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Author Topic: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps  (Read 1770 times)

Remo Nonaz

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Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« on: January 14, 2014, 09:57:35 pm »

I read Peter Ait's post on HDR Espose 3 and wound up downloading the Enfuse software - I rather prefer my HDRs to be natural.

I gave a quick trial to an image I worked on last week using NIK HDR Pro. Attached are the finished image in HDR Pro and the out of the box conversion of the DNG files with Enfuse. The Enfuse image is clearly not done and needs some work to catch up with the HDR Pro image. I  have noticed that there are some halos around some of the branches in the HDR Pro image and these are not present in the Enfuse image, which is a good sign. (Note that the strong outlining, especially in the pine trees, is only visible in this reduced image. You do not see it in the full size image.)

Other than cropping, what would be the best way to remove or reduce the tire tracks in the foreground? I tried a blur and healing brush while working in Photoshop, but neither gave satisfactory results.

I had a little time, so I've added a third image, which is the Enfuse with a close approximation of the other changes I made to the HDR Pro image. Hard to say which looks better, but Enfuse is definitely clearer, especially around the tree branches.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2014, 10:19:42 pm by Remo Nonaz »
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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY!

bill t.

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2014, 10:31:12 pm »

The range of possible interpretations is very wide for an image like this, and is somewhat dependent on how much time you spend on the image.

I strongly recommend this exercise for serious HDR neophytes.  Open up the same HDR bracket set in say 3 or 4 different programs, all at the same time.  With each program in turn, get the best looking image you can.  Then try to duplicate the look in the other programs.  I personally found this very informative.  You really need to do this with a at least several different bracket sets, and once you're done go back to square one a few times.  You'll learn a whole lot about HDR.

In regards to the tire marks, those should be easy with the rubber stamp tool, with only moderate brush feathering.  Create a layer above the image and do all you rubber stamping there, with "Current and Below" set as the default.  Makes in very easy to tweak the isolated layer for tonality and color.  Sometimes it helps to do the rubber stamping on multiple additional layers.

BTW a very pretty postcard perfect picture!  And an excellent candidate for HDR testing.  Would be child's play for an SNS jockey, which is very good on highlight subtlety.
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Remo Nonaz

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2014, 07:50:39 am »

I appreciate your comments, but what does, "Would be child's play for an SNS jockey, which is very good on highlight subtlety." mean?
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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY!

kirkt

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2014, 10:00:31 am »

There are sort of two schools of thought when using an HDR workflow: 1) Combine/merge your source images in your application of choice and use the toning controls in that application to produce an image that is close to final; 2) Combine/merge your source images and use the toning step to produce a flat LDR (typically 16bit) image that contains all of the dynamic range of the scene, ready for further editing.

I prefer the latter of the two approaches, as you do not need to get locked into a single application's specific toning algorithm and its potential deleterious effects (like halo, color shift, etc.).  Use the HDR process to merge images (or blend images) and produce a nice, flat, balanced LDR output file that is ready for editing in PS or whatever application is most appropriate for the scene and image.

"SNS" is another application that merges and tones a sequence of images.  Although it is called "SNS-HDR" my experience with it (a while back) is that it does not actually output HDR data - maybe this has changed.  I know many people rave about its ability to produce "natural looking" results (and its separate highlight controls, as mentioned above) and it has robust and detailed controls for tone, color, etc.; however, it may not be the solution if you regularly need to output 32bit data from your merge (HDR, EXR, TIFF).  It is PC only, as far as I recall.

As far as processing an enfused image ... the enfuse process should give you a good starting point for further processing (akin to option "2" described above).  With tonal range compression, overall contrast usually needs to be reestablished in the image, as well as local contrast.  So, make sure color is correct, add contrast and then season color further, to taste (sometimes manipulating contrast can desaturate the image) and make final tonal adjustments, etc.  Also, enfuse does not automatically align your source images, so be careful of how you shoot or make sure you align your images prior to enfusing them - I know that the "LR Enfuse" plug in uses align-stack to perform alignment as an option prior to the images being handed off to enfuse.  It sounds like this may be what you are using to generate your enfused images, so you should be good to go.  Most blended or merged data needs to be sharpened though, even if they are aligned - small misalignments create soft images.  Do not sharpen your images prior to blending or merging, as this tends to accentuate sharpening artifacts.

Attached is an edit of your enfuse.jpg attached file - A little over the top, but it gives you an impression of what can be done with the enfused image, even the jpg.

I used PS to straighten and remove some keystoning.  I used the patch tool in content aware mode to remove the tire tracks (and I cropped some of the bottom as well).  I added some local contrast and sharpening and then made some selective burn and dodge edits to "relight" the scene - this is better done in 32bit land, but it is perfectly fine to do it on LDR data as well, as your highlights are not super detailed (points of light) and work nicely when they are bright.  I brightened the facade of the building as if it were lit with spots (like many folks do during the holidays) and I darkened the sky a bit.  I also brought out some detail in the foreground tree, which is a nice element in the image.  My edit could probably use a boost to the mid tones, etc.

What's nice about this approach too is, if your edit gets a little over the top, you can simply put it on a layer above the original image and blend it back into the flat image.  You can do this ad infinitum, picking the best parts of each edit to make your final.  Work quickly and don't shoot for a single, perfect version.  This way you work loosely and explore the image, versus editing it to death.  You can also blend some of your source images back into the final, etc.  Have fun with it!

If you work this way, make sure you make perspective- and lens-type corrections first (even prior to enfusing maybe - say in ACR/LR), as you cannot blend a straightened image back into the unstraightened image, etc.

A pretty magical setting, for sure, lovely capture!

I hope you don't mind my editing your image.

Have fun!

kirk
« Last Edit: January 15, 2014, 10:23:26 am by kirkt »
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Remo Nonaz

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2014, 01:22:11 pm »

All good input, Kirk. I appreciate it. I'll work on this a bit more tonight and see what I can come up with. I have a couple of other shots that would be interesting to evaluate using this different approach.

For the most part, I've been able to avoid the "HDR look" when doing composite exposure photos, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid and it is not the style of my work.

Homer
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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY!

bill t.

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2014, 01:21:25 pm »

what does, "Would be child's play for an SNS jockey, which is very good on highlight subtlety." mean?

A little rushed this morning, but SNS is much better about subtly manipulating the all-important bright areas of the image, which are so important in the example image.  

Also, among all software that seek to expand the dynamic range of a scene, it has (IMHO) the best ability to recover detail in the very brightest part of the image.

For instance, if even one of the images in your bracket set contained textural detail in the super-bright street lights, with SNS you could probably bring that detail over to your image in an attractive way.  Enfuse generally requires several inputs images with highlight detail in order to have those details show up in the output.

The current "blown out" rendition of the street lamps is OK, but SNS would give you an option that might (or might not) be even better.  In general Enfuse is not so good at recovering such exceedingly bright objects, unless you do quite a bit of additional work creating what are essentially alpha-masks for those areas, in the appropriate originals before fusing.

But hey!  We're gilding the lily here!  Nice shot as is, in any of those interpretations.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2014, 01:24:16 pm by bill t. »
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Remo Nonaz

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2014, 02:21:23 pm »

Thank you everyone. I'll look further into SNS and see what I can learn.

I am very pleased to report that this image just won the December monthly contest over at Cambridge in Colour, http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread34973.htm, another forum I follow.

When I took this shot and others, the nights of December 24th and 26th, I knew I was working with an outstanding subject. The house is only about two miles from my home (Which is good deal less beautiful!). I have half a dozen shots that are the equal of this one - quite a haul - for two short shooting sessions. I guess it just goes to show that you don't need to travel halfway across the world to find good images!
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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY!

bill t.

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Re: Enfuse Merging - Next Steps
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2014, 03:20:06 pm »

I guess it just goes to show that you don't need to travel halfway across the world to find good images!

Ooh! Keep that under your hat!  Note to competitors: if you don't travel at least several hundred miles to obtain a photograph, and preferably several thousand, you are wasting your time!  All photographs taken near your home will be mundane and unacceptable.
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