Photomatix Pro Exposure Fusion - So Far, So Good

I'm experimenting with Exposure Fusion in Photomatix Pro tonight. So far, I'm very impressed. No HDR look, no ghosting, no halos and definitely faster than manual blends. Really excited to continue experimenting with it to see if my initial thoughts are accurate for the long run.

Stay tuned...

WTF is Exposure Fusion? From the HDRsoft site:
HDR Tone Mapping: Reveal highlight and shadow details in an HDR image created from multiple exposures.
Exposure Fusion: Merge differently exposed photographs into one image with increased dynamic range.
These sound like the same thing. Did these guys add a feature, or have I had it all along and didn't know it?

Okay, I see a little more clearly. For anyone wanting to learn more, go HERE. The term "command line utility" scares the hell outta me, being a non-command line utility kinda guy.

I went back through my files and found this image from the Green River Overlook in Canyonlands. I had two images: one exposed for the sky and the other exposed for the landscape. I used Exposure Fusion to combine them and the image came out looking pretty good. I added a very slight curves adjustment, and added a touch of vibrance and saturation in PS then sized, sharpened and saves for web. This is the result. Pretty darn natural, I think. Not the greatest image, which is why it has languished on my hard drive for months without every being processed. But, I think it's a good example of what can be done with exposure fusion.

So is this a new feature within Photomatix, or one that's been there all along? How does it work?

It's a relatively new feature, Todd. I'm not sure when they added it but it has to be within the last year.

Initially it works much the same way as an HDR in Photomatix. You open the software, select the images you want to enfuse/blend, and let the software do the work. It kicks out a final image that usually looks about perfect as-is. The software has a handful of adjustments you can make, i.e. choosing whether to blend more fo shadows or highlights, adjusting mid-tone contrast, black and white clip points, etc. All slider based, real simple to use. Make whatever adjustments you want to make, then save the file as a 16-bit TIFF. You can then pull it into Photoshop and make whatever other adjustments you want to make before saving a final, master file.

The results are not at all HDR-like at any stage of the process, from what I've seen. Natural colors, no haloes, good shadows. It's really pretty sweet. Going out on Sunday to shoot some more test images to run through it and will post my findings here and on my blog.

Now that I look again at the Canyonlands image I posted it appears too dark, which has nothing to do with the Exposure Fusion software and everything to do with me and my eyes being too tired. Time for bed...

Okay, I got it. This is sick. Bret, if you were here right now, I'd give you a big, sloppy kiss on the lips! This is incredible! It's available in Photomatix Pro version 3.2, and if you've got version 2 or newer, you can download the newest version for free. What you see at the link is the result of using Exposure Fusion on its default settings. No extra PS work, no nothin'. From here I can tweak further, but if this is what it gives out by default, this is AMAZING!!! It took about five times longer to prepare this little demo than it did to do the ExFuse application!

Maybe I should take back my offer of a smooch, Bret, because you just cost me a boatload of time I'm now going to spend looking back through my files for all those bracketed exposures that hdr just didn't give me the results I wanted.
Check it out here!

Actually, exposure fusion isn't new in Photomatix as far as I know. The name was just changed in the last version to "fusion", though. It use to just be called image blending. After getting tired of the amount of time it took to rein in the wacky HDR stuff I started using the blending/fusion feature and basically reacted the same way Todd did. In fact, I've never really took the time to master blending images in Photoshop because Photomatix is so much faster and give good results, IMHO.

The only thing different in my workflow from Bret's is that I sharpen my -2 and +2 exposures in ACR then save as TIFFs before blending. Considering that you can tweak the images in ACR before blending I imagine there's a lot of flexibility in this approach.

Ditto what Jeff said. The feature has been in Photomatix for awhile, they just changed the name. BTW, if you're a Lightroom user, you should also check out LREnfuse. It's an exposure blending tool based off of Enfuse/Enblend. Very easy to use and gives natural results.

Sweet! I read about this on Kevin McNeal's blog and was wondering if anyone here has given it a try. Todd, that example you showed is pretty sweet. I might have to dust off my Photomatix software and get me the free update. Thanks guys!

Jeff is right. They used to call it Photo Blending and it provided much more natural results than the HDR option in my opinion. Good stuff though.

I bought Photomatix Pro in Dec. 2008 and used it for 2 or 3 months before giving up on it. I don't remember seeing anything called "Photo Blending" or "Exposure Fusion" in it until recently. Whenever it appeared, it's awesome. I'm very excited about the potential this offers without having to spend hours behind the desk blending images by hand. Bring on wildflower season!

Todd: Glad you're diggin' it, but I'll pass on that kiss. Nothin' personal, buddy!

I gotta agree with ya, Bret. After we talked about it I went home and gave it a whirl myself and really liked the results (at least for the one image I tried). You can see that image in my latest post (third image down). It's definitely gonna be a tool I'll keep in the arsenal.

I'm really glad you mentioned Guy because that gave me the kick in the pants I needed to try it out myself. Definitely a good tool! Freakin' love your Landscape Arch photo. Amazing work, the whole collection but that one stands out as being the most spectacular of the bunch.

Thanks for the tip. I downloaded the upgrade and it works great. Gives you a much more realistic image.

Amazing...I've been using tonemapping quite a bit and then spending a significant amount of time in PS making it look more natural with layers and masks. This eliminates that wierd look of tonemapping. Here's a very contrasty scene shot this morning---bright sun, dark barn in the shade, five shots and the only PS change was to do auto color: Barn Fusion. And here's the same image with only a small amount of shadows and highlights tweaked: Barn Fusion S&H. Thanks for pointing it out, Bret.

Rod, that's VERY impressive handling of such a high contrast scene.
What exposure bracket range did you use for the 5 shots ?

BTW: Since I don't have Photomatix, I tried out Paul's LREnfuse suggestion. I like it. Works well within LR and the price is right, especially if you are only interested in blending exposures and not the full range HDR options.

Has anyone tried both LREnfuse and Exposure Fusion?
I assume Exposure Fusion provides more options, but are the results significantly different?

Here's a 2 exposure, LREnfuse blend from sunrise at Toroweap.
One image was exposed for the cliffs. The second was -3.5 stops for the sky.

http://pelzmann.smugmug.com/Arizona/Grand-Canyon-From-the-Rim/6809088_8zXNU#788333888_wXNCs-XL-LB

Bill,

My exposures were normal, +1, +2, -1, -2. At $99 I consider Photomatix Pro one of the best investments I've made in software.

Bill,

My exposures were normal, +1, +2, -1, -2. At $99 I consider Photomatix Pro one of the best investments I've made in software.

Bill: Absolutely gorgeous photo of Toroweap. I have got to get down there some time! Looks very natural to me, too.

Rod: It's a real bummer you guys haven't gotten much snow this year. Love the photo, especially the 2nd rendition. Extremely natural looking with all the great details and nice, dark shadows. I'm really excited about what this software is going to allow me to do without spending hours behind the computer. I'll have lots of images to test it with when I return from AZ. You can bet I'll write up a full review on my on my blog. BTW, check your email Rod.