See images in a new light with HDR mode
This new mode in Lightroom can reveal up to four stops of extra range in photos
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James Paterson
With over a decade as a writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter most. s anyone who’s ever merged a set of bracketed exposures knows, High
A Dynamic Range (HDR) images display a greater range of tones between the darkest and brightest points. But there’s a catch – even at maximum brightness, a standard display can’t show that extended range. And you can forget about printing in HDR – whites can only be as bright as the paper they are printed on. With the emergence of HDR displays, the ceiling for whites is now much higher. Many screens, such as the latest MacBooks, iPhones and iPads, have HDR capability. Until now, we haven’t seen the range of tones on offer in Lightroom and Camera Raw, but the HDR mode is a game-changer, letting those with an HDR display view and edit their images in a new light. Switch to HDR and you’ll see up to an extra four stops of range, revealing bold highlights that have to be seen to be believed. It isn’t necessary for every image – landscapes work better than portraits – but the difference is so dramatic it seems as though you were viewing your photos through a dirty window.