darktable ep 030 - Creating and editing HDR images

[@AlexisBoissiere]

Finally someone who REALLY explain how a module work exactly ! Not just "you click there and your image look more stylish". Keep going ! These videos are helping me a lot !

[@Kevin-dt9xn]

Wow. This is what I've been looking for. A well thought out explanation of how to handle HDR in darktable (and other darktable tutorials). I just switched from Windows to Ubuntu, and the final step was finding a good system for processing photos. Thanks to you, I've found it!

[@audio2u]

Glad to be of assistance! 😃

[@MarioPeshev]

That was oddly entertaining while being highly educational. Thank you.

[@audio2u]

No worries! Thanks! 😃

[@sunesnigel]

Man you're a hero. I've been thinking I was an idiot not getting the modules working well. Awesome work with the filmic module!!!!!

[@audio2u]

Thanks mate! 😃

[@SigmaJester271]

Thanks mate, this has been super helpful! Love your tutorials

[@audio2u]

Thanks!

[@paulhardaker1151]

Bruce - would be great if you could do an updated version of this one. Things seem to have changed quite a bit since this video. V3.4 no longer has the Global Tonemap or the Tone Mapping modules that you mention as being HDR-specific tools (both depreciated due to "internal design errors that can't be solved"), and Filmic RGB has undergone a complete overhaul and works quite differently in a number of ways. I'm finding it very difficult to get a satisfactory result from an HDR stack generated within Darktable - particularly with just three exposures (ie, a single bracketing). I've made some progress using RGB Curve and Tone Equalizer, but the results are still dim, dull and lifeless - badly lacking in contrast and saturation. I'm sure the data is buried away in the 32-bit DNG file, but with my fairly limited abilities I can't get to anything close to an image that I am happy with. Keep up the good work with these tutorials - I use them all the time!

[@audio2u]

I'll have to add that to the "to-do" list!

[@VieuxBat]

Hi Bruce, They're is some interesting results with the global tone mapping module (different modes) on single expo photo (none HDR stack). You know you can boost the expo over 3ev all you have to do is enter the number you want with the keyboard ;), beats to add new instance. Great channel/tutos !

[@audio2u]

I was only adding a second exposure module because I had already dialed in +3 stops on the FIRST exposure module!

[@bereantrb]

@@audio2u I think what they're getting at is that you could have gone back to your original exposure module and typed in '5' rather than add 2 stops on a new module.

[@andipink]

I second the request for a remake of this video. Some time ago I was searching for developing HDR in new workflow but somehow didn't find anything.🤔

[@grahamsopp]

Hi Bruce - I like this approach to videos - focused on the end result, rather than a module. In the real world we want to know how to achieve a result, not what a module can do. fantastic work!

[@audio2u]

Thanks Graham!

[@SreelakshmiPrabhakar]

An excellent explanation of another nice feature of Darktable.

[@audio2u]

Thanks!

[@folmonty]

Really nice video Bruce! Have spent more time watching than doing, but in the past couple weeks changed that. Must say that between mucking around with an image after watching your tutorials has actually helped me develop a surprising comfort level and proficiency that enjoyable. Learning how to manage masks has been the biggest challenge. This HDR video only makes me want to try more of the various modules to become familiar with them. Thanks for all your hard work!

[@audio2u]

Glad to hear it! Thanks!

[@jynclr]

Thank you Bruce! I appreciate the tutorial. Pro-tip to other viewers. If you don't find the global tonemap and tone mapping modules, when on the tone group tab, look at the bottom for "More Modules." Click on that arrow and scroll through the menu turning on those two other modules. My darktable didn't default to having those two modules on.

[@unfa00]

Thank you for this tutorial!

[@audio2u]

No problem! 😃

[@robinraasch9274]

Great!!! Really good tutorial with important background information but not to complicated.

[@audio2u]

Thanks!

[@bernym4047]

Slightly dated now as modules are upgraded but beautifully explained. I did wonder about the last Portuguese sea cave shots is you had manually bracketed them as my camera will only shoot 7 bracketed shots automatically. I noticed that some of the people on the beach have been ghosted, presumably because the series was shot manually with a considerable interval between the exposures. I suppose that could be dealt with by the retouch module if there were not too many ghosts or edit in (say) Gimp to blend with an exposure set purely for the beach. However, I have dabbled with HDR some considerable time ago and was put off by the unconvincing results. Therefore I have not attempted it since but this video has encouraged me to experiment further so thanks again for a most useful treatise.

[@audio2u]

Let us know how you go!

[@lionking-sy8uq]

thank you very much for this series. Love your videos. Is there a module in darktable for focus stacking?

[@audio2u]

No, sorry. If you're on linux, have a look at hugin. If you're on windoze or Mac, you might need to google it.

[@deshanchathura]

Thanks so much for sharing this

[@audio2u]

No problem 😊

[@leona_devon]

Thanks Bruce, I've dome some experimenting with HDR but only used 3 Images, I'd like to do more after seeing this, so thank you, btw love the Podcast too, so you have at least 3 listeners now and you've reached all the way to the UK :)

[@audio2u]

Yeah, in my experience, you want a minimum of five images with half stop increments. Glad you are enjoying the podcast, too! 😃

[@orbitelectron8355]

Wow i got what i want. Thanks Bruce. i started to go through your episodes on darktable ....i just love it. The way you covered the modules too good and very much to the point with reasons. I started visiting your channel from 09.08.21 and so far covered 030 episode in a sequence. Thanks to your for your efforts. In episode 030 about HDR you mentioned about DNG file creation. Can DNG file can be created same way for Focused Stack images? Once again thanks. Keep sharing your views and knowledge. Your videos are helping me a lot!

[@audio2u]

Thanks! I haven't looked into created stacked focus DNG files, so I'm not sure annoy that. If you're on Linux, you can use enfuse and enblend, but that's not something I've ever done.

[@ricardokullock2535]

Nice! I was trying to learn how to blend exposures in gimp, but this seems a better approach. Still could be interesting to see what can be done in gimp....

[@audio2u]

I haven't explored trying to do HDR processing in gimp, but I'm sure you could. Although, I suspect it would be a much more "hands on" workflow (not automated).

[@fiat-voluntas-tua]

Thank you 🙏 !

[@audio2u]

No problem!

[@wayneharris6631]

Great video and info. Many thanks!

[@audio2u]

No dramas! 😃

[@emerson_mora]

Nice explanation, thanks a lot.

[@audio2u]

Cheers! 😃

[@ThisGuyRocksLikeCrazy]

Great video. Keep it up.

[@audio2u]

Doin' my best! :)

[@JIMMYSBN]

Hi Bruce, I am missing the modules you are showcasing in this tutorial, problem is, is that I have got "modules:all" selected in my modules panel, quick google search says they are deprecated and no longer available, what is your updated workflow for HDR in 2022 3.9 Darktable?

[@audio2u]

Color calibration, filmic RGB, color balance RGB, export! Those are the basics anyway.

[@JIMMYSBN]

@@audio2u Thanks, managed and done! I had a real estate photoshoot to edit and did that with HDR conversion, exposure and got really good results! Very happy with the software. Also I got to appreciate masks for window pulls OMG amazing control.

[@audio2u]

You'll be excited to hear then, that I am currently working on a new series of videos covering masks (again).

[@JIMMYSBN]

@@audio2u Absolutely! Keep it up!

[@pasqualeguglielmi4253]

Fantastic content! A tutorial on how to build an HDR panorama would be awesome 🙏

[@audio2u]

I'll need to learn how first! 😃

[@pasqualeguglielmi4253]

Bruce Williams Photography I will be patiently waiting 😄. BTW, thanks so much for the effort you put in helping us out. My editing skills got a huuuge improvement thanks to this channel . Really thanks!

[@audio2u]

Cheers! :)

[@DavidLaCivita]

Hey Bruce, have you tried multiple instances of the tone mapping modules combined with luminousity masks?

[@audio2u]

No. You've had success with this?

[@DavidLaCivita]

@@audio2u I haven't tried but as I was watching your video some of the adjustments worked fine in the shadows but ruined the highlights. Seemed like a perfect opportunity to use luminosity masks.

[@tonyb2760]

Interesting to say the least. Thanks for sharing

[@audio2u]

No worries! :)

[@leolibbey9852]

With the release of the new version of Darktable, I'd really be interested to see if you are better able to process that cave DNG. Those situations (significant luminosity differences) are the biggest thing I struggle with. A bright moon, or strong lights at night, or caves etc I just can't seem to get the transition area smooth (no halos)

[@audio2u]

I should have another look at it.

[@SW-Video]

Where does lightable save the HDR images? I can't find them. I did it once and it simply added the combined images into one file shown on the screen as one HDR image but I can't seem to replicate that.

[@audio2u]

As I recall (I haven't done it in a while!), darktable puts the newly-created HDR file (usually saved in .EXR format) in the same directory as the source images. That new .EXR file will also be automatically added to your database. So, your first approach would be to go to the Collections module. On the lft side where it says Film Roll, left click and choose Folder. Then, navigate to the folder where the source images live. You should find the .EXR file there as well.

[@SW-Video]

@@audio2u It turns out the Linux OS system I'm using can't recognize the .rw2 file. Some kind of codec or code corruption issue I guess. Thank you very much for your reply.

[@GNU_Linux_for_good]

05:04 Couldn't find *global tonemap* . My version is 3.8.1. I have the tone module expanded by double click, but no luck there. ps: Just found out it's deprecated! Now I'm pretty much on my own :-(((

[@audio2u]

Yep, global tonemap is dead to us now. Try the tone equalizer.

[@GNU_Linux_for_good]

@@audio2u Thanks, Bruce.

[@Eigil_Skovgaard]

Thank you for your answer to my lua question. I have deleted my long text for the sake of clarity.

[@audio2u]

Not a problem.

[@donnypodcast]

is there any way to align images that are slightly shifted for an HDR image? For example: you shoot with a shitty tripod and all of your bracketed shots are off by a hair, making the image look like a blurry mess. Is there anything in darktable to align all the bracketed shots so they come together as one sharp shot?

[@audio2u]

No, darktable requires images that are aligned properly. If you're on Linux, try hugin. If you're on Windows or Mac, you might need to Google best HDR alignment software.

[@wido123123]

Hi Bruce! I've recently cross with your channel (and I love the DT tutorials). What I wanted to ask is this: I know that you can do one thing in different ways (like sharpen or denoise or color correction), but what are the tradeoff with each method? should you stick to only one method or can you stack them without any significant loss (like using CLUT and color zones, at the same time)?

[@audio2u]

You know what? I've never used look up tables at all! Something I'll need to investigate soon, as I'm going to need to do a video on that in the near future. As for trade off's, no, I don't think so. But quite often, the approach one module takes can be subtly different to the way a different module approaches something. And it's usually (for me, at least) just a question of what works best for the image in question. Someone mentioned that whole color zones has proven to be good for black and white conversions, the channel mixer is much quicker if you just want to darken the Blues in the b+w sky.

[@stastester2677]

I can't believe how little views these explanations get, I consider them one of the best tutorials out there. It helped me a lot, especially this one :-) Thanks for the time and effort you put in to them.

[@audio2u]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I am glad that you have found them helpful.

[@rrstites]

This video is good. However, I think it would be more helpful to update this HDR tutorial using the filmic RGB module in DT 3. Thank you for what you do, your darktable tutorials are great.

[@audio2u]

Thanks! I haven't tried doing an HDR process using filmic. I'll have to give that a go!

[@lifebarier]

This is really useful. Any comment how to auto align hand held hdr shots?

[@audio2u]

Use an app called Hugin.

[@lifebarier]

@@audio2u That one seems to fail to stack images correctly (maybe I am doing something wrong, tried some tutorial with using "autopano-sift-C"). LuminanceHDR seems to manage stacking, but I just don't understand that one... Will need to do some reading.

[@audio2u]

Like darktable, Hugin is quite technical in its approach! 😃 Took me a while to work out how to stitch a pano! But it will do image alignment as well, as I understand it.

[@mkfuertes]

Installed darktable v 3.4.1, when I went to "create hdr" it turned it into a pure black photo. I added 5 exposures turned up all the way and still nothing. These were 360 .dng photos. Individually they look fine, but the output is horrible. I would appreciate any help with this.

[@audio2u]

I have used the "create hdr" function in earlier versions of darktable, but haven't used it recently.

[@alanmcpherson1122]

HDR in Darktable 3.4?

[@audio2u]

Same as in previous versions, as far as I know. I haven't heard of anything being changed.

[@alanmcpherson1122]

@@audio2u Apologies Bruce, should have been more specific. Two of the modules suggested from processing HDR (Tone Mapping and Global Tonemap) have now been deprecated. I was wondering if there are now better ways to process HDR files in 3.4. I took my first bracketed exposures today and was going to experiment. Keep up the great work, love the channel!

[@audio2u]

Ah, right! Maybe I need to do a new version of this video! 😃 I'll get back to you on process.

[@nwrth]

Perfect! Thank you! :-)

[@audio2u]

Cheers!

[@techcast2428]

Do you have to use raw images to make hdr photos in darktable? If you have to, can you convert a jpg into a raw file?

[@audio2u]

No, a jpeg cannot be converted to a raw file. The raw file format is proprietary and owned by each camera manufacturer. So a camera is the only device which can create a raw file.

[@domdabomb722]

I Bruce thanks for the great vids... when I try to combine 3 .cr2 images from my canon 70D darktable seems to combine and save the image but it is not found ANYWHERE not in the folder the original cr2's are in or any other folder. Any ideas?

[@audio2u]

It should be in the same folder as the source images, but it won't be a .cr2 file, it'll be a .dng file.

[@cosmo0080]

thanks

[@toddcannon4257]

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm not getting a DNG file when I merge though? I've looked in the destination file that shows on the screen when merged and all around my computer and can't find the HDR file created? Tried numerous times without success. Oh well

[@audio2u]

That's weird. It SHOULD have been created in the same folder as where the source images were located. I'm assuming you have used your system file browser to look in that folder (as opposed to just using darktable's import dialogue box)?

[@toddcannon4257]

@@audio2u Yes, I've checked the original file and the backup files through the system file browser outside of DT. Attempted several times with different photo sets all RAW the same result. I'm figuring my DT download has a fault in it somehow.

[@domdabomb722]

@@toddcannon4257 having this issue with my DT when attempting to merge 3 .CR2 files from my canon 70D. Have you ever figured out the problem???

[@toddcannon4257]

@@domdabomb722 I tried it on a different PC and it worked. It wasn't working on my Surface Pro3, so I may uninstall and reinstall. My PC I built myself and is much better than my SP3. So an actual solution, no.

[@louismilone6812]

When I go on tone section I only find filmic and local contrast,global tone mapping doesn't exist

[@audio2u]

Global tone mapping has been deprecated.

[@youalexmay]

This tutorial seems to be extremely well done. It is such a shame that it has become outdated so very quickly. It would be fantastic if you could do a new one based in the modules which have replaced the ones you were using. They look nothing like the ones you were explaining and I failed dismally to work them out.

[@audio2u]

A redo of this is on my to-do list, Alex!

[@lefrash]

Is it just me but are the DNG's not incredibly blurry and mushy?

[@audio2u]

No idea, sorry. I don't use them. They SHOULDN'T be, though.

[@thecuriousonez]

I think it would be really cool if you made all the episodes into one video and call it Darktable full course

[@audio2u]

Haha! I doubt anybody could sit and watch THAT! 😃

[@thecuriousonez]

@@audio2u but there are adobe photoshop courses that are like 3 hours long with millions of views! I've been searching for a full course on Darktable your playlist is the closest thing i could find meaning if you made it you'd be the only one on KZbin to have it! atleast sleep on the idea

[@audio2u]

I just don't see what the difference is. You can load the playlist, and play all of the episodes in order!

I think HDR workflow in Darktable is very much inferior to most other programs especially as it does not seem to align images nor does it do deghosting and autotoning but this is still another great video!

[@audio2u]

Probably a fair criticism. In all honesty, I don't often create HDR composites and if I do, I would normally do the alignment in Hugin rather than darktable.

@@audio2u yup, I hope someone from Darktable is or will work more on HDR.

[@AlgoFodder]

Honestly, i was expecting to see Hugin used in this tutorial, since even with a tripod images don't always perfectly align.

[@audio2u]

@@AlgoFodder I considered it, but didn't go there, for two reasons. 1. Although I have dabbled with Hugin, I don't understand the alignment progress well enough to explain it coherently to someone new to the app. 2. This series of videos is about darktable, and I don't want to dilute the content. More than likely, when I've had a bit more experience with Hugin, I will create a separate channel for Hugin tutorials. 😁

[@AlgoFodder]

Wait, how many channels have you got?! ;)

[@cryptomilkone]

Hi Bruce, there is a plugin for HDR and Focus Stacking in the darktable lua repository. It uses the tools which hugin uses: github.com/darktable-org/lua-scripts/blob/master/contrib/enfuseAdvanced.lua Once installed and activated you can choose it in the export dialog and do fine tuning for the HDR process. It will create a tiff in the end you can use for further processing. Work in progress is a new plugin for darktable for HDRMerge with does a pretty awesome creating HDR images, see github.com/darktable-org/lua-scripts/pull/164

[@AlgoFodder]

Oops, you left the basecurve module active during your second filmic attempt :)

[@techcast2428]

This is so frustrating my photos are jpeg's and they won't become HDR because it says the "exposure bracketing only works for raw images" I already hate darktable

[@audio2u]

That's not a limitation of darktable, though. That's a limitation of the 8 bit nature of a jpeg.

[@techcast2428]

@@audio2u I see. Thanks for your reply!

[@techcast2428]

Do you have to use raw photos for hdr in darktable?

[@audio2u]

To be honest, I'm not sure. I'd have to check whether you can use a jpeg to create an HDR image.

[@RicoResolves]

I had the same idea for a tutorial haha! Now I won't anymore though. Great explanation again. However... Mr. Bruce... You really need a new intro tune haha, in my opinion this one is extremely annoying and doesn't do your fantastic channel justice!

[@audio2u]

You know what they say... You can't please all the people all the time. 😃

I like the intro tune! It let's me know I'm watching Bruce, idk how to explain it xD

[@RicoResolves]

@ yeah I understand, the same way you recognize Peter McKinnon his two minute Tuesday haha!

@@RicoResolves I think that Bruces intro tune is simple and cute as it comes off as being humble. I don't think viewers would benefit from overproduced tutorial videos. He is doing it right by not overproducing the video but instead spending that time to do a very extensive research on the topic, features, inner workings etc and crafting a very nice and clean explanations. He makes a valuable content, the video quality is great (you can see the interface clearly), the audio quality is great (you can understand and hear everything even for non English speakers as myself ), the narration is just awesome and he even introduces some personal hype here and there which I find very cool. In another video I commented that he was a Steve Irwin of Linux/Darktable photo editing and I think other people notice that. He doesn't need to change anything, the current production is doing it just fine :)

[@RicoResolves]

@ Just to be clear, I have always said (here and on other fora) that Bruce is doing a fantastic job and creates amazing in depth tutorials. However, all I'm saying is that I'm not a fan of his intro tune lol.

[@paulchristensen7515]

A very informational video, Bruce, but all you did was show that someone could putz around for hours to come up with an inferior HDR image in DT. DarkTable is excellent for many aspects of photo editing, but HDR is not one of them. My time is valuable so it is worth the money to me to buy Aurora HDR and get image alignment, deghosting, chromatic aberration adjustment, perfect saturation and contrast in seconds with just one click.

[@audio2u]

And that's fair enough, too! As I said elsewhere in the comments, I generally use Hugin for alignment.

[@jackdeangelis6585]

I believe that Aurora HDR is only available for Mac and Win while many Darktable users are Linux based. With the addition of image_align_stack in the HDRMerge (see comment by Andreas Schneider) this makes for a very fine HDR and pseudo-HDR method for Linux-based systems.

[@NSAwatchesME]

doesnt work all i get is an image even darker than the dark image darktable is garbage

[@audio2u]

Yes, the newly-created DNG file WILL look very dark, but it has an amazing amount of exposure latitude now. Try increasing the exposure to say +5 stops and see what happens.

[@NSAwatchesME]

@@audio2u no i tried that and it recovers nothing. even worse than the -3ev image. there must be a way to tell the software the bracketing values 3ev 3 image

[@audio2u]

Sounds like the DNG hasn't been created properly. Did you shift-click all the source images before creating the DNG file?

[@NSAwatchesME]

@@audio2u ctrl click