HDR Photographer’s Workflow – Lightroom, Photomatix, HDR Efex Pro & Photoshop

Richard Charpentier HDR, RLC Design 4 Comments

Alright folks.  It’s finally ready to roll.  The “Beta” Version of the HDR Photographer’s Workflow is here……  With some caveats.  🙂

Version 1.0 has a few minor glitches that I need to tell you about up front.  See, there were some sound control issues in the Bonus Video section.  Some crazy guy didn’t have his Blue Snowball condenser mic on for the first few segments of the Bonus video.  The problem is what got recorded was really good, so I’ve gone with it!  Bottom line, you’ll be turning the volume up for a few segments, and turning it down for later segments.

Remember, my studio is an Airstream.  My studio assistants, video producers, editing crew, etc, are all me.  And sometimes I’m spread a little thin.  Down the road I’ll fire myself for the audio quality in those segments.  But right now I need to keep myself on staff because I’m the only person willing to work with me.  Think about that for a minute…….

How’s the DVD Work?

The final interface I went with is Web based.  So, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, whatever you like.  Why did I go this way?  Simple.  Space.  There are hours of content on this disc.  And as a bonus I’ve also included multiple RAW files from the Vulture Mine for you to play with.  These aren’t throw away images.  They’re some of my favorite HDRs.  Of course, still my copyright.  So, you get to play but please don’t print.

For you Windows folks out there you’ll need the latest version of Quicktime.  That’s the only glitch I’ve had reported back from Windows users.  They had to download the newest version of QuickTime.

So, what’s on the DVD?

There are 4 major sections to the DVD.  The Workflow, Vulture Mine, Grand Canyon, & Bonus Lightroom Lessons.  Each of these headings has many lessons under it.  Let’s break them down.

  • The Workflow:  Under this heading we cover the overall workflow with Lightroom, Photomatix, & HDR Efex Pro
  • The Vulture Mine:  The most extensive segment of the tutorial, the Vulture Mine has it all.  More Lightroom information, working with Photomatix, working with HDR Efex Pro, Smart Collections, and dealing with Chromatic Abberations.
  • The Grand Canyon:  From my recent trip to the North Rim of the Canyon, we work through the whole process again.  Lightroom, Photomatix, Photoshop, and Topaz for kicks!
  • Bonus Lightroom Lessons:  Ah the sessions where the major audio discrepancies happen.  But still worthwhile and useful.  Version 2 will get these cleaned up.  But for those needing a refresher in Lightroom I’d suggest starting here, then getting into the HDR Workflow!

Now that I’ve advised you of everything, here’s the deal….

For the first round of production we’ll be shipping direct from here in AZ.  USPS only.

The professional version of the DVD with the cool box and publishing house that handles shipping and everything will be $50.00.  That gets you a cool case to put the DVD in and some graphics.  It also gets the publishing house a nice cut of manufacturing, etc.

So, for Version 1 I’m retailing it at $25.00.  With shipping and handling (plus a nice bonus prize in each mailer) $30.00 total.  And the PayPal button is right below for your shopping pleasure!

Buy it now

Okay, you’ve had all the caveats.  🙂  And even with those, I think you’ll enjoy the content.  So go ahead and buy it now….unless you want to wait for the cool box and such!





Comments 4

  1. Hi,

    Probably not fair, but my first experience w/hdr-efex has not made me want to stop using photmatix. If anything, it reinforces that I can get reasonable results w/pm.

    Otoh, I don’t much care for PS CS5’s HDR feature either. Don’t know if more experience/practice will change that, but not getting the results I want makes it easy to just keep using photomatix.

    Thanks for sharing and suggesting hdr-efex, I am always interested in new ways of doing things.

    ps. love the photos you take of the area. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a couple of times, but want to come back!

  2. Post
    Author

    Mike,

    We’re in agreement. My first testing with HDR Efex left me trying to simulate what I could do with Photomatix. And given years of Photomatix use my comfort level with it is greater of course.

    With more practice I’ve found interesting results. In the tutorials I show both programs. And how to work with them.

    I’m still a Photomatix user, and now HDR Efex user as well. I think there’s some great potential for ghost towns and abandoned buildings with HDR Efex, and I’ll keep toying!

  3. Hi Rich, I had the opportunity to watch most of it after receiving the DVD at the HDR class. It’s a great, informative HDR tutorial for the beginner and the Lightroom lessons make it even better! BTW- a great value too. 🙂

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