**Understanding High Dynamic Range (HDR) and its Benefits**

High dynamic range is a term that refers to the range between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. This range plays a crucial role in determining the quality and realism of a picture. In today's digital age, where photography has become increasingly popular, understanding HDR is essential for capturing high-quality images.

In normal photography, cameras tend to focus on one area that receives sufficient light, often sacrificing details in other areas. This can lead to blown-out highlights or underexposed shadows, resulting in less-than-optimal image quality. On the other hand, High Dynamic Range technology aims to capture a broader range of tonal values, from the brightest highlights to the darkest shadows.

**How HDR Works**

HDR technology typically involves taking multiple images at different exposure levels and then combining them using software to create a single image with improved dynamic range. This process is often referred to as "multi-shot" or "multi-exposure" photography. By capturing multiple images, photographers can better balance the exposure between bright and dark areas, resulting in more detailed and natural-looking images.

For example, when taking pictures of scenes with both bright highlights and dark shadows, a camera might take three images: one with low exposure, one with normal exposure, and one with high exposure. These images are then combined to produce a single image with improved dynamic range. This process can greatly enhance the overall quality of an image, making it more visually appealing and realistic.

**Smartphones and HDR**

In recent years, smartphones have become increasingly capable of capturing high-quality HDR images. Many flagship smartphones, such as the Google Pixel series, feature advanced HDR capabilities that enable them to take multiple shots simultaneously. These smartphones use sophisticated software algorithms to combine the multiple images into a single image with improved dynamic range.

The Google Pixel series, in particular, is known for its exceptional HDR capabilities. By taking up to 15-20 shots when taking a photograph, the Pixel's camera can capture a broader range of tonal values and produce images with more detailed highlights and shadows. This results in photographs that look more natural and lifelike, especially in scenes with high contrast.

**HDR+ on Google Pixel**

The Google Pixel series also features an advanced HDR mode called "HDR+" or "Advanced HDR." This mode takes the multi-shot technology to a new level by capturing even more images than usual. According to Google, the Pixel's camera can take up to 4-6 shots when taking a photograph, which is significantly more than other smartphones.

The use of multiple shots allows the software to capture a much broader range of tonal values and produce images with more detailed highlights and shadows. This results in photographs that are not only visually appealing but also have more depth and dimensionality.

**Real-World Applications of HDR**

HDR technology has numerous applications in photography, particularly in scenes with high contrast. By capturing multiple shots simultaneously, photographers can better balance the exposure between bright and dark areas, resulting in more detailed and natural-looking images. This is especially useful for landscape, portrait, or still-life photography, where achieving a balanced exposure can be challenging.

In addition to its benefits for photography, HDR technology also has applications in other fields, such as video production and display design. By capturing a broader range of tonal values, HDR technology can produce more visually appealing images with improved contrast and color accuracy.

**Conclusion**

High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology is essential for capturing high-quality images with improved dynamic range. By taking multiple shots simultaneously and combining them using software, photographers can achieve better balance between bright highlights and dark shadows, resulting in more detailed and natural-looking images. With the advancements in smartphone technology, HDR has become increasingly accessible to consumers, making it easier than ever to capture exceptional photographs. Whether you're a professional photographer or an enthusiast, understanding HDR and its benefits is crucial for producing high-quality images that showcase your creativity and skill.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi there this is Ranjit and in this uh video we'll talk about HDR and why it's a very useful thing that you can enable on your camera again you can take hdr based photographs with your smartphones and even uh uh with dslrs and stuff so what does this HDR stands for it stands for high dynamic range what does that mean look at the word high dynamic range it's all about the dynamic r range that you can get with your pictures and what do you mean by dynamic range first let's talk about that dynamic range is nothing but the brightest part in your images and the darkest part of the images the difference between them the higher that is the better details you have in the image and they look more uh real life like for example if you uh take the pictures normally and in you an environment where there is sort of bright light and also sort of dark areas you notice that the cameras tend to act actually uh pay much attention to one area that is maybe low lighting or the bright light area other parts of the image get sort of blown out or they're very dull but with the HDR what happens is that cameras generally take multiple pictures for example what do they actually do they take multiple pictures generally they take about three art pictures one with a low exposure one with the normal exposure and one with the high exposure and they what they do is with software they combine these three images into one and that produce a better dynamic range picture and some smartphones these days most of the highend phones also have the HDR enabled by Auto so it judges if the HDR is required it enables it or it disables it automatically for example uh if I recall the Galaxy S7 also has the auto HDR enabled and in fact the Google pixel uh has the HDR plus option which results in a very good d dynamic range pictures and I have to say one of the best pictures that I've seen from a smartphone camera in terms of dynamic range was due to this pixel and I'll talk about that how pixel does it a little bit different compared to other smartphones and uh before that let me actually give you some examples of pictures taken in normal mode and HDR mode so that you can easily see the difference this picture was shot in the non HDR normal mode and notice the left part of the picture where the natural light is coming it's sort of overblown and here I enabled HDR and as you can see it has a lot more detail and this picture is a lot better compared to this older one now here again notice the right side area where the pots are there this is non HDR mode and here I enable the HDR so you can see a lot more detail and better dynamic range with HDR compared to the older one as you can see now in this picture this is non HDR and here I enable the HDR just notice the dynamic range in this last example this was taken with the pixel and this is a normal non HDR and here I enabled the HDR and as you can see it made a dramatic difference in the picture so as you can see HDR brings out the life in the pictures in terms of the dynamic range otherwise in very contrasty situations where there's a lot of bright light and dull light the pictures look to be washed out that is solved by HDR and now let's talk about uh the HDR plus option on this pixel smartphones and what they do differently by default on these new pixel phones HDR+ is the default mode and what Google does is that instead of with normal HDR generally smartphones take three Exposure One is a low Exposure One is a normal exposure and third is a higher exposure and they mix it to get better dynamic range but what uh pixel does is it also employs same logic but instead of just taking about three pictures uh it said that uh Google pixel actually when there's a bright area when you're taking the pictures it takes almost between 15 to 20 pictures when you click a photograph yes 15 to 20 for example this is the I'm taking this picture and I took it and indirectly it has taken about 15 or 20 pictures and now what it does is using this software it combines all those pictures to give you one picture hence it has a lot more pictures to work that's why the HDR Plus Imes uh taken with Google pixel look a lot more sharper and natural that's the secret thing that Google employs and it relies heavily on software to get that effect even in low lighting conditions uh it takes about between to four to six snaps hence even in low lighting the pictures that we take with the pixel have a lot more detail compared to other camera so needless to say this HDR is a very good technology and if you're particularly taking pictures in very contrasty area where there's a lot of bright light and dull light it's advisable to switch on HDR mode thus you can get some better pictures I hope this uh video was uh helpful and again if you're not subscribed to my YouTube channel hit the Subscribe button I've also created another channel in Hindi I'll have the link for that so if you're are interested in videos in Hindi you can also subscribe to that channel so guys that's it for now for this video thanks for watching this is ranit and I hope to see you in my next videohi there this is Ranjit and in this uh video we'll talk about HDR and why it's a very useful thing that you can enable on your camera again you can take hdr based photographs with your smartphones and even uh uh with dslrs and stuff so what does this HDR stands for it stands for high dynamic range what does that mean look at the word high dynamic range it's all about the dynamic r range that you can get with your pictures and what do you mean by dynamic range first let's talk about that dynamic range is nothing but the brightest part in your images and the darkest part of the images the difference between them the higher that is the better details you have in the image and they look more uh real life like for example if you uh take the pictures normally and in you an environment where there is sort of bright light and also sort of dark areas you notice that the cameras tend to act actually uh pay much attention to one area that is maybe low lighting or the bright light area other parts of the image get sort of blown out or they're very dull but with the HDR what happens is that cameras generally take multiple pictures for example what do they actually do they take multiple pictures generally they take about three art pictures one with a low exposure one with the normal exposure and one with the high exposure and they what they do is with software they combine these three images into one and that produce a better dynamic range picture and some smartphones these days most of the highend phones also have the HDR enabled by Auto so it judges if the HDR is required it enables it or it disables it automatically for example uh if I recall the Galaxy S7 also has the auto HDR enabled and in fact the Google pixel uh has the HDR plus option which results in a very good d dynamic range pictures and I have to say one of the best pictures that I've seen from a smartphone camera in terms of dynamic range was due to this pixel and I'll talk about that how pixel does it a little bit different compared to other smartphones and uh before that let me actually give you some examples of pictures taken in normal mode and HDR mode so that you can easily see the difference this picture was shot in the non HDR normal mode and notice the left part of the picture where the natural light is coming it's sort of overblown and here I enabled HDR and as you can see it has a lot more detail and this picture is a lot better compared to this older one now here again notice the right side area where the pots are there this is non HDR mode and here I enable the HDR so you can see a lot more detail and better dynamic range with HDR compared to the older one as you can see now in this picture this is non HDR and here I enable the HDR just notice the dynamic range in this last example this was taken with the pixel and this is a normal non HDR and here I enabled the HDR and as you can see it made a dramatic difference in the picture so as you can see HDR brings out the life in the pictures in terms of the dynamic range otherwise in very contrasty situations where there's a lot of bright light and dull light the pictures look to be washed out that is solved by HDR and now let's talk about uh the HDR plus option on this pixel smartphones and what they do differently by default on these new pixel phones HDR+ is the default mode and what Google does is that instead of with normal HDR generally smartphones take three Exposure One is a low Exposure One is a normal exposure and third is a higher exposure and they mix it to get better dynamic range but what uh pixel does is it also employs same logic but instead of just taking about three pictures uh it said that uh Google pixel actually when there's a bright area when you're taking the pictures it takes almost between 15 to 20 pictures when you click a photograph yes 15 to 20 for example this is the I'm taking this picture and I took it and indirectly it has taken about 15 or 20 pictures and now what it does is using this software it combines all those pictures to give you one picture hence it has a lot more pictures to work that's why the HDR Plus Imes uh taken with Google pixel look a lot more sharper and natural that's the secret thing that Google employs and it relies heavily on software to get that effect even in low lighting conditions uh it takes about between to four to six snaps hence even in low lighting the pictures that we take with the pixel have a lot more detail compared to other camera so needless to say this HDR is a very good technology and if you're particularly taking pictures in very contrasty area where there's a lot of bright light and dull light it's advisable to switch on HDR mode thus you can get some better pictures I hope this uh video was uh helpful and again if you're not subscribed to my YouTube channel hit the Subscribe button I've also created another channel in Hindi I'll have the link for that so if you're are interested in videos in Hindi you can also subscribe to that channel so guys that's it for now for this video thanks for watching this is ranit and I hope to see you in my next video\n"