Adobe Photoshop CS6 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks by Lynette Kent

MERGE MULTIPLE PHOTOS into an image with
high dynamic range
Dynamic range in a photo refers to the ratio between
the dark and bright areas. The human eye can adapt
to different brightness levels, but the camera cannot.
You can merge multiple photos of the same scene but
with different exposures into a high dynamic range
(HDR) image, displaying luminosity levels beyond
what the human eye can see, and with more shades
of color than any camera can capture in a single
photo. Photoshop’s Merge to HDR Pro command
enables the still photographer to create a detailed
photo with a wide dynamic range, and customize the
settings for a realistic or more stylized final image.
The Merge to HDR Pro command works best on a
series of photos taken with a tripod so that only the
lighting of the image differs and nothing is moving.
The aperture and ISO of the images should be the
same in each photo. The shutter speed should vary
from one to two f-stops in each direction. You can
merge to HDR with at least three photos; however,
you can include more photos with varying shutter
speeds so your photos have a large variation in the
image tones.
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Note: You can start from Bridge as
in this task or from Photoshop by
clicking Photoshop ➪ Merge to
HDR Pro, and selecting the images
to use.
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1 In Bridge, Ô+click (Ctrl+click) to
select the images to merge.
Note: Photos taken specifically to
use with the Merge to HDR Pro
command would normally appear
in sequential order.
2 Click Tools.
3 Click Photoshop.
4 Click Merge to HDR Pro.
A
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A Photoshop opens, analyzes,
aligns, and combines the images
into one multilayered file, and the
Merge to HDR Pro dialog box
appears.
5 For 16-bit images, click and drag
the sliders to customize the edge
glow, tones, and detail.
Note: For 32-bit images, click and
drag the slider to adjust the white
point of the preview image.
6 Click and drag the Vibrance and
Saturation sliders.
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