Why is HDR unacceptable to some photographers

I just dabbled in HDR and i love it a looot. Some of my photography friends say that i should just concentrate on my composition and forget all the extra Post processing items.

How can I get better as a photographer with such limited options in PP. Shouldnt an artist explore all avenues of his craft.

So that he may find what he wants to do? Or should he just remain purist and forget all that technology has to offer?

It really doesnt make any sense to me.

There can be different reasons why people would be sceptical about HDRI, but It's a quite common phenomenon that some people will welcome new developments, new approaches or technologies, while other people will stick to what they're used to. I can perfectly live with that. I'm not spreading some kind of religion, I'm just making the photographs that I like, and that happens to be HDR images. If other people reject HDR imaging, all the better. In that way we remain a special branch of photographers, which is quite nice. You don't want to be just another ordinary photographer, do you?

Never woke up anyday, and told myself im going to be ordinary today..hahhahaa..I love this site and I think HDR is just an awesome way of self expression. More power to you ron...=)

Just a guess:

First, people tend to resist change. New techniques take time to be accepted in the public mainstream.

Even 'purist' HDR can look a little 'unnatural' to new viewers. It can take a little getting used to, as it doesn't look quite like a 'normal' photograph. To me, if it looks more like I would see it with my own eyes rather than having the dynamic range limitations of 'regular' film or sensors (lack of shadow detail, etc.), then I like it, but that's just me. Opinions vary widely on the subject. When it goes past that to show detail way past what the eyes would see, then I think it looks unnatural. Maybe that's putting some other folks off as well. I know my personal taste isn't shared by everyone else, so again, that's just a guess.

Then there's the 'creative' HDR, which looks a little (or a lot) surreal. I think a lot of viewers that don't like it think that it's either a novelty, or crosses a boundary from photography into graphic art. I think that while some of it is really artistic and stunning, some of it is done just because someone has a computer and a program. Applying the technique to any old photo can be off-putting...it can come off as boring once a viewer has seen dozens of images with no redeeming value beyond heavy processing. Nothing wrong with learning, but I think it visually overloads a lot of viewers. Personally, I think it really comes down to what you like, but a lot folks just don't seem to go for a surreal look or other extensive digital processing in photography, HDRI or not.

In any event, opinions of HDRI do seem to be polarized into 'like it' or 'don't like it' camps. Not too many seem to be ambivalent about it. I also think viewers that don't like the 'creationist' HDR see it labeled HDR and think all HDR is that way, putting them off on anything labeled HDR. In that way, it's become a misunderstood term. Those of us that work with HDR understand it, and although more folks are trying it, most viewers just don't accept it yet. Again, just my guess.

[/b]One of the defininitions of purist HDR is that it gives a more accurate representation of the subject. As Jack Nicholson once screamed "The Truth, the Truth. You Can't Handle the Truth!!" Perhaps, we have been brainwashed by the past technological limitations and the inferior image becomes the norm. My old photography professor would not accept any submissions which were not black and white. He felt this was true art in which you painted with light. Black and white is certainly an art form, but the great masters did't paint in black and white 400 years ago.

I say this calls for radical action. We must form an HDR cult. This website is certainly a start. We shall be like the little boy who yelled "the emperor has no clothes"!.

yeahhh..makes a lot of sense..i never knew a great painter paint in black and white. HDR will be a big part of the photography world someday..=)

Since I've discovered HDR I've rarely shot single images. My camera gives me the ability to shoot up to 9 bracketed shots at a time and the software available from the various HDR software developers has put tools in my hands that have revolutionized my thinking about the world around me. I rarely use 9 exposures, mostly 3 or 5 and find that I can now virtually guarantee correct exposures whether I employ HDR or not...It's a win win situation. The world of HDR has room in it for those of us who want to test the outer limits or stay right here on earth and produce high quality images to suit our own particular view of the world. On a commercial note, my sales have gone through the roof since I started using HDR which helps pay for this addiction.