Recently I've seen a lot of people using HDR technique which makes me ask 2 questions…
But first of all I don’t want to judge or defame anyone that use his/her own technique for this photography.
1# - Is HDR considered Real Photography? As far as I know (forgive me if I’m wrong), HDR most of the time is made by softwares (aka photomatix, ps4, etc). This means we are changing the true picture and add literally more color and some effects. Also I’ve seen most of them look like real cartoons what makes look the picture kinda fake:
Exemaples taken from internet:





Edit: I want also to say, look to the picture above...in your day a day life, have you ever seen this color ? this is what I want to express

2# - Do you like HDR? If yes do you prefer the over saturated and colorful one like the ones above, or the simple HDRs like:






I’d like to hear (read) your opinion, and also from HDR experts!
thanks

I guess it depends on your artistic intent. Are you using photography for documentary purposes or are you using it to help you create something aesthetically pleasing?

hmm
good points! I'd like to know first on your own opinion. imagine yourself. would you give a try on your photos the HDR side? if yes why? if not, why not?
I really want to see everyone's opinion.

Myself, I love HDR, I just don't like exactly the first examples which are over saturated and a bit fake. I'm not throwing stones, since I've made some like that way.

I like both the simple implementation where "impossible" lighting conditions are evened out and some of the more psychedelic pictures, but some of the side effects bug me, A lot of HDR pictures look like they have a grey film over them and the typical halo effect which I find also irritating.

I agree with WalkingMan, I enjoy all the images but sometimes wonder if they are real...I have only recently began to attempt to enhance the color (usually utilize AutoFix) and I do crop when I get too much that does not ehance the capture I am attempting to make. But, I think it is reasonable to request that someone acknowledge that they have utilized HDR.

The is an extension of the whole 'to edit or not to edit' debate... I personally have no problem with unidentified HDR because I think it's ok to edit your photos how you please. The vision of what a photo is supposed to be is the artist's, and how they accomplish it is up to them.

@McMommy~Never thought about it that way....Still not sure about it. All artists identify their meduim....well almost all. I realize there are no absolutes in life.

Here are some of my musings and maybe some discussion points. Any time that we edit a photograph, be it lighting enhancements, changing resolution or HDR affects, we are changing the final affect which the photo may have on the viewer. A photographer who makes in-camera adjustments before releasing the shutter is doing the same thing, to a point. To change the photo, or not, is up to the photographer. Consider, at what point does the photographer become an artist? Is it when the camera is turned on? Isn't every photograph a piece of art?

Good Point,,,,now maybe I am opening my mind and looking at things a different way.....

Agree totally to Stabeez. In addition from my point of view it is a useless discussion because the point is like or dislike. And about taste you cannot struggle. And all the filters, techniques and software are only made because neither analog nor digital cameras are able to catch the real light situation as our eyes can. So the real question is, am I cheating if I try to get my photo as close to reality as possible. If my eyes see details in a dark foreground why not using HDR to prevent this foreground to be pitch black? If my eyes see a macro situation sharp from one part to the other why not using focus stacking. it is quite strange nobody is talking about that in paintings, sculpture and other art. Only photography has to bear discussions like this. I am really fed up with it

I completely agree!

I use to have a master who always said:
"Photographing is half of the way! the other half is how to edit your photo if you know how to do all of them together now you are a pro photographer"

it's funny that photographers always debate about "photographic cheating" like there is some rule book that states what a photographer can and can not do. The camera is just a tool as are computer software programs. Painters use all types of tools to create their artwork like paint, brushes and paper would you say they were cheating if they mixed their colors together to make new ones or used more then one brush? I think its is perfectly fine to use whatever you need to, to make your photo the best version it can be.

I'm delighted to read all your amazing answers
thank you very much for the kind opinions and answers

onlyricky - if I remember correctly, you're fan of 1x.com, right? I mean most of the photos there are heavily edited - hdr'ed, collaged, superimposed, airbrushed, etc. I don't think that hdr is something unique amongst those different methods

I say lighten up and use your camera as a beginning of your artistry. Finish that process in editing after the fact. No explanation needed. It is all art. Even the documentary photos.


Christophe Kiciak wrote on that site (1x.com) the following which I totally agree :

"While some use a camera as a tool to capture a moment of life or showing the world as it is, I am mostly using it as a way to communicate ideas through carefully studied and created setups. I am not afraid of strong edits, as long as they serve a purpose: the resulting image and its impact is the most important to me, whatever the path taken to create it. Conceptual photography and surrealism is what I currently enjoy the most."

These kind of images can be classified as "Alternative Reality". It's one of those artistic photography!
I love it myself too, the creativity is no limit!

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the way I look at it is, HDR is just another tool to be used as you see fit. I have been taking pictures all my life, I am now 60 and I just love taking pictures. I use to do my editing in the darkroom or using filters on the camera, what is a true image! Have you ever took a picture and when you look at the image it is not as you seen it!! because your eyes are more sophisticated than any camera can be, so a little help can be good.
I am no expert, but just like to go out and have fun with my camera and still get excited with the results and have sold pictures with HDR and also without.

To me, HDR is a technique to use or not...just as any other...

I truly believe photographs are under more scrutiny than any other art form because a basic untouched natural photo of a person is the closest to the real thing. When someone "alters" a picture/slice of life some are turned off by it, even offended. Yes there are some people that just take pictures of their family, friends, happenings for memories, documentaries what not but there are a lot that use photography to express an artistic outlet, paint with their photos if you will. They use composition, color, saturation, shadows, light etc to tell an exciting story or intrigue and grab the attention of the viewer. I know that my wish is to have my photos pop and make you look at them in wonder (still working on that part) I spend quite a bit of time trying to capture something mundane and turn it into something spectacular.
A painter can take a brush and paint a true to life dead on portrait of a person, landscape etc...or he can be Van Gogh or even Picasso and paint abstractly. My point is you can love the real to life or the abstract or both. I like certain HDRs but I can appreciate the people who make and love the other kinds. Hell there's even the old vignette and don't vignette debate in photography...I'm glad they're both there I prefer to enjoy all types of photography, it is art after all

Well stated sooch! I agree completely....
It is very interesting hearing every one's opinions on this...thanks Ricky for starting the conversation....

Im personally not a great fan of photos that have been edited into oblivion, like the 1st examples... but some pull it off... really depends on the shot and my mood!
Art is art though, it can be whatever the artist wants it to be... And some HDR photos DO look amazing!!!

Definition of photography: "The art or practice of taking and processing photographs" - So YES, HDR photography IS real photography!

I love the over saturated ones.

Some quick thoughts: the statement that "the camera never lies" has never been true. Lenses distort. "Digital" photography is something of a misnomer; the sensor is an analog device. The analog-to-digital (A/D) converter can also be said to "distort" images. HDR photography arose from the fact that film and digital are incapable of recording the same range of colours and contrasts as the human eye. There's not much that can be done to extend the film range but HDR can be used to give an illusion of greater tonal and colour range. It's also been adapted to make an artistic expression that has nothing to do with "realism".

I personally do not like the "lurid", "radioactive" look. Some people find the "acid trip" glow appealing, I don't. But I do like carefully applied HDR techniques in "natural" landscapes. Gerd and DavidS are very good at this and, on my more modest level, I am quite proud of some of my efforts.

The point is that you can dislike lurid HDR, but that isn't everything which can be done in HDR. For example, this is *NOT* HDR:


This *IS* HDR:

I think all images are mediated in one way or another, whether in the darkroom or through Photoshop or something similar, or the choices that are made when an image is captured. The photography greats, Bresson (possibly the greatest), Arbus, Stieglitz etc were not just capturing unmediated images, but making very conscious choices as to what and when they clicked the shutter and then there was some hard work in the darkroom. Walter Benjamin said, back in 1936, "..the manner in which human sense perception is organised, the medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well..". I don't think I've posted an image on this site, for a very long time, which has not, in one way or another, been mucked about with and in the end I think it comes down to personal choice, do, or don't do, what you think is right for the image at hand.

Just a quick thought. If you're interested in images that have not been post-processed in any way, there are quite a few groups on Red Bubble that host those pictures.

I have never seen an HDR photo that looks anything like what my eyes see! My eyes see light and shadow and they can only focus on one area at a time. When they are focused on something in bright light, they can't see deep in to peripheral shadow areas... ditto in reverse. My eyes do not take the bright and the dark areas and make them equal.

@DancingDolphin Maybe because if it's good HDR it's not obvious. You can use it to just expand the dynamic range a teensy weensy bit by restricting the effect to your taste,.

E.g. Stefan's second photo... I dislike HDR, but used skillfully I would be unaware of its use.

"Unicorn vomit"? I wonder what the unicorn ate/drank. Thanks for the very graphic image...

If we're debating photography's schizophrenia of being an interpretative art form or a means of recording the "truth", I think digital photography knocked that one firmly on the head many years ago.

(I do hope we don't have another tiresome rerun of "I don't crop or edit my digital images, therefore I am a true photographer compared to all those digital hacks messing about in Photoshop". To begin with, the camera crops the image from a circle [lenses project usually a circular image...] to the standard 3:2 or 4:3 rectangle and your camera sharpens, filters and generally messes about with your jpgs [anti-aliasing...] before they even get stored on the card. In film, processing the negative is by definition a distortion of what was recorded.)

If we're discussing the relative merits of HDR, I see no reason why people shouldn't push the "strength" slider to "unicorn vomit" levels, although I do find it a little lazy.

I would also point out that black and white photography shares the same failing as HDR. Unless you're a dog, no B&W image looks like anything your eyes see, but no one seems to mind...

Thanks to Stefan for mentioning me as a decent HDR user and sorry Jacki but you are wrong, humans eye can discover details in the dark part of our field of view which all our lenses cannot. As I am an elderly person who still has not understood how to publish pics here in the forum I offer you the possibility to visit my last post and tell us which according to your opinion is the HDR one.

I like to see this topic active again... I would still like to read more opinions, and @Gkorts your post was really great... I can't really say exactly which one is in HDR, because some cameras, has a setting that makes some pictures look like HDR and they're not! )

If you happen to be in or near New York, this could be thought provoking and relevant to the discussion. MM NY

great link, would like to go there

Best wishes 4 all. HDR photos is something like an art. All photos are the vision of their author...All are the voice of a spirit. ;)
Some of bbi's hdr effect...

I love to make some HDR photos but not often as if doesn't use a RAW pic. I get too much noise, HDR is an artistic retouch and sometimes I prefer just to let the photos just like what the way they are )