What counts as a HDR image

I have just uploaded a image created from a single RAW file. Because it has not been overly processed it was questioned by another user. I have noticed this has happened before on images of other people. So my question is what makes a HDR image, a HDR image?

Well here’s my opinion of an HDR Image Kevin. It is either a single image processed using an HDR program making the single image into 3 different Exposure Values, aligning each image then tone mapping. Or using multiple images 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,or even 9 images of the same and again aligning and tone mapping. Either process can produce an HDR image. I think the key letter in HDR is the D….for Dynamic. Some images seen on this site range from one side of the spectrum to the other. From pics that look like a single image with little or no dynamic range to pics that look like cartoons and others……. everywhere in between.
Many are over processed and oversaturated. I have been guilty of posting some of those in the past. I think, and this is merely my opinion. The perfect HDR image is one that is NOT overprocessed, NOT oversatured and has Great Definition or Outstanding detail. I for one am still trying to produce a PERFECT HDR! It seems many members here have different taste as to what they think an HDR image should be or look like. As the saying goes……“Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”!

I completely agree with Digicam; his statement pretty much sums up what I would have said as well.

Gone for good this time, felt I was being bullied by a rather up his own arse individual. Have requested to have my account removed.

Sorry to hear you have decided to DRAG UP Kevin. I for one thought your compositions and postwork had improved dramatically over the past few months. I say ignore Bullies and Arses and just post for the pleasure of sharing your work.
There is NO way you can please everyone…..Arses and Jealous individuals will always exist and try to bring others down. If you leave the Arse has succeded in what he/she set out to accomplish and that’s rid you of this site. Post for those who enjoy your work and continue to strive and improve your talents . Maybe tomorrow will bring you ……….“The Perfect HDR Image”, and if so, what will the Arse have to say or do then. If you do decide to leave then I say I have enjoyed many of your post and wish you Good Luck in the Future. e neighbor

Kevin, your images were some of the better images here in my opinion, and I enjoyed them. I’m sorry that someone felt they had to bully you about your pictures, for whatever reason, valid or not. At this point, I’m aware of whose opinions and constructive criticism on this site I listen to, and which ones I ignore. I really hope you change your mind and pay no heed to the bullies here. Giving in to them gives them the power and control over this site. I, for one, don’t want them to win and refuse to let them. Just ignore the idiots and know you are still in good company here.

Thanks both of you for your comments, but I was getting rather worked up and might have ended up saying something I would regret later. I know that it seems like I am letting the bully win, but I have to think of my own health first and this was not good for me. I will be uploading some of my photos on Picasa soon if you would like to have a look the address is http://picasaweb.google.com/Kevin.Wolves/JustFo…#

Most of them you will have allready seen but these will be added to shortly. I would like to wish both of you all the best for the future.

Kevin, sorry to see you leaving. I’ve always felt that you have some of the better photos on this site. Take a break, cool out, and return soon. Never let @ssholes drive your actions. Fire back at them. They usually take cover when they are confronted. I believe the HDR world is sufficiently large to encompass a range of variations and preferences. Good luck in your future efforts. I’ll definitely checkout your work at Picasa. One last thing, have you heard about the new Pentax camera that has built in HDR capability? I think this is a sign of things to come. HDR has become a full-time player in the world of photography.

I read only now this word:
“felt I was being bullied by a rather up his own arse individual. "

I hope you are not speak of me because i explain my vision of hdr commenting your image ( now is all gone ), and i was open to discuss the question as you do here but i don’t have seen this post.
So i am really afraid if i my fault if you have leave this place but it was not my intention. If you were talk about other guys i agree with your position

TinaLouise has just pointed out to me that another guy bob1140 is leaving. Having stopped posting myself, I have missed some of the useful feedback I was getting. Hope this problem can be put right soon.

I’m relatively new to this site and I don’t know who’s been saying what to whom. If one is going to put one’s photos up on a site where others can rate it and post commenst, one needs to develop something of a thick skin. If someone criticises or doesn’t like an image for some reason, he isn’t attacking the person who created it.

Using Photomatix on a single RAW file isn’t HDR; it’s pseudo-HDR. But from what I can see of the way this site is set up, it’s OK for people to upload pseudo-HDR images. You could say they are part of the HDR “family.”

It’s not a crime to post a single-image file. It’s a crime to post a bad single-image file (or a bad HDR file, for that matter). As an art school graduate, I’ve seen instructors completely erase a student’s sketch during break and I’ve seen an instructor pull a student’s photo off the wall during critique class.

That’s art. Some people are going to tell you your work sucks, rightly or wrongly. Too bad. You have to deal with it. Personally, I’m more bothered when I post an image and no one rates it or comments on it than I am if someone comments that they don’t like it. At least I know that they looked at it.

On the other side, I sometimes want to say some negative things about some of the work posted here, but I’m sensitive to the fact that human nature being what it is, the photographer may feel insulted. If I can’t figure out a way to offer criticism constructively, I don’t say anything.