It’s now time to reveal the portions of each layer that you wish to contribute to the final image. For any masked layer, you reveal its contents by targeting its layer mask and painting over the image with the foreground color set to white, and you conceal the contents of a layer by first targeting (clicking on the layer mask thumbnail) and then painting on its layer mask with the foreground color set to black. In Photoshop logic, portions of a layer that are masked will remain concealed and will not become a part of the final image; those portions of the layers below that are not themselves masked will remain visible. Because you created Hide All masks, all of the masks have been filled with black; you must paint with white on the mask to reveal the desired portions of each of the layers.
To begin, go to the Layers Palette, click on the layer thumbnail to make it active, be sure the layer is visible, and target the layer mask by clicking on its thumbnail. You will see that the layer mask thumbnail has been highlighted. Visibility of each layer is controlled by the checkbox to the left of the layer thumbnail; the eye symbol indicates a layer is visible.
Select the Brush Tool (b), and use the open bracket ([) and close bracket (]) to size the brush; set the foreground color to white (press d to set the foreground and background colors to the black and white default colors; press x to toggle between black and white, and confirm that white is the foreground color), and dial down the flow rate setting located at the top of the image to approximately 20 %. Now paint directly over that portion of the image you wish the targeted layer to contribute to the final image. Repeated brush strokes will reveal more of the layer. You can paint freehand or use any combination of selection tools you wish to aid in making your selection. You can also increase or decrease the flow rate as desired. If you reveal too much, press x to switch to the foreground color to black and then paint over that portion of the image you wish to conceal. The layer mask thumbnail will show the results of your painting. To see the contribution of any particular layer, turn off the visibility of all of the layers above the subject layer and then toggle the visibility of the subject layer on and off.
Repeat the process of revealing portions of each layer by targeting a layer, making sure the layer is visible, targeting the mask for that layer, and painting. Toggle layer visibility to study the contribution of each layer and make refinements. If it appears you’ve revealed too much of any given layer, you can go back and paint on its layer mask with black to conceal portions of the layer and paint with white to reveal additional portions. You can change brush size by using the bracket keys and you can vary the Flow for fine control for feathering transitions. As you approach a final composite, you still can reduce the opacity of any layer; in the Layers Palette, change the opacity value. For ease in working with the several layers, you can move them up and down in the Layers Palette by simply dragging a layer to a different position in the palette.
Note that the ability to paint on layer masks, and thereby precisely select areas of the image you wish to modify, is analogous to having an unlimited number of custom shaped burning and dodging tools in the traditional darkroom. In this technique, we used layer masks here to create an HDR image. In Photoshop, layer masks can be used with every kind of adjustment layer, such as Levels, Curves, and Black and White layers to confine adjustments to a specific layer or selection.
When you are satisfied, save a copy of the composite: In the File Menu select Save As and save the Composite with a new file name. To keep your options open for future edits, do not flatten and be sure the Layers check box in the Save As dialogue box is checked. If you are pressed for disk space, you can flatten the image, but you will then be precluded from refining the selections and layer opacities. In either case, you can further edit the image as you would any Photoshop image.
4. Third Party Software
An effective way to automate the integration of multiple captures is to combine them in a third party HDR program such as Photomatix published by HDRSoft, or the standalone HDR PhotoStudio published by Unified Color Technologies. Trial versions are available, as are tutorials. HDR PhotoStudio features 32-bit logic that permits changes in brightness without corresponding shifts in color.
Photomatix offers several controls not available in Photoshop; but be selective in setting the Strength and Color Saturation. For more literal representations, dial down the Strength and Color Saturation controls, as exaggerating local contrast will produce a surrealistic result. As with Photoshop, combining different or additional captures will produce different results therefore try various combinations.
Practical Considerations, Cautions, and Recommendations
The ease with which you can take a series of bracketed exposures almost invites you to do so whenever your camera is tripod-mounted. I recommend doing that. It is the best way to fully capture highlight and shadow detail. You may not always use the extra captures, but this insures you for the times it is needed. For best results, use a sturdy tripod, mirror lockup (if available), and a remote/cable release or self-timer.
You can decide how many exposures you want to make automatically, and whether they should be 1 f-stop apart or less. Of course, you can always extend your automatic choice to make even more exposures when confronted with extreme contrast. I know some people who have programmed their camera to automatically make three exposures for every photograph. Some cameras have an automatic exposure bracket function that automates the making of multiple exposures such that once the base exposure has been set, all you need to do is release the shutter the requisite number of times. Keep in mind that combining just two captures made just a single stop apart (though I’d recommend 2 stops apart) can result in increased tonal separations in the lighter portions of the image.
Regardless of how you choose to integrate multiple captures, they can be used to record the full brightness range of the most contrasty of scenes. During post-capture processing, having photographic detail throughout the image will give you options for making artistic decisions on your final image.
A cautionary note is in order. You can overdo the combining of multiple exposures to the level of absurdity. Let me explain using a variation on the example in Chapter 10 discussed in the “Masking” section. It is the example of photographing inside an abandoned miner’s cabin, and showing both the inside and the exterior through the window opening. You don’t have to find a miner’s cabin to work with the same tough problem. Instead, suppose you’re in a room in your home on a bright, sunny day. You set up your camera with the intent of photographing the room’s interior, along with the outside through the window. There are no lights on in the room; it is lit solely by window light. Obviously there are two very different levels of light: inside the room and outside the room. Suppose you make just two exposures: one biased for good tonalities of the interior, and the second biased for good tonalities of the exterior. It should be clear from the previous discussion that you can readily combine the two captures into a single image. But the resulting composite may bear no resemblance to reality.
In reality, when you’re in the room, looking at things within the room, the exterior is so bright that it almost blinds you. If you’re staring out the window, the interior seems so dark that it appears almost black. A believable depiction would have good detail within the room—perhaps just a bit on the darker side, depending on how you wish to portray the scene—with the outside detail visible, but quite light...in essence, washed out a bit. All the exterior detail could be there, but it would be very high key. That would convey a more believable feel for the scene.