Lighting (ADL) to capture a greater amount of light and shadow.

These techniques are useful for landscapes, low-light and night photography, and shooting indoors in dimly-lit environments. Conversely, these methods are less effective when photographing moving subjects. And HDR may not even be necessary when a single exposure captures sufficient detail for a reasonably balanced shot.

Hamed runs you through everything you need to know to use various methods for creating images that look realistic. He explains that HDR works by capturing at least three images of the scene, each at a slightly different exposure—one at the camera's metered level, another at one or more stops under, and a third that's slightly overexposed. These shots are then combined to create one final image.

AEB is a camera feature that's ideal for high-contrast landscapes, backlit portraits, and other challenging situations. ADL is another important tool found on Nikon cameras, and it's similar to what Canon calls Auto Lighting Optimizer. Regardless of the nomenclature, this mode enhances shadow and highlight detail in real time—improving dynamic range without requiring multiple exposures.

Hamed's best practices for HDR Photography include using a tripod and shooting in Raw and being very careful to avoid overprocessing. Spend 14 minutes learning the finer points of these straightforward methods and you'll have no trouble nailing exposure every time.

We suggest visiting the Hamed Photography YouTube channel often to discover additional powerful tips and techniques.

And don't miss a tutorial we shared earlier from another accomplished pro who demonstrates how to unlock dramatic backlighting effects and capture spectacular nature, wildlife, and landscape photographs.