For some unknown reasons, Nikon decided to skip the automatic exposure bracketing feature on the D40 and D40X DSLR cameras. For people who are interested in high dynamic range (HDR) photography using D40/D40X, this is a convenient feature that is missing. However you can still do HDR photography without it using D40/D40X. Here are two ways of doing that.
The following example is based on exposure bracketing shots of -1, 0, +1 EV.
The easy way (Camera in aperture priority mode)
- Put the camera in aperture priority mode
- Take the first photo
- Hold exposure compensation button, rotate the command dial 3 clicks to the left (+1 EV)
- Take the second photo
- Hold exposure compensation button, rotate the command dial 6 clicks to the right (-1 EV)
- Take the third photo
The precise way
- Take the first photo
- Put the camera in manual mode, set the aperture to the same value used in first shot, but reduce the shutter speed 1 full stop (exposure twice as long)
- Take the second photo
- Increase the shutter speed 2 full stops (1 full stop if counting from the original exposure)
- Take the third photo
There are some debates on which one is better but both methods should work well in typical situations. Both methods have potential issues if the scene has rapid changing lighting condition because it takes time to adjust the camera settings during shooting. In this situation, the first method may give you three different exposures that are not exactly 1 EV apart. The reason is that the exposure compensation is applied only when the shot is taken based on the correct exposure at that moment determined by the camera. The second method ensures the three shots were taken with precise exposure value differences. It seems the second method is better. However there is really not much practical differences if the lighting condition is changing between the shots.
Keywords: D40, D40X, Exposure, HDR, Nikon
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Nice concise write-up. Only thing missing are some sample photos, but helpful none-the-less.
Hi Brandon,
HDR examples are plenty on the internet. For example, you can search on flickr. We also have more posts about HDR.
Thanks.
Max
Question,
There are plenty of HDR samples on the internet, but nearly all of them were taken with auto-bracketing cameras. Are there any HDR images that were developed by manually adjusting the exposure levels as described in your tutorial? It seems to me that composing a HDR image with three manually adjusted photos would be difficult, considering each would be framed slightly differently due to hand error. Does it make a difference?
Thank you for your tutorial nonetheless.
Michael
Michael,
Are you talking about hand-holding the camera? It would be very challenging to do so. You will need to mount the camera securely on a tripod and minimize any movement of the camera.
Max
Hi,
I tried this technique, and to be honest i found that it was difficult to avoid getting any movement in the image, because of the time it takes to change apature.
I have done quite a few of HDR’s and I did it by taking one photo and then going into photoshop and changing the Brightness, usually about 4 times. then using photomatix upload the 4 altered images plus the original.
I think most of them come out very well, and it stops any movement in crowds or streets affecting the image.
iZamy
(check out my HDR’s on flickr http://www.flickr.com/people/30729613@N08/)
iZamy,
One option is to use tethered shooting to avoid any camera shake. Check this out.
http://dptnt.com/2009/03/another-mac-option-for-tethered-shooting-with-nikon-dslr-cameras/
Max
i’m confused though, once i take the thrid photo, do i combine all three of them, as layers in photoshop?
hmm helpful otherwise, please get back to me. thanks. (:
It can be done in Adobe Photoshop. Check out the following links:
http://www.talkingtree.com/blog/index.cfm/2006/11/11/how-to-make-hdr-images
http://backingwinds.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-create-professional-hdr-images.html
Max
Try using a RAW file and over and underexposing in elements and convert in Photomatix. You can see some samples on my website.