If you want to get into HDR photography, I recommend trying out Photomatix. It’s easy to use and fun to play with if you’re looking for some new photography techniques.

You’ve probably noticed I do a lot of HDR photography, but I think only about half or maybe 60% of my photos are HDR. I often get that HDR look out of a single raw image since you don’t always need to take three shots to get the Dynamic Range you need. And I often do it in either Photoshop or Lightroom. Photoshop has a nice Shadow/Highlights function that helps compress an image’s dynamic range to give that HDR look. I often use that when doing a single raw, like a long exposure on the beach where I cannot shoot bracketed shots. But Photomatix works great, too, even on single raw images. 

Sample Image from the Photomatix

To achieve this look, I used Photomatix Pro for the HDR look and then one of my Lightroom Presets.

This photo is from the Ricefields of Bali, Indonesia.