Christian Photographers Community

Tonight, I drove over to Austin Ranch North of Dallas, to see what HDR could do for low-light exposures.   I have a long way to go before I master the technique, but it looks promising:

These are interesting shots.  I don't understand the technique you are using, but I know what I like.  I do like thes.

This technique, is that what gives the "star" effect that is there with the lights?

Well done.

these are great captures, I like them very much,

You take about five exposures, some overexposed (too light) and some underexposed (too dark) and one just right.   Then you use HDR software to combine them, and you get almost all areas with visible detail.   I'm still learning how to do it, but I like the look.

The "star" effect is probably the overexposure of lights acting on the blades of the diaphragm.

I know what HDR is, but I haven't tried it, yet.  I think you've got a good start.

The star effect with the light happens from using a small aperture.  Lights in images start out looking more like little round puff balls with a large aperture and the more you stop down the lens, the more the star effect happens, even without a having to use a special filter.  Here are a couple of examples...

This image was taken using a larger aperture...



This image was taken using a smaller aperture...