The new version of Lightroom (known as both Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC) has a new HDR photo merge. HDR, or high dynamic range, photos blend multiple different photos of different exposures into a single image.
The algorithm hides pixels that changed between exposures by replacing them with pixels from the metered image. I recommend that you select “SHOW DEGHOST OVERLAY” in order to visualize which regions and pixels are affected. There are 4 settings for deghosting (NONE, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH).
Do one of the following:
- (Photoshop) Choose File > Automate > Merge To HDR Pro.
- (Bridge) Select the images you want to use and choose Tools > Photoshop > Merge To HDR Pro. Skip to step 5.
Handily, the Show Deghost overlay option shows the areas of the image that Lightroom will Deghost with a red overlay. You can change the Deghost Amount between None, Low, Medium and High and the overlay will update to show the areas identified for Deghosting.
You then have 3 options to access the stitching feature:
- Right click on the thumbnails and choose Photo Merge > Panorama.
- Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL-M.
- From the top menu, choose Photo > Photo Merge > Panorama.
Select the overlay and click on it, then drag it over to your image and drop it on top. The default option is to open the overlay as a copy, so go ahead and change that to opening it as a layer instead. This will put your overlay down on top of your image as a new layer that you will be able to move around and edit.
If Lightroom can't detect overlapping detail or matching perspectives, you'll see an “Unable To Merge The Photos” message; try another projection mode, or click Cancel. The Auto Select Projection setting lets Lightroom choose the projection method that is most likely to work best for the selected images.
HDR expands the range of both contrast and color significantly. Bright parts of the image can get much brighter, so the image seems to have more "depth." Colors get expanded to show more bright blues, greens, reds and everything in between.
How to Use Lightroom + Photoshop for Auto-Blend Focus Stacking
- In the Lightroom Library Panel – start by selecting the images you wish to blend.
- Photo > Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop to stack as them as layers in a PSD.
- Edit > Auto Blend Layers – Then select “Stack Images” in the pop-up window.
An Overview of Lightroom 5 HDR FeaturesSince an ideal HDR image is obtained from the processing and merging of individual photos, shot under different exposures, Lightroom 5's HDR feature employs this modus operandi.
How to Increase Dynamic Range with Photoshop - HDR by PS
- Open the file in PS, go to Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Levels, adjust the middle input slider until the shadows are properly exposed.
- Select Layer Mask of the adjustment Layer, go to Image-Apply Image:
Take a raw photo in Lightroom on your phoneOpen the Lightroom for mobile app and tap the camera icon in the lower right. If your device supports DNG file capture, make sure File Format is set to DNG. Tap the Capture button to take the picture.
It also has an HDR feature, and best of all, saves the result as a raw file. In all, it's a great mobile photo app. It's available as both an Android app and an iOS app, and both work identically.
Adobe Lightroom Mobile is now free on all compatible mobile devices. The company just announced the Android version will now work without a subscription, joining a similar change made for iOS back in October.
And though the feature has been around for a while – RAW support has been available from the iPhone 6s onwards – not many know about it, or know how to use it. Part of that is Apple's fault: the built-in Camera app doesn't shoot RAW. The only way to click RAW photos on iPhone involves third-party apps.
The photos are first stored in the disk allocation of Lightroom CC, then uploaded to the cloud. Depending on the settings they will then be replaced by smart previews on the phone.
A quick glance through the metadata panel will show you which shutter speeds and apertures you've used to take the images in your library – and, more importantly, how many images were shot at each setting.
Tap the camera icon at the top of the screen. By default, the camera will only capture JPGs. To capture RAW files, tap the little RAW icon in the bottom left. If it's dimmed, you're capturing JPGs; if it's solid white, you're shooting RAW.
