Sean Bagshaw’s Photoshop workflow for landscape photography

Sean Bagshaw is an Oregon-based photographer who produces some wonderful work. Sean is thought for combining a number of exposures to create natural-looking HDR pictures. His Photoshop workflow is tuned to make viewers really feel like they’re searching a window. Infox e-newsletter I sat down with Sean and talked about making a pure look utilizing Photoshop Layers and Masks. Listed here are some easy-to-follow suggestions from Sean for capturing and processing HDR pictures.

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f / 16 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f / 16 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f / 16 | ISO 100

What’s an HDR panorama photograph?

I am unsure of the official definition of HDR panorama portrait and the time period has largely been chosen through the years by a sure sort of software program processing. My definition of an HDR picture is one by which the vary of tonal values ​​can’t be recorded in a single digital digital camera publicity. If a couple of digital camera publicity is required to render element throughout your complete tonal vary, it’s an HDR picture. By that definition, what constitutes HDR is all the time altering as new cameras get higher at recording high-contrast lighting. Moreover, completely different digital cameras available on the market have completely different dynamic vary capabilities, so this impacts what could be thought of HDR by my definition. HDR mode and a number of publicity of 1 digital camera could also be snug inside the dynamic vary of a single publicity of a special digital camera.

How do you’re taking an HDR panorama photograph?

I do not use any particular photographic tools to seize HDR mild in a scene. My customary out of doors pictures gear consists of a digital camera, lenses, tripod, and normally a polarizing filter and generally a cable model. For my panorama pictures, the primary instrument I take advantage of for evaluating dynamic vary is digital camera graph. With my panorama pictures histogram, I do know simply when to modify between taking pictures single exposures of normal dynamic vary mild and a number of exposures of excessive dynamic vary mild. Generally this solely requires two exposures and different instances it takes as many as 5, seven or much more exposures.

Right here is an instance of panorama pictures the place I had to make use of a number of exposures to seize the dynamic vary of a scene.

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 24-105mm f/4L IS | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 24-105mm f/4L IS | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 24-105mm f/4L IS | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

Utilizing Photoshop Layers and Masks

The post-processing workflow begins with publicity mixing in Lightroom (or Digicam Uncooked) the place I make primary uncooked changes corresponding to perspective management, chromatic aberration removing, noise discount (if wanted), insert sharpening, white stability, and mud spot removing. I sync these changes throughout all of my digital camera exposures after which open the exposures as layers in Photoshop. In Photoshop, I begin by ensuring all my Photoshop layers are aligned and organized with the lightest digital camera publicity on the backside and the darkest digital camera publicity on the high. Then I put black layer masks on each photoshop layer however the backside, lightest layer. Utilizing Photoshop Masks, I start masking correctly uncovered pixels from the darker exposures to interchange the overexposed lighter layer areas. Whereas the idea is straightforward, the abilities and methods could be fairly complicated. Photoshop masking methods that I take advantage of embody hand-drawn masks, gradient masks, coloration vary masks, and different varieties of masks constituted of choices, together with luminosity choices.

Getting Began with Photoshop Layers and Masks

It is very important be aware that talent in handbook publicity mixing requires proficiency with Photoshop layers, Photoshop choices, and Photoshop Layer Masks. In case you’re new to Photoshop, it is best to begin by studying about its primary format, instruments, menus, panels, changes, and filters. You must also study to make common picture improvement changes for the publicity, distinction, coloration, and sharpness of single publicity photographs. There are lots of good books and video tutorials on Photoshop obtainable for newbie panorama photographers. Many individuals discover that they study greatest visually, so I extremely advocate taking a web-based class or watching video tutorials on Photoshop Layers and Masks. I supply a video tutorial on Photoshop fundamentals for panorama photographers, as do a few of my colleagues.

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

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  Canon 5D MKIII | 16-35mm f/2.8L II | A number of Publicity | f/22 | ISO 100

subsequent steps

As soon as you’ve got turn out to be snug within the Photoshop atmosphere, it is time to begin including new abilities and extra superior methods to your repertoire. The subsequent step is to start out working with adjustment layers, filter layers, choices, and layer masks to realize extremely focused, localized changes and results. Don’t rush. Add new Photoshop abilities one after the other. Whenever you really feel proficient with Photoshop layers and choices in Photoshop Layer Masks and Photoshop, you are prepared to start out studying publicity mixing methods for panorama pictures. There are books, e-books, movies, and courses obtainable for studying extra superior methods however they are often tougher to search out than extra primary supplies. I supply a number of video collection on superior Photoshop methods.

Sean is a founding member and one-sixth of the Pacific Northwest pictures group referred to as Photograph Cascadia. He typically collaborates with fellow Photograph Cascadia members who lead workshops.

The unique article was revealed in Could 2015.