CS5 layers - Blending two images with different exposures

For the past two weeks, I have been working on a series for a local fish house/fleet/shipper/store. One of the difficulties I've had in shooting is the preponderance of direct morning sunlight combined with high ceilings lit with huge quartz halogen lights and my fill flash.

It is, however, the direct sunlight coming in through the loading bay doors which has given me the largest amount of lighting grief in balancing all 3 light sources. Using a combination of these video tutorials so graciously supplied by Rob, I took an underexposed and correctly exposed image, did the layer alignment technique, cropped and did the blend. While it is not perfect, it is a far cry better than trying to fix either of the originals regardless of an particular technique.

http://i56.tinypic.com/8z21bn.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2dqmurr.jpg

And....

http://i55.tinypic.com/2ns6ejd.jpg

Same place but looking out from in.

In the first two images I've adjusted (in ACR) the exposure for the cave roof in one and the waterfall and rain forest in the other. Lens correction and adjustments (identical in each) to vibrance, clarity and a little saturation.

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...dfc40885_z.jpg

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...8eaf262c_z.jpg

Then in CS5 blended them using the techniques discussed here. Overall I'm happy with the result although the lip of the cave doesn't look perfect.

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...72240ed7_b.jpg

I would have been tempted to tone down that lightest part of the rock closest to the water spout...seems just a tad too bright - almost as if you used a flash.

I do think the greenery looks better in this new shot....better density and color correction. It's a keeper! it is an interesting technique..I used it also again today to create a dragonfly shot. The auto alignment did its job for the most part, but added an errant wing part, hence leaving the middle a bit translucent, but still a good workout for this technique. I have to reset my auto timer on the exposure command to off so I can just shoot each frame as needed. Given the need, I can shoot 3 or 6 frames per second in burst mode.

Access the folder in Bridge, select both/all, click Tools>Photoshop>Merge to HDR Pro. You'll get a set of options - I usually use "flat". When the image opens in Photoshop, "Save As" 16-bit Tiff(no compression) and close. Return to Bridge, and open the Tiff in Camera Raw - it's very useful for setting the black point(I'm quite aggressive about this) and use the fill light to open up the shadows. You can also do your lens correction at the same time.

Within limits, Photoshop will sort out the alignment for you.

HTH

Peter