Help - Photomatix Tone Mapping Plug-In for Photoshop

The Photomatix Tone Mapping Plug-In is a filter for HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, i.e. for images in 32 bits/channel mode resulting from merging bracketed photos. The 32-bit workflow section details how to create the HDR image in Photoshop and process it with the Tone Mapping Plug-In. You can also use the Tone Mapping Plug-In on an image in 8 or 16 bits/channel mode captured with a single exposure. However, you will get optimal results with multiple exposures. The plug-in offers two tone mapping methods to process your image. · Details Enhancer: This method increases local contrast, which has the effect of boosting shadows and creating a painterly effect. On the other hand, increasing local details makes noise artifacts more visible. · Tone Compressor: This method produces a more "photographic" look, and avoids noise and halo artifacts. The settings for each method are described further down this page. For a more detailed description, we recommend the video "Tutorial on Photomatix Pro Tone Mapping" available from this page of our website.

32-bit workflow Settings for Details Enhancer Settings for Tone Compressor Registering the plug-in with your license key Getting more information and help

32-bit workflow 1. Take bracketed photos. See the section Taking photos of a HDR contrast scene for details. 2. In Photoshop, choose File > Automate > Merge to HDR. 3. On the "Merge to HDR Pro" window, make sure the Mode is set to 32 Bit. 4. Once the 32-bit HDR image is created, choose Filter > Photomatix > Tone Mapping. 5. Click on OK to apply the Tone Mapping filter to your image. 6. Choose Image > Mode > 16 Bits / Channel 7. On the HDR Toning panel, click on the Method pop-up menu and select Exposure and Gamma. 8. Make sure Exposure is set to 0 and Gamma to 1. Then click on the "OK" button.

Settings for Details Enhancer Tone Mapping Strength Affects the degree to which contrast and detail are enhanced in the image. A value of 100 gives the maximum amount of enhancement. To get a more natural effect, move the slider to the left. The default value is 70. Color Saturation Controls the saturation of the RGB color channels. The greater the saturation, the more intense the color. A value of 0 produces a grayscale image. The value affects each color channel equally. The default value is 46. Luminosity Controls the compression of the tonal range, which has the effect of adjusting the global luminosity level. Move the slider to the right to boost shadow details and brighten the image. Move it to the left to give a more 'natural' look to the resulting image. The default value is 0. Detail Contrast Controls the amount of contrast applied to detail in the image. Move the slider to the right to increase the contrast of the details and give a sharper look to the image. Note that increasing the contrast also has a darkening effect. Move the slider to the left to decrease the contrast of details and brighten the image. Lighting Adjustments Affects the overall 'look', controlling the extent to which the image looks natural or surreal. When the Lighting Effects Mode box is unchecked, move the slider to the right to make the image look more natural and to the left to make it look more 'painterly' or 'surreal'. Lighting Effects Mode The checkbox lets you switch between two modes for the Lighting Adjustments setting, where each mode produces slightly different results. Checking the box tends to produce results with a type of 'Magic Light' effect. Note that finer control is not possible in Lighting Effects mode. Smooth Highlights Reduces the contrast enhancements in the highlights. The value of the slider sets how much of the highlights range is affected. This control is useful for preventing white highlights from turning grey or uniform light blue skies becoming dark blue-grey. It is also useful for reducing halos around objects placed against bright backgrounds. The default value is 0. White Point - Black Point These sliders control how the minimum and maximum values of the tone mapped image are set. Moving the sliders to the right increases global contrast. Moving them to the left reduces clipping at the extremes. The White Point slider sets the value for the maximum of the tone mapped. The Black Point slider sets the value for the minimum of the tone mapped image. The default value is 0.25% for the White Point setting and 0% for the Black Point setting. Gamma Adjusts the mid-tone of the tone mapped image, brightening or darkening the image globally. The default value is 1.0. Color Temperature Adjusts the color temperature of the tone mapped image relative to the temperature of the HDR source image. Moving the slider to the right will give a "warmer", more yellow-orange colored look. Moving the slider to the left gives a "colder", more bluish look. A value of 0 (default) preserves the original color temperature of the HDR source image. Saturation Highlights Adjusts the color saturation of the highlights relative to the color saturation set with the Color Saturation slider. Values higher than 0 increase the color saturation in the highlights; values lower than 0 decrease it. The default value is 0. Saturation Shadows Adjusts the color saturation of the shadows relative to the color saturation set with the Color Saturation slider. Values higher than zero will increase the color saturation in the shadows. Values lower than zero will decrease it. The default value is 0. Micro-smoothing Smoothes out local detail enhancements. This has the effect of reducing noise in the sky for instance, and tends to give a "cleaner" look to the resulting image. The default value is 2. Shadows Smoothness Reduces the contrast enhancements in the shadows. The value of the slider sets how much of the shadows range is affected. The default value is 0. Shadows Clipping The value of the slider sets how much of the shadows range is clipped. This control may be useful to cut out noise in the dark area of a photo taken in a low-light situation. The default value is 0.

Settings for Tone Compressor Tone Mapping Brightness Adjusts the overall brightness of the tone mapped image. The default value is 0. Tonal Range Compression Controls the compression of the tonal range. Moving the slider to the right has the effect of shifting both shadows and highlights toward the mid-tones in the tone mapped image. The default value is 0. Contrast Adaptation Adjusts the influence of the average brightness in relation to the intensity of the processed pixel. Moving the slider to the right tends to result in more "pronounced" colors. Moving the slider to the left tends to result in a more "natural" look. The default value is 0. White Point - Black Point Both sliders control how the minimum and maximum values of the tone mapped image are set. Moving the sliders to the right increases global contrast. Moving them to the left reduces clipping at the extremes. The White Point slider sets the value for the maximum of the tone mapped image (pure white, or level 255). The Black Point slider sets the value for the minimum of the tone mapped image (pure black, or level 0). The default values are 0. Color Temperature Adjusts the color temperature of the tone mapped image relative to the temperature of the HDR source image. Moving the slider to the right will give a "warmer", more yellow-orange colored look. Moving the slider to the left gives a "colder", more bluish look. A value of 0 (default) preserves the original color temperature of the HDR source image. Color Saturation Adjusts the color saturation of the tone mapped image. The greater the saturation, the more intense the color. The value affects each color channel equally. The default value is 0.

Registering the plug-in with your license information When the plug-in is in trial mode, you will be prompted to enter your user ID and license key after you have clicked on the "OK" button (located at the bottom right of the plug-in's window) and when the "Details Enhancer" tab is selected. If the window letting you enter your license information does not show when you click on the "OK" button with Details Enhancer, this means the plug-in is already registered on your computer (which will be the case if you bought a license of Photomatix Pro Plus and already registered Photomatix Pro).

Getting more information and help The Tone Mapping Plug-In FAQ on our website has the answers to commonly asked questions related to the Tone Mapping Plug-In for Photoshop. The Photomatix FAQ is for the stand alone Photomatix application, but it offers several tips and general information that are applicable to the plug-in as well. If you cannot find the answer to your question in the FAQs, please refer to the support page of our website for contact information.