Just came across this thread, its an interesting subject in that many people seem to believe these days that HDR is some magical tool that makes their work 1000 times better. I agree in some ways with the comments that people have made previously that it does have its own distinctive look and therefore is quite obviously in use when you view this sort of work, at least that's what they say.
I have only tried HDR once, I don't personally think it fits in with the style I have, it also would create quite literally 3 times the work for me as its better to use lighting I feel to try and achieve as much as possible in camera. I know this is not every bodies cup of cha but its good, I hope, to view point another perspective on things?
If I need to make use of an area within a image that is over 3 stops difference or its something that I just can't light then I will use phase one software to adjust that exposure and then using layers and masks in CS I'll blend them in. I personally feel that this sits much more in line with what the human eye feels is normal.
This of course is just a view point, and in truth, I don't use HDR because I just can't get the same results out of it, mainly as I know so little about it and I'm so rubbish at knowing how to use it. Ok I admit I used it once! Didn't work for me, but that's quite possibly just me...lol
Cheers and well done on a very interesting thread Matt.
Tim
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