Setting the scene:
Using HDR processing won’t make a horrible picture into a fantastic one. When taking any photo you’ll still need to focus on atmosphere, composition, the story you want to tell, etc. You can’t just go out and pop off some bracketed exposures, bring them into Photomatix, and expect a fantastic piece of art. If you’re photo was gonna suck as a single jpeg, chances are it’ll still suck just as bad as an HDR. Think about what composition and perspective is good for that scenario; this is one of the many advantages of using a tripod. It causes you to take a step back and visualize the scene you are trying to capture, instead of just pointing the camera and shooting. For HDR in particular, it helps prevent camera shake and also allows your multiple exposures to be perfectly aligned.
Camera setup:
I’ll assume you’re using a dslr, and if not… well… go buy one, you won’t regret it. You’ll be shooting your bracketed images in aperture priority mode. Again, think about what you want out of the image. With a smaller aperture (bigger “F-stop” number) more of the scene will be sharply in focus. With a bigger aperture (smaller “F-stop” number) such as f1.4 or f2.8 you’ll have a shallower depth of field (subject in focus, background/foreground blurry).
Note: I almost always shoot in RAW and I’d suggest shooting RAW for your HDR images (for Nikon users this is the .NEF format). It allows for the most detail to be captured in each of your shots and the main advantage is in tweaking your photo to your specific likings in post processing.
Note: HDR images tend to produce more noise than a normal photo. Noise is the grain that you typically see in a photo when you raise your ISO up into the multiple thousands. Even if your camera is amazing and can shoot virtually noise free up to ISO 6400, HDR will produce noise. I usually shoot a Nikon D90 and almost always try to shoot HDRs at ISO 100. Whatever camera you have though, try to shoot at your lowest ISO, whether it is 50 or 200.
Aperture priority mode means that when you are getting different exposures, you’ll have the same depth of field (DOF) for all of your bracketed shots. Thus, your aperture will stay the same and your different exposures will be caused by differing shutter speeds. If your camera has any type of auto exposure bracketing (AEB) feature, this will be fairly easy. Bracket 3 shots at -2ev, 0ev, and +2ev and hit the shutter release. Check out your manual for how to set it up. If there is no autobracketing feature, such as on a Nikon D40, you’ll have to adjust the exposures manually. While your dial is on “A” mode, press the “+/-“ button and spin the wheel to change your exposure values.
You can produce HDRs from a single RAW (I’ll discuss how to do this later) or using anywhere from 2 to 11+ exposures. A single RAW is usually better used when there is movement in the scene, as in most pictures involving people. This allows you to capture the scene without any ghosting (taking 3 images will have the moving subject repeated or blurred across the different exposures). Using a single RAW though almost always results in less detail and more noise in shadow areas, as you are working with less image detail than you would have with 3 different exposures.
Again, for the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll talk about using 3 exposures. One at -2ev, one at 0ev (regular exposure), and one at +2ev. This part is fairly simple. Pick something you want to shoot, set your camera up (aperture priority mode, lowest ISO, AEB), and take the photos. If it is bright enough and you have a steady hand, you can get away with doing this handheld, but if at all possible I’d say to use a tripod.
Note: The purpose of this tutorial is to teach you how to make HDR photographs. I won’t dive into composition or any of that. There are a million great resources on the web to learn about what makes a photo pretty. To get the most out of HDR photos though, try and pick scenes where there are bright highlights and dark shadows, as this was most of the reason this style of post processing even came into existence.
Once you’ve snapped the shots, check out your photos on the LCD screen. There should be a normal looking image(0ev), an image that looks too dark and underexposed(-2ev), and a bright and overexposed image(+2ev). The order doesn’t matter at all, though I think most cameras typically take the sequence in this order: Normal exposed, underexposed, and overexposed. Once you have the shot(s) you came for, pack up your gear and head back to your computer to upload the photos.