HDR effect in Photoshop CS5

Step 1

Open the image

Open up your image in Photoshop CS5 (or use our one) and head up to the Image menu. Scoot down to Adjustments and pick the shiny new HDR Toning option.

Step 2

Start to adjust

A dialog window appears with sliders to alter the HDR effect. You’ll notice that the image has immediately changed, based on the current position of the sliders. The Method drop-down menu targets how the image is changed – the Local Adaptation works best.

Step 3

Good vibrations

Head down to the Color area of the window and move the Vibrance slider to the right. This boosts the colour of the image, helping with the HDR effect.

Step 4

Dreamy detail

Try moving the Detail slider to the left. This removes, erm, detail from the image and is the tool to use if you want that dreamy effect that some HDR images have. We want a bit more oomph, though.

Step 5

Exaggerate the detail

Move the Detail slider over to the right and call attention to all the beautiful brickwork in the building. In under a minute, we have managed to transform a single photo into an HDR masterpiece!