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The Sony A7r and HDR Photography – Start To Finish!

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In this highly detailed video tutorial I will show you how to take take HDR Photography using the Sony Alpha A7r in this really creepy abandoned pool scene. In the field for the first part of this video, and I go over some tips and tricks for getting better shots plus explain the fundamentals of HDR photography as a whole.
For the processing I will show you how to take the raw files from the Sony A7r and create a HDR Photograph using Lightroom 5, Photomatix Pro, and the Nik Filters. I go pretty deep and show you all the fundamentals of HDR Photography and the basics behind capturing the frames and processing the raw files to a final product. Remember, there are many ways to capture the images on the camera and process the files off the camera. I show a few methods to get you going, but always try new things and explore your camera options to the fullest.

Auto Exposure Bracketing, Manual Mode, and/ or a Remote control can also be used for capturing the frames on the camera, but I wanted to show you the the exposure compensation method to help illustrate the point of multiple exposure’s and the different EV’s. Clearly you can capture the images faster using AEB or a remote, but that does not help in tutorial situations most of the time 😉

The Self timer works great for when you don’t want to touch the camera, have no moving subjects in your scene, and when you have the time. I prefer using the self time most of the time unless I’m in a rush. In that case I will use the exposure bracketing with my finger on the camera and I will make sure the shutter speed is fast enough to not get any camera shake. Often raising the ISO is required.

I hope you like the video and remember that Photography is all about capturing, so if you want to capture more detail in the shadows and highlights, HDR Photography is the way to go!

The Sony A7r and HDR Photography Start to Finish

Be sure to select the HD Quality in the player window once the video starts!

Edited HDR Photos from the Creepy Pool

Check out the actual edited photos and be sure to Click on them for the full larger ~1200px versions!

Sony A7r HDR Photograph - Abandoned Pool Scene
Sony A7r HDR Photograph – Abandoned Pool Scene #1
Sony A7r HDR Photograph - Abandoned Pool Scene
Sony A7r HDR Photograph – Abandoned Pool Scene #2
Sony A7r HDR Photograph - Abandoned Pool Scene
Sony A7r HDR Photograph – Abandoned Pool Scene #3

Closing Remarks

That is about it for this article on HDR Photography using the Sony Alpha A7r, Lightroom 5, Photomatix, and the Nik filters from start to finish. I really hope you got something out of this video tutorial and will try to take some cool HDR Photos yourself at some point if you have not already 😉
As always, please feel free to ask questions and/ or comment below!

Thanks again for checking in and your support,
Jay

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Jay
Your support is greatly appreciated as we run this site in our spare time and are not paid. We can however, make a small commission if you click a product link that your interested in. That click will then give us credit if you choose to purchase any given item. This has no effect on the cost of the product, and is a simple way to give back to SonyAlphaLab.com for the effort and info we provide. Thanks, Jay
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10 Comments

  1. Thank you Jay, learning HDR slowly, I purchased the Sony Nex 6 in November 2013 and am blown away by the technology and ease of use. Your tute is much appreciated and I hope I can apply these techniques to my images.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Tony for the comments and kind words 😉 You can certainly use the exposure compensation on your Nex-6 just like I used with the Sony A7r in order to get multiple exposures. I’ve used that method and the exposure bracketing feature many times and it works great. Slight camera movement in between frame is not that big of a deal, because the hdr software aligns the images anyway. This means you can actually hand-hold and take three frames really quick with the bracketing feature and still get a killer result. Not as good as using a tri-pod of course, but still better than no hdr in some situations. For that method I use -2,0,+2 exposure’s.
      Have a good day and thanks again for the comments,
      Jay

      Reply

  2. This may be one of the stranger questions. How do you get the giant magnifying glass for your mouse pointer? Thanks so much. I actually have the Nic software. I use their HDR Efex pro for my conversions but, I’ve never really done much with the filter effects. Most of the stuff doesn’t seem all that different than what can be done in Lightroom already. After watching this, you have me thinking very hard. I’m going to make a point of taking another EXTREMELY close look at it. Thank you very much for the demo.

    Reply

    1. Hi Pete and thanks for the comments and questions 😉 The magnifying glass question I have gotten a few times and it’s not silly at all. It’s a feature of the screen capture editing software I use called Screenflow. It’s a killer Mac program and has the ability to magnify in a variety of ways. I like that one best because it only enlarges what is necessary. SOmetimes zooming in on the whole screen is better, but no that often I find.
      The HDR Efex Software also works really well, but I find it much slower than Photomatix. I should give it another go 😉
      Thanks again and have fun editing,
      Jay

      Reply

  3. HI Jay,
    Owner of a A7R, I’ve just discovered your website and wanted to thank you for the wealth of info that you provided. It helped me a lot !
    Thanks !
    Michel

    Reply

    1. Awesome news Michel and thanks for taking the time to comment 😉 I’m really glad the info has helped you out with amazing Sony A7r. If you would like to post on the forum, let me know and I can set you up with an account asap!
      Best,
      Jay

      Reply

  4. I really wish Sony would allow hdr bracketing with 2sec timer without always touching the camera. That is what is keeping me from buying this camera. I am used to having a lot more control of my brackets with one button push on my smaller sensor camera. Nice tutorial though.

    Reply

    1. Hi Paul and I also wish Sony would address that silly issue. I don’t know why they still have not, but you can get an application that helps. The Bracket Pro App (Click Here) Will allow you to take multiple shots with just one press of the shutter in a variety of ways. Still not the same as a 2 second timer I know, but it’s pretty nice nonetheless 😉
      Have a great weekend and thanks again for the comments,
      Jay

      Reply

  5. Hi Jay,
    as new owner of the A7r there are a lot of questions to be answered, when coming from a Canon 5D MK ii. Your detailed tutorial answered some of them. Many thanks for the info!
    Have you heard of any way to shoot more than 3 bracketed images with at least 2EV?
    Paul, you might have a look at
    http://alikgriffin.com/blog/dec/08/how-shoot-hdr-sony-a7-a7r
    It seems he managed to trigger A7r with a simple IR remote and 2sec. delay.
    Regards,
    Gerrit

    Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing Gerrit and yes you can use the remote to trip the camera shutter, but will still need to change the exposure comp. The HDR Bracket Pro App is the best way to do it without touching the camera honestly.
      Jay

      Reply

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