Two days ago, on December 6th, a new HDR software was announced, promising to change the game in high dynamic range photography: HDR Express, from Unified Color Technologies.
Side note: HDR imaging is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard photographic methods.
The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple photographs.
Back to the new software, although it sounds very professional, it is not only for pros. On the contrary, one of the targeted groups is that of photo enthusiasts who are new to HDR software and techniques and who want to create amazing images quickly.
HDR Express automates some of the aspects of HDR merging, such as tone mapping and halo elimination. The manual and occasionally tedious workflow has now a fast alternative for creating realistic or stylized HDR renderings.
Included presets make the software accessible even to beginners, who will be practically able to create an impressively balanced light dynamic with just one or two clicks.
One other major advantage of this software is the natural color space of the resulting image (if you ever tried HDR merging, you might have noticed in dismay that more often than not you get incredibly psychedelic and unrealistic colors). This was also pointed out by an endorser who tested it and noted “Because Express gives such good color rendition it becomes the HDR tool that finally allows this professional to use HDR. Previously I used a third party application to perform the HDR merge but the resulting over saturated and color shifted image caused the client to insist that we not use that technique.” Read more about his experience and see some HDR Express examples here.
You can buy the HDR Express through Unified Color’s website (available for $99 as an electronic download) at www.unifiedcolor.com/hdr-express and you can either use the software as is, or as Lightroom and Aperture plug-in. A free, fully functional 30-day trial version is also available for anyone who wants to take the HDR Express for a test drive.
Second side note: this software won’t turn you over night into a stunning photographer. You still have to work on your own (at least) to get all the exposures straight.
