I See Double (Exposure)

One of the limitations of taking photos on a mobile device is the lack of dynamic range. The small sensor in the camera just simply does not do it justice. There is a way, however, to blend the highlights of a dark image with the shadow area of a light image to capture a much wider range.

High dynamic range, or HDR, is a technique that is normally shot with a DSLR, as “its visual interest lies in its large dynamic range and its foreground to background range” (Marcolina 106). HDR refers to a scene that includes both dark and light elements in a foreground to background range. 

Underexposed

Overexposed

To create an HDR effect, you need two similar photos with different exposures—one should be a little underexposed and the other should be a little overexposed. You can do this in two ways. The first would be to manually shoot a dark picture and then a light one right after. I personally find this quite challenging. “The process works best on contrasty scenes shot with the camera on a tripod or propped up on a table” (104). Since I do not own a tripod nor is a table always convenient when taking pictures (especially nature shots), I have found that taking one photo and editing it to mimic two different exposures is much easier. 

The next step after obtaining two photos would be to merge them together. There is a number of apps out there that can do this, but the double exposure feature in Rookie Cam has worked best for me. I blended the images together and tweaked the results with its excellent post tools.

What are other editing apps you use and what are their advantages or features?

Marcolina, Dan. iPhone Obsessed: Photo Editing Experiments with Apps. Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 2011. Print.