Combine Interiors with Exteriors Perfectly with Merge to HDR in Lightroom

Lightroom's merge to HDR is a brilliant way to create a single file that contains all of the dynamic range of the original scene. It's just now down to you as the editor to bring back that detail where you want it.
In this architecture photo editing tutorial I'll demonstrate how we can use this new HDR merged file to bring back the best highlight and shadow information for a rich image that captures the space perfectly.
🤩 The luminosity masking panel for Photoshop I show in this video is here: bit.ly/3dpGeub
👌 And I use Luminar AI (discount code ATSKY10): bit.ly/Lum-AI to finish my edit. When this is done as a bulk / batch edit at the end this is a real time saver and elevates the quality of your imagery. Let me know in the comments if you'd like me to show how to recreate my architecture editing preset.
The first video in this architectural photography series is here: • EARN BIG WITH ARCHITEC...
Previously I've covered the organizing of photos after the shoot here: • Architectural Photogra...
And also the steps necessary to get your proof photos to a state we can send back to our client: • Fast Editing For Archi...
Merge to HDR in Lightroom is a great feature for exposure blending. But my preferred method is with Aurora HDR: bit.ly/2TfoisF_HDR as the hard work of bringing back the shadow and highlight detail is handled automatically and therefore a big time saver.
I hope this video is useful to you. If it is helpful I'd love to hear from you and please feel free to share it with others who may benefit! Thanks so much for watching! 🙏 and share the love with a thumbs up and/or a comment 😄
👉 SOFTWARE I USE 👈
👍 Merge photos with realistic exposure blending in Aurora HDR: bit.ly/2TfoisF_HDR
👌 Improve photos in bulk with Luminar AI (discount code ATSKY10): bit.ly/Lum-AI
Get Lightroom and Photoshop here: bit.ly/CCadobe
😄 Lightroom Alternative without subscription!: bit.ly/dxo-editing
💣Best Sharpening, denoise, and upscaling: bit.ly/TopazBundle
👉 THE BEST EDITING PLUGINS 👈
🤩 Luminosity masking panel for Photoshop: bit.ly/3dpGeub
💪 High end finishing bit.ly/nik-collection-dxo
👉 USEFUL PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS 👈
⛅ Best Sky replacement pack: bit.ly/2Ruj8KP-Skies
🖊 The graphics tablet I use: amzn.to/33mJxwN (best brand, best size IMHO)
🖱 Tourbox - for editing quicker: bit.ly/39TdQ1S (discount code: TB20210408XXL08)
🖥️ Monitor: amzn.to/346A64E
👉 My Camera Equipment 👈
✅ Best power vs cost strobe for lighting interiors bit.ly/pro-strobe
📷 Lens: amzn.to/2RZzV5M
📷 New fav camera: amzn.to/3vHkMI6
📷 Pro Camera: amzn.to/3j3fQan
📷 My Wide Angle Lens: amzn.to/3j9I1Vb (used for 90% of my architectural work)
📷 Nifty fifty: amzn.to/3ifmY2t
📷 Mid-range zoom: amzn.to/33Xltkc
📷 Telephoto Lens: amzn.to/3cBAyMo
📷 Tripod Head for architecture: amzn.to/30cbJBq
These are affiliate links to the equipment I use - they are not sponsored by the manufacturer in any way. If you use these links it costs you no more than normal, but the small commission I get helps me to keep providing free content for you guys. Thanks for supporting the channel. I really appreciate it. ​​🙏​
YOU CAN FOLLOW ME AND MY WORK HERE:
Architecture: / nz_architectural_photo...
Website: www.architectural-photography...
Website: anthonyturnham.com

[@johnmarkreed]

As a dedicated flambient shooter, I'm glad to learn HDR Editing from you. Normally everyone just outsources their edits and they no longer look real. These pics look great!

[@aes53]

Anthony, just to say, I always learn so much from videos.

[@asbjrnvistisen9218]

This is a really great tutorial!! 👍👍 Excellent job and thank you for showing us your methods 🙏

[@archiphoto]

My pleasure! Thanks for leaving a comment!

[@panomaxstudio8454]

Hi Anthony Great course thanks. I will be happy to watch create preset in luminar.

[@TheLorryNZ]

Awesome video Anthony.

[@julianuk3266]

Anthony such a great channel. Love your editing techniques. I have to agree, Lumenzia is a must !

[@archiphoto]

Thanks Julian! 😊

[@davehaworthphoto]

Thank you for addressing color cast.

[@CSGPhotos]

Just got the Luminar license through your link. Looking forward to playing around with it!

[@ericbarkhurst2951]

Great tip on the color range mask as well!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Thanks Eric 🙏

[@tamashaasz]

Great tutorial Anthony! I would be very much interested to see your Luminar AI preset in detail. Also, do you have any info on when we can expect the same preset functionality in Neo?

[@kaell822]

would be nice to see the preset. Thanks for a good tutorial

[@Ancaja123]

You are the BEST!!! This is extremely helpful and well done, and your voice is easy to listen to which is huge.

[@Ancaja123]

Finally got around to trying this today. Found much better results not using HDR, but by using a light ambient, and dark window exposure. Also a flash shot (or two blended into one file). Brush in the luminosity masked ambient shots over top of the flash shot, and it was perfect. It was a luxury condo that was all glass and metal windows so the darken mode window pull wouldn't work, Lumenzia SAVES me on this -- I've never known what to do in these situations other than selecting the windows manually. My Lumenzia panel only shows L, M, and D though, no numbers which is a bummer and I cant figure it out.

[@archiphoto]

Hi mate. Glad you've found a technique that's working for you. Yeah many ways to get to a nice exposure blend result. I'm going to be covering more techniques on the channel as different folks have different workflows and software too. Cheers for watching and commenting!

[@ArminHirmer]

nice video, I just expected the edit to happen in light room only, as the title is saying :)

[@archiphoto]

Fair point Armin! I'm working on another image right now and doing a recording where I take a similar approach, but the luminosity corrections will be done completely in Lightroom.

[@JustineElisaNelson]

Amazing video!

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Naw, thanks Justine 😊

[@_trismegistus]

Thanks man!! Lots of great info here. So do you pretty much avoid using flash if you can?

[@jjaylad]

Great tutorial, but just wondering ...with the new masking tools in LR, could this workflow be streamlined?

[@joeyburgess9396]

you are a godsend

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Thanks 😃

[@fabiofieri854]

hi Anthony! very fine result! I only think that the work on the window is a little difficult or slow when I think at the window pull with the flash...when you think that could be irregular and difficult table, wall or something from the window to you, it couuld be difficult to do it!

[@lochuynh4105]

Thank you.

[@archiphoto]

You're welcome!

[@kirtg1]

thank you

[@archiphoto]

You're welcome 😊

[@infospinpix5152]

Hi Anthony, ove your work & videos. Would love to see how you created the preset. thanks con

[@glenduneensw4858]

Great examples Anthony. Any chance of you demonstrating an edit on how to use Lumenzia? Please?

[@archiphoto]

I think I could manage that! Stay tuned and I'll see what I can put together. Anyone else wanting to pick up Lumenzia you can get it here: bit.ly/3dpGeub And if you're interested in exposure blending Greg Benz's comprehensive course (also found in the link) is second to none!

[@panomaxstudio8454]

Hi Anthony. Why lightroom HDR merge give same result 3 -5 - 7 or 9 bracket. I tried with 3 exposure +2 / -2 stop and also 9 exposure wit +/- 1 stop and boom exactly same result. Have ever tried it?

[@grahammurphy3360]

Would like to see the Luminar preset please.

[@badads2447]

Great video, new subscriber! I just purchased Lumenzia, but my panel doesn't have the "L2, L3, etc" options underneath the D, M, L ranges. Did you do something to make those visible? Thanks Anthony!

[@archiphoto]

Hi mate, there are a couple of versions of view mode that you can change for the panel. Perhaps you have the "lite" view active? The help files are pretty extensive and should hold the key.

[@JustinBradleyPhotographer]

Hello sir, thank you so much for this. I shoot RE and Architecture in LA and OC in California, I've shot everything from Celebrity homes to Mobile homes. I am busy, edit all of my own photos and completely independent. That being said I am always looking for time saving tips or ways to do my edits better in about the same amount of time as I am now. I have always wondered how people are able to grab certain frequencies of luminance without effecting unintended areas. I have almost completely given up on isolating luminance in LR. I have not tried the plugin yet but seeing how well that plugin grabbed the outdoor frequencies of luminance is really impressive. I clicked the link and plan on purchasing it, hopefully supporting you and your channel. I do have one question. Do all of those links support your channel? And if so would you mind sharing how you worked out all of those referrals links with a channel of your size? I say this as a smaller, but similarly sized channel. And as such, if there is an opportunity to collaborate for anything in field or even a remote editing session. If I can ever provide any value to you, I am certainly open to it. Thanks again for this great info.

[@archiphoto]

Thanks Justin. yes I use affiliate links to help support the channel and time I spend on it. Mostly companies have reached out others I've researched if it's a product I love to use (like the luminosity panel). Thanks for the collab offer. Refreshing to have someone offering to add value rather than just asking for help which is the norm. Kudos man.

[@sjj1236]

Hi Anthony, Is there any benefit of merging the bracketed shots into a HDR format in this way and making copies to edit for highlights and shadows vs just working on say 3 bracketed shots in PS and applying the masks to each shot? thanks

[@archiphoto]

Hi. Not really. If you're going to work on the best exposures for each brightness (highlights, shadows, midtones etc.) you're better of using a different approach and just avoiding hdr. This video shows the approach I'd use for that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJPPdpWnrtWfbpI

[@nerosetsfire]

How do you get them to proof and choose their photos?

[@imadclicks]

Sir i have one request been following your videos since 3 days , Many of us have just started photoshop , it would very kind of you to explain in details all the layers u make , and how they function its very confusing as whats going on with layers

[@AnthonyTurnham]

I'll try. It's a tough audience on youtube because some folks are pros and get bored by the details (and therefore leave an otherwise informative video) and some folks are new and need everything covered in detail. It's a hard line to walk to keep everyone happy.

[@coltadrian]

How would you compare Aurora's HDR vs Luminar HDR now? which one is better? (I am interested to see your Luminar Ai Preset as well)

[@archiphoto]

Hi. They're kinda different beasts really. Lightroom will smoosh the bracketed exposures into one big 32bit dng file, but it's up to you to get the best out of that file and bring back the exposure in certain parts appropriately. Aurora can spit out a lovely 16bit tiff file, perfect for working on, but the benefit is it's already done the hard work of bringing back the over/under exposed areas where needed.

[@wildpatagoniafilms16]

The proof you sent to the client, which is the one you use to copy the settings to the merged HDR files, was a single exposure with basic settings, meaning "base" exposure (ambient) with the exposure indicator on "zero" ...? thanks! ;)

[@archiphoto]

Correct.

[@jabisanz]

First of all, thanks for the video and the amazing content in your channel. New subscriber here and also new in real estate photography. I'm a professional landscape photographer from Spain and really wanna get into this real estate photography too. Like it so much. Question, you mention on the video about some presets and templates you have for lightroom and also for Luminar. Do you have for sale? I can't find it on your website. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks a lot Jabi Sanz

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Hi Jabi! Thanks for reaching out. The templates are kickstarters for lightroom and image finishers for Luminar. I've shown how to create a couple of them in other videos but currently don't have them for sale. I am considering putting some packs together though....

[@jabisanz]

@@AnthonyTurnham what are that others videos. I will have a look. Found very interesting your channel and work

[@archiphoto]

Off the top of my head I can't recall which videos I demonstrate those steps in, sorry.

[@alanabley525]

Thanks for this, I was looking forward to it and it certainly doesn't disappoint. It's pixel peeping so not sure how important it is, but i found it interesting anyway. A 2018 KZbin video by Scott Kelby finds you get better results by using Photoshop HDR merge as opposed to Lightroom (sharper). Tested again and it's still true.

[@archiphoto]

Hi Alan. Thank you! I might do a comparison on that! Interesting.

[@tamashaasz]

Indeed, PS HDR PRO is definitely producing sharper results, however, I found some issues with colour rendering (dark orange/light brown window frame turned into ugly reddish colour) whilst LR merge was correct - at least on my test file. 5 bracketed shots with 1 stop difference.

[@JifferRiffic]

How do you batch HDR in Lightroom or photoshop??? I have huge house 7 brackets and it's a pain just going 7 select at a time for each shot. Can I batch hdr

[@aqua4790]

thanks man, how did you learn all this?

[@archiphoto]

No worries dude. 👍 I learnt through years of trial and error and initially getting some very old books out of the library. After that I spent a lot of $$$ on online education and then got frustrated that I could teach the instructors a thing or two... Anyway, now I just want to help others and share what I know. 😀

[@PWSbyChristy]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you do with all the layers when you are done? Do you flatten and save as?

[@archiphoto]

TBH with storage so cheap these days I'll usually save as a .psd (or .psb if it's over 2gb) and not flatten. It rarely (perhaps never) happens but if a client isn't happy with a shot I can go back in and have access to all of the data. Once everything is delivered I might still keep those layers and the file just incase!

[@magictracks]

love the tutorial if i was on one to 2 images but usually hand over 30 images min for each property shoot 3 to 4 properties per day and hand over within 24 hours but shoot everyday 15 properties per week on a good week. Wish there was a quicker way . Problem i get is tonal problems around window seals. When just editing and merging in light room. Get the shadow black cast on white window frames.

[@Datssoaj]

i can do the edits for you if you need

[@hushmowt]

When I apply the luminosity mask as you do around 9:23, It adds it to the base layer and not the copy layer like yours? I this due to the newer version of Lumenzia. Can any one help?

[@AnthonyTurnham]

It'll add the mask to the layer that you have selected. I may have had to cut the video so it may have missed that bit. But basically if you want to apply the mask to the highlights layer but use the base to create the mask, then select the highlight layer and set the opacity (temporarily) to zero. Then once the mask is generated and applied to that layer, then put the opacity back to 100. Hope that helps :)

[@shotbykg5833]

Have you ever tried a workflow involving saving your photos to an iPad and using Lightroom mobile or Aurora to blend photos on the go?

[@petrisormediaart1035]

creating a stamp visible copy on Mac: Command + Shift + Option + E

[@archiphoto]

Yeah, gotta love that shortcut eh. It's always seemed odd to me that such a useful feature of merging layers into one has such a convoluted hotkey combo!

[@JifferRiffic]

At 8:55 I don't quite understand how he selected the bottom layer used the plug in now his mask is on the top layer. Tried it a bunch of times.

[@archiphoto]

Hi Jiffer. If you watch the latest video I go over it again. It may make more sense.

[@archiphoto]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXPVd4iKbtlqpaM

[@andrey.003]

great tutorial. however i think you took a wrong photo as a first example, because that exterior does not look too overbrighted and overall it is more natural rather than edited. i would apply this method to photos with smaller windows where the outside is blown too bright.

[@archiphoto]

Yeah, fair point. It was more about just sharing the technique but a window shot may have been better. I've done other videos with other examples.

[@noah5323]

aswell. anwNice tutorialle, here, you have to color kick in track, color the kick in setuper, and color the kick in soft. Thats so ti consuming.

[@AnthonyTurnham]

Kick in track? What do you mean? Cheers.

[@archiphoto]

Hmmm. Not sure what you mean here Noah.

[@user-qh6xq5rp6s]

I think its funny how you start off great with the tutorial, but then you introduce a tool (that cost money btw) to adjust the layer and ignore the fact that most of us dont have that tool. So now how do I get that exact selection that the tool made and not you?

[@archiphoto]

Respectfully, if you're doing architectural or even real estate photography professionally but you're not willing to drop $40 on a tool that will speed up your workflow, save you time and improve your final result you're doing something wrong. If you compare an investment in your professional hard gear such as cameras, lenses, lights etc. going into the thousands, relative to that, $40 on software for the backend isn't much at all. But, you can always borrow and manipulate an alpha channel to work with luminosity that way, or use the apply image command outputting to a mask. More cumbersome , more time consuming and less control. That's why I shared the best method rather than the PS alone approach.

[@user-qh6xq5rp6s]

@@archiphotoI didnt say anything about not wanting to pay for a tool. I was a little disappointed that your title didnt mention anything about the tool you used. You could have said "How to edit your photos using this tool", but you didnt, and I watched your video up until that point and was just a little upset. Im subscribed to you and will keep watching your videos, but I'm tired of people in comments boasting videos for things when the title is misleading. Was it a good and informational video? Of course. Was it misleading? Yeah it was.

[@helpfixstupid6190]

the outside - through the window looks fake/AI/painted/oversaturated...

[@AnthonyTurnham]

I appreciate your opinion, but I don't feel that it does.

[@helpfixstupid6190]

@@AnthonyTurnham it seems more saturated than the inside... If you add a tungsten or ambient yellow filter to the outside, would there be less of a color change from inside to outside? Are the home's windows tinted with a UV filter?

[@archiphoto]

The sliders to the outside are open, tbh there wasn't much colour on the inside of the house. A very neutral palette.

[@asbjrnvistisen9218]

This is a really great tutorial!! 👍👍 Excellent job and thank you for showing us your methods 🙏

[@archiphoto]

No worries. Thanks for the comment!