The No-Frills Guide to Basic HDR Techniques

Any professional photographer knows that “photography” is a broad niche. For example, HDR photography involves taking images in dark and bright areas. But because these images might not show much to the naked eyes, you’ll need an HDR program like EasyHDR. This software can recreate and design incredible HDR photos on Mac and Windows computers. So, this review post advises you whether Easy HDR is worth the money or not. We’ll also advise on the best way to edit and create HDR videos on PC.

Part 1: Summary Box on Easy HDR

Before we dive deeper into this Easy HDRi review, let’s first discuss how this HDR software rates in some critical aspects:

1. Effectiveness – 4.8/5

The HDRi process on this software is very effective, although you shouldn’t have high expectations. It provides manual and automatic lens correction properties, although using the manual option might need a learning curve. Other extras include ghost removal and automatic alignment.

1. Price – 4.7/5

Easy HDR is not necessarily a free program. Although there’s a free demo version, it’s pretty limited in features. Therefore, purchase the premium plan for $33 or $55 for personal and lifetime licenses. As a seasoned HDR editor, you should know that other HDR programs like Aurora HDR cost way more than this.

1. Supported OS – 5/5

This HDR photography program is compatible with Windows and macOS systems, which is a big plus. You can install it on Windows 7 or newer and macOS 10.12 or newer. Sorry, Linux users!

1. Ease of use – 4.8

Easy HDR is one of the most beginner-friendly HDR processing tools despite the advanced management tools. It features automatic lens correction, ghost removal, and HDR merging capabilities.

1. Best for – Beginner HDRi editors

This program’s simple approach makes it perfect for HDRi photographers without prior editing skills. Also, if you’re a beginner on a tight budget, easyHDR is the best software for you.

Our Verdict

Up to this juncture, you might wonder if Easy HDR is worth the money or not. Well, that depends on what you want. If you have minimal HDR editing knowledge, then this is the best professional program for you.

The straightforward layout boasts automatic HDR editing tools to make your work effortless. In addition, it supports a wide array of image formats, including photos taken using your DSLR camera. And the $33/lifetime price should be manageable by many average Joes.

But on the flip side, Easy HDR lacks in-depth post-processing tools. Also, it lacks the all-important “undo” feature, which is vital in HDR image editing. Other than that, it’s the perfect program to make dramatic and realistic HDR photos.

Pros

• Simple layout.
• Make realistic HDR images with automatic tools.
• Easy HDRi Blender and Adobe Lightroom plugins.
• Standalone Easy HDR desktop program.
• Batch processing supported.
• Compatible with multiple image formats, including RAW.

Cons

• It doesn’t have advanced HDR post-processing tools.
• No HDR feature for editing.

Part 2. Detailed Review for Easy HDR

Before diving deeper into the detailed Easy HDR features, it’s important to note that the program has a demo version. You can use this version to practice and study the vital components of easyHDR. But be guided that the demo version exports images with a watermark. In addition, users can’t save HDRi in TIFF format. Let’s get in!

1. High-Quality Bracket Merging

A good quality HDRi software should easily merge different image exposures, making the photo look natural and spectacular. To start incorporating, drag the image brackets to easyHDR and press “Ok” on the pop-up screen. You can now try the different bracket merging effects until you find something that suits your preference.

1. Editing features

EasyHDR goes a step further to provide its users with a comprehensive list of editing features. For example, the “Clone Stamp” tool can remove unwanted objects like cables without blurring the photo. You can also use the “Tone Curve” feature to adjust the brightness of shadows and highlights.

1. Ghost removal

No, this is not the scary ghost that you know. Instead, these ghosting artefacts appear in misaligned photos due to moving objects like leaves, branches, cars, people, etc. With Easy HDR, you can eliminate the “ghosts” manually or automatically. Simply open the photo and turn on “Ghost Removal” to remove them automatically.

1. HDR batch processing

As expected, you can find it pretty tedious to import and merge each HDR bracket individually. For this reason, easyHDR comes with a “Batch Processing” feature that allows users to combine a whole folder of brackets automatically.

1. LDR enhancement

Although we’ve mainly focused on brackets and photos in this post, it’s important to note that easyHDR also works with single images. Instead of having three separate bracketed exposures, LDR (Low Dynamic Range) enhancement allows you to generate exposures from a single JPEG or RAW photo.

Bonus Tips: The Best Way to Edit HDR videos on your Desktop

Like HDR images, HDR videos offer more comprehensive displays in dark and bright surroundings. In short, these videos allow more colourful and detailed highlight representations. Unfortunately, not all HDR editing programs can merge bracketed exposures effortlessly to produce outstanding results. And those that do can cost you an arm and a leg.

With that in mind, we recommend Wondershare Filmora 11 for professional and semi-professional HDR editors. It’s a simple but detailed program that allows users to edit HDR materials quickly and easily. It houses thousands of free effects you’ll use with the Blending Mode to create nice HDR footage. Filmora 11 works with any video format, including RAW footage from your camcorder. And of course, there are many other editing features like color correction, color grading, image stabilization, chroma key/green screen, etc.

Steps to add an HDR effect to a standard video on Filmora 11:

Step1Open the video on Filmora 11

Run Wondershare Filmora 11 on your Mac/Win computer and start a new project. After creating a project, click Import Media to upload the video to edit and move it to the storyboard.

Step2Add a blending mode effect

Next, select the video and choose White as the color overlay. To do that, open the Sample color options and move the While color on the top timeline.

After that, it’s time to change the Blending Mode of the color overlay. To do that, right-click the color track and choose Edit Properties. Then tap Composition and then select Exclusion on the Blending Mode drop-down menu.

Step3Apply the B&W Film color effect

Now tap the Effect tab and search for the B&W Film effect. This film effect should be free to use whether using a paid or free account. After downloading it, add the effect overlay to the video track and export the video.

Step4Import the uploaded video

After creating the video, import it on Filmora 11 and delete the white color overlay and W&B Film effects. Now add the imported video on the first track, then search and apply a Square Blur effect. Also, change the Blending Mode of the footage to Overlay. Meanwhile, click the Effect tab and adjust the Size slider accordingly. For example, you can choose 10.

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Don’t stop there. Open the Effects tab and add the Lomo effect to your video. Also, search and add the Luma Sharp effect. Remember that you can retouch these effects accordingly under the Effect tab. And lastly, export the new HDR video. That’s it!

Final Words

There you have it. Easy HDR is arguably the most-beginner friendly program to edit your photos on desktops. Although it doesn’t feature much, the available editing features should be enough to help you create incredible HDR images. And don’t forget to use Wondershare Filmora 11 to apply a cool HDR effect to your footage. Give it a try!

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

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