How to extend the dynamic range of any digital camera. Dynamic range is the difference between the lightest and darkest regions in an image. Most digital cameras cannot replicate what the human eye can see. This is why if you photograph someone under a shady tree on a bright sunny day, the exposure will either show the person well but have the sunny areas too bright …. or if the sunny areas are normal then the person under the tree appears underexposed.

Basically, you’ll make at least three exposures of the same scene. Always use a tripod and all manual settings. Take one photo at normal exposure levels. Take another 2 stops darker and another 2 stops brighter.

Next, use Photoshops CS3’s High Dynamic Range feature to combine the three images for you. It will automatically select the best parts of each image and combine them to make one photo where all parts of the image are well exposed.

There’s also a good utility called Qtpfsgui for generating HDR images. It’s a little more technically involved than Photoshop CS3, but provides good results and being GPL, costs a whole lot less.

Here’s a few examples:

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