I tested a couple of different settings...which one do you like the best? 1. DTD2011-CIF by 99 ReD Photography, on Flickr 2. DTD2011-CIF2 by 99 ReD Photography, on Flickr 3. DTD2011-CIF3 by 99 ReD Photography, on Flickr
I prefer the first one, the other ones go a little too much into HDR for my tastes plus the sky gets all watercolorey.
I'd go with the first myself. ; Though HDR is a personal thing - some love it wild and some love it mild. For me, I pretty much draw my personal line with HDR when you start to see white haloing or light painting around objecs or words - that for me is when it starts to look to fake or processed. ; See how the balloon and the palm trees on the right have a white aura all around them? ; That makes it stand out too much as a processed work and I tend towards liking reality in shots. Though again, not a criticism - HDR is all up to what you like and want to convey - as is photography itself!
#1 for me as well. ; I like the high contrast of the HDR but I do not like the "fake" or fantasy look of it.
I'll put in a vote for the third one. ; While I normally don't like over-the-top HDR, this one has gone far enough over the top to become a painting-like work of art. I hope that's the result you were going for. Welcome to the forums.
Obviously HDR is a very subjective , er, subject. ; I'll go with, none of the above. The first one is closest for me, but I would have tried to pull a lot more light into the shadows and water reflection. Erich
Thanks for everyone replying. And at first when I did this piece I loved the third one for how it was taking on a different look and started to not look like a photo. However with time I liked the first one because of the slight "popness" to the balloon without taking away some other elements (water, trees, and rocks.) And I will take your advice Erich next time!
