This chapter covers my recommended Camera Raw or Develop file preparation procedure prior to using Adobe HDR Merge or Aurora.
Before getting into file preparation, a word on editing strategy. Editing tools vary widely between the different HDR applications. Regardless, the main objective is to exploit the 32-bit data to perform all the heavy-duty toning. Editing color balance, saturation, detail enhancement, and minor contrast tweaks are secondary. Those tasks are less reliant on 32-bit data and can be deferred to 16-bit editing in Photoshop or Lightroom without sacrificing image quality. Trying to extract the most razzle-dazzle from the HDR editor may actually be counterproductive. My preference is to leave some editing room when exiting the HDR application. It is better to add a little more image enhancement in Photoshop or Lightroom than correct misguided over-enhancement from the HDR application. Furthermore, you have more options in Photoshop and Lightroom with their vast array of editing tools and access to third-party plug-ins.
I begin by selecting an HDR exposure sequence, including any frame that has a reference gray card (for white balance), and launch them to Camera Raw. Starting with the Camera Raw settings at null, I make the following edits. Unless noted, all edits are synced to all frames.
First, I recommend you exclude frames that exceed the one-third histogram rule, especially with any overexposed frames. Excessively bright frames have a tendency to skew the scene’s proper luminance after the files are merged. Also, adding more frames than you need invites artifacts.
Set the white balance from the middle exposure or a frame with a gray card reference.
Zero out all Basic and Tone Curve settings. Note that HDR Merge already ignores these settings (as well as any cropping).
Apply noise reduction because HDR software sucks noise out where you didn’t realize it existed, even at ISO 100. I typically use settings between 15 to 30 for both Luminance and Color and apply it to all frames. Give additional attention to the underexposed frames (zooming to 200x or greater) and apply additional noise reduction as needed, but only to those frames.
If either histogram end is shy of the one-third point, I recommend you perform the HDR conversion first without trying to correct it. If afterwards you are dissatisfied with either the highlights or shadows, you can return and try nudging the White and Black sliders. Avoid large adjustments, which may create image artifact problems after merging. Note that these settings are ignored in HDR Merge.
Wichita Event Photography
Check the ‘Enable Lens Profile Corrections’ box to reduce distortion and chromatic aberrations (located in the Optics tab).
IMPORTANT: Do not sharpen, including pre-sharpening! The HDR process emphasizes noise and sharpening exasperates the problem.
When preparing for Aurora, an optional final step is to save (or export) all files as TIFFs. If you instead use Aurora’s raw converter, none of the Camera Raw or Develop settings are recognized (more on that later).
TIP: With dual color-cast scenes, a single-frame white-balance correction may negatively affect the other color cast after merging. In the example below, correcting for the blue-cast in the shadowed foreground corrupted the background color after the files were merged (see left image). The solution was to set the white balance separately for those frames closest in exposure to each color cast. In the example below, the white balance in frames 1 & 2 was set for the background. The other three frames were set to correct the foreground white balance. The right image is after merging and the background is normal. Note that this only works when the raw files are saved as TIFF files and processed as such.

White Balance Dilemma: A foreground white-balance correction corrupted the background (upper-left image). Separate white-balance correction between frames 1 & 2 and frames 3, 4 & 5 corrected the problem (upper-right image).
Between Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC there are three HDR options.
HDR Merge in Camera Raw and Lightroom creates HDR raw files that are edited in Camera Raw or Develop
A 32-bit mode that uses HDR Pro to create a 32-bit TIFF file that is edited in Camera Raw or Develop
Photoshop HDR Pro, a self-contained toning application
I will cover only HDR Merge. The second option, “32-bit mode,” is less convenient to use and usually not any better. And HDR Pro, though more usable than it has been in past versions, still has never outperformed (or even matched) the other methods.
HDR Merge generates a 16-bit floating-point raw file, not a 32-bit TIFF file. This avoids bloated files and longer processing times. However in my experience, dynamic range suffers a little bit. Also, the output raw file is a DNG and not your camera’s native format. A last point is any tone adjustments or cropping prior to merging the images are ignored when you run HDR Merge.
Lightroom
To generate the HDR Merge file in Lightroom, select the frames to process in Library and click: Photo → Photo Merge → HDR. When the HDR Option screen appears, click ‘Auto Align’ and then ‘Merge.' There’s no point in checking ‘Auto Tone’ since you can do that later in Develop. After clicking ‘Merge,' an HDR file is generated with an HDR tag attached to the file name.
Camera Raw
To generate the HDR Merge file in Camera Raw, load the frames and select them in the Filmstrip. Then from the Filmstrip pulldown menu, click ‘Merge to HDR.' When the HDR Merge Preview window appears, click ‘Auto Align’ and ‘Merge.' After merging, the HDR file will appear in the Filmstrip with an HDR tag in the filename.
After the HDR Merge file is generated, you click on the file and edit it the same as any other raw file. When the merged file first appears in Camera Raw or Develop, it may look a little rough. This, oddly, is normal. Typically, you first apply a large amount of Shadow and Highlight recovery (possibly to the end points), and a large amount of Clarity. That should create a decent starting point and from thereon edit the image as you would any single raw file. All the controls operate the same except that the Exposure slider has a ten-stop range rather than the normal five stops.

HDR?: HDR Merge often starts out looking un-HDR like (left image). That’s normal and your first steps are to adjust the Shadow, Highlight and Clarity sliders (right image).
When finished editing in Camera Raw, click ‘Open Image’ (or hold the shift key to enable the ‘Open Object’ option) and continue in Photoshop as a 16-bit file. To transition to Photoshop from Lightroom, select the image and click: Photo → Edit In → Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC 2022. Make sure that Lightroom’s Preference has the External Editing tab set to ‘16 bits/component.’
Though Aurora 2019 is still the latest edition, it is in my opinion the best all-around HDR application. However, best all-around doesn’t mean best all the time, so you still want to keep HDR Merge as backup for some situations.
The most significant upgrade in Aurora 2019 was the Quantum HDR Engine, a new AI-powered tone mapping technology that analyzes the photo to render the most optimum image. This includes, according to Skylum, expanded dynamic range and less burned colors, noise, halos, and unstable deghosting.
While I wasn’t able to validate claims of reduced noise or halos in the images I analyzed, there was a significant difference in the image’s appearance immediately after merging. The new HDR engine is noticeably brighter with more contrast, particularly in the midtones. Overall, the new version provides such a better starting point that I now perform only minimal edits before transitioning to Photoshop. The only negative, albeit minor, is the very-deep blacks are a little more blocked than in the 2018 version. This despite the fact that, overall, the less-darker tones appear more opened.
I prefer to launch Aurora as a separate application. After launch, you select the frames and are then presented with the file screen below. Clicking on ‘Additional Settings’ brings up a sub-dialog box that offers Ghost Reduction and Chromatic Aberration Removal. Ghost Reduction allows you to set the removal strength and which frame to use as the substitute. Start with the ‘Medium’ setting since Aurora’s ghost reduction is more aggressive than other applications. Also, make sure to pick the substitute frame closest in exposure to the problem area. Never routinely enable Ghost Reduction unless absolutely needed. If you are loading raw files, enable Chromatic Aberration Removal (TIFF files saved from Camera Raw or Develop should already be corrected). Finally, click the Alignment checkbox.

File Screen with Loaded Files: Also shown is the ‘Additional Settings’ sub-dialog box.
Raw or TIFF?
While converting directly from raw files seems intuitively better, it’s not that simple. Granted, extreme highlights and shadows may render slightly better with raw files. However, all the raw edits I recommended back in Chapter-17 would be lost since Aurora’s raw converter ignores them. This generates more editing work in Aurora and later in Photoshop or Lightroom. My preference is to first convert the raw files to TIFF in Camera Raw (or Develop). If there is a problem with the tone mapping, then I’ll start over with the raw files.
Toolset
Once Aurora merges the image, you’re presented with the screen below. At the right is a scrollable list of more tools (called filters in Aurora) than you’ll know what to do with. At the screen’s bottom is the preset previews that are displayed when you click the Preset Panel (Tab) at the screen top. In 2019, presets are now called ‘Looks.’ Aurora offers a wide range of Looks including one category dedicated to landscapes. Unless your objective is a highly stylized image, I found none of these Looks useful. As I have previously expressed, I prefer to start from scratch with each image.
Aurora’s Main Screen
Edit in Moderation
You can argue that in a majority of cases, Aurora is capable of completely editing an image without need for Lightroom, Photoshop, or other plug-ins. While I don’t dispute that, I still prefer to perform only moderate enhancements in Aurora and defer final editing to Photoshop. Once I’ve properly toned the image, future edits can be carried out in 16-bit mode with no impact to image quality.
Among Aurora’s plethora of editing filters, I find it necessary to use only a few. In the following text, I’ll cover my most commonly used filters while leaving the rest to those who want to accomplish as much editing in Aurora as possible.
HDR Basic Filter
The Basic Filter contains all the tone mapping controls. With the exception of the Smart Tone slider, the rest mimic the same sliders in Camera Raw or Develop and are adjusted in similar style. Also useful is a White Balance eyedropper since color balance can sometimes change after processing.
If you need to use the White Balance eyedropper, make sure to use it first. The reason is, depending on the degree of correction, the histogram can be impacted. There’s no point, for example, to set the Whites or Blacks sliders if the White Balance later skews them.

HDR Basic Filter
Smart Tone
The Smart Tone’s operation is somewhat like a selective Exposure adjustment. It acts as a scene-based brightness control where left darkens the highlights with less impact to the shadows. Moving to the right opens the shadows while still maintaining highlight detail. If the opening image is dominated either by large areas of dark or bright tones, this slider can help to balance the image.
Color Filter
With the exception of Color Contrast, Color Filter mimics the same Saturation and Vibrance controls found in Camera Raw and Develop. Though Aurora’s penchant towards over-saturating warm tones has been significantly tamed, you may still need this filter to deal with occasional problems. Otherwise, I suggest you defer any Saturation and Vibrance edits to Photoshop or Lightroom.

Color Filter
HDR Enhance Filter
HDR Clarity Slider
This slider is similar to the Clarity slider in Camera Raw and Develop. I suggest you begin with only a nudge and then return later for a final adjustment. While HDR Clarity creates an impressive “punch” to the image, I recommend you moderate the final adjustment since you can later add more in Photoshop or Lightroom. Also, keep an eye on the histogram when adding HDR Clarity for any clipping.
HDR Smart Structure Slider
This slider aggressively attacks texture to where large values create an unpleasant pseudo-realistic look. However, at smaller values, I find this works well in conjunction with the HDR Clarity slider. I typically apply a low value of each (around 20) for most images. Error on the low side since you can add more later in Photoshop or Lightroom.
HDR Microstructure
HDR Microstructure basically takes HDR Smart Structure down to a finer level. In essence, it behaves like a sharpening routine that may accentuate noise and add more of the pseudo-realism look. I find this adjustment unnecessary for most landscape subjects.

HDR Enhance Filter
Adjustable Gradient Filter
This is a powerful tool in HDR editing since you can make major tonal adjustments with less impact to image quality than in a 16-bit environment. Besides the customary Exposure slider, it has Contrast, Vibrance, Warmth and Highlight/Shadows adjustments. While it’s not equal to the Linear Gradient tool in Camera Raw and Develop, Aurora does have an ace up its sleeve. Instead of using this filter, you can perform the equivalent function using an adjustment layer with a gradient mask and then have access to all of Aurora’s filter functions. Furthermore, the gradient can be modified. Shortly, I’ll discuss this powerful feature that allows you to target editing to non-contiguous tonal areas.

Adjustable Gradient Filter: Highlights and Shadows are new to 2019
Tone Curve Filter
A tone curve is another powerful tool in digital editing, and doubly so in HDR editing. In a 32-bit editing environment, you can make major tonal changes with less risk of posterization and increased noise. This filter is a straightforward tone curve tool that includes individual color channel controls. One drawback is the lack of a luminosity option to minimize changes in color saturation.
My workflow has always been to apply a moderate contrast adjustment early using the Contrast slider (in the HDR Basic filter) and then use the Tone Curve for a final tweak if necessary. With the new Quantum engine, I find most of my images now start out so evenly toned that the basic Contrast slider is often all I need.

Tone Curve Filter
HSL Filter
The HSL Filter is nearly identical in function to the Color Mixer (aka HSL Filter) in Camera Raw and Lightroom. Unfortunately, Aurora lacks a Target Adjustment Tool that adjusts all channels associated with whatever color is clicked on.
Usually you can defer HSL edits to Photoshop or Lightroom. The exception is when Aurora occasionally over-saturates the warm tones. In those cases, it’s best to add a masked adjustment layer to tackle only the problem areas. You can try the Vibrance slider, but you’ll usually need the HSL filter. The usual culprit is the Red channel where I’ll reduce Saturation and may alter the Hue and possibly the Luminance as well. Don’t bother with the Tone Curve’s red channel at first since it may create a cyan cast.

HSL Filter
Dodge & Burn Filter
This filter can expediently address exposure problems in smaller areas without having to resort to adding an adjustment layer and mask. When you click ‘Start Painting,' the mode and brush controls appear in the top toolbar. Because of the time lag between a brush stroke and seeing the results, I recommend you apply this filter in small increments, otherwise you may spend a lot of time using the Erase tool. In the upcoming section on Layers, I’ll compare this filter to using adjustment layers instead.
Dodge & Burn Filter
Layers
Now we come to Aurora’s most outstanding feature compared to other HDR applications. Aurora mimics many of the basic layer features found in Photoshop. If you are comfortable with Photoshop layers, you should be able to navigate through Aurora’s layers with minimal reference to their user manual.
While layers in an HDR application may seem like an overkill, they actually play an important role in tone mapping. Remember that the fundamental function of HDR is to compress a wide dynamic-range image into a usable tonal range. Once you’ve accomplished that, you can add whatever razzle-dazzle you want later in Photoshop or Lightroom. The key, though, is a “useable tonal range." If any part of the tone-mapped image still retains deep shadows, extracting the detail in 16-bit editing may induce noise or posterization. Or with extreme highlights, you may lose much of the detail. So before exiting to post 16-bit editing, you want to make sure that any problematic shadows or highlights are resolved within the HDR application. With Aurora, just as in Photoshop, you can add an adjustment layer that can be masked to any portion of the image. Then, you have Aurora’s full toolset to attack any problems.
Layers Panel
The Layers panel is located under the histogram. It’s advisable to always have the histogram and Layers panel displayed, which is accomplished by clicking the two upper-left icons in the Layers Panel shown below.

Layers Panel: Shown is an added layer titled ‘Mask Sky.’ Just above that are dropdown menus to select blending modes, Opacity, and other options.
To add a layer, you click on the plus sign and select the options shown below. One option is to add any bracketed frame as a layer by selecting ‘Add New HDR Bracket Layer’ and then selecting the frame from a second menu (see below).

Layers Options
Adding a Mask
The most common layer you’ll likely add is an adjustment layer. This allows you to apply any filter effect to either the entire image or, more commonly, a masked portion. Filter changes affect only the adjustment layer, not the filters on the base layer.
To create a mask, click on the adjustment layer’s brush icon and choose Brush, Radial Mask, Gradient Mask, or Luminosity mask. With the Brush, you simply “paint in” the portion of image you want the adjustment layer filter(s) to apply. The Gradient Mask is a powerful alternative to the Adjustable Gradient filter because you can access all the filter options, not just the limited adjustments in the Adjustable Gradient filter.
Adjustment Layer Example
If you recall back in Chapter-11 about using grad filters with HDR, I cited a situation requiring a 3-stop grad filter to tame an ultra-high contrast scene. It was a late afternoon vineyard scene (shown below) shot towards a sun that was streaming light from behind overcast clouds. Unfortunately, the foreground vines extended from the bottom to the top of the frame and the top vines were underexposed.
To address this In Aurora, I clicked the Layers’ plus sign and selected an adjustment layer. Next, I clicked on the brush icon and selected ‘Brush.' I then enabled ‘Paint’ and selected the desired brush parameters from the toolbar. Before painting, I firstI applied an initial amount of Exposure, Smart Tone and Shadows from the HDR Basic panel. The entire image is affected by these changes at first, but as you start to paint, the mask clicks in and only the painted areas reveal the adjustments. Once all the areas were masked, I readjusted the HDR Basic settings to achieve a proper blend.

Vineyard Scene: Upper vines on left and right (circled red) are too dark due to the graduated filter.

Corrected Image: An adjustment layer mask targeted just the dark vines, which after editing now match the rest of the scene.
What About Dodge & Burn?
An obvious question concerning this example is why not use the Dodge & Burn filter instead? You can and in many circumstances it would be more expedient. Except in this example, the Dodge & Burn ran out of steam and I couldn’t sufficiently lighten the leaves to the same extent as with the adjustment layer.
I still continue to be surprised by the oddball artifacts that unexpectedly pop up after HDR processing. Not to exaggerate, they don’t happen that often, but you should always be on guard. Sometimes the artifacts are only noticeable at high magnification and can be ignored in some cases.
A common image problem is inter-frame image movement (ghosting), which in this case isn’t the software’s fault. However, resolving it can unleash all sorts of problems with the software. A more prevalent problem than ghosting is halos around high-contrast edges that, fortunately, can be easily removed.
Deghosting detects image movement between frames and replaces it with imagery from a single (user-selected) frame. If you have a hopeless situation with image motion, this may help although you may create other problems. To improve results, make sure you pick a substitute frame that is closest in exposure to the problem area (note that this is not an option with HDR Merge). If the ghosting problem is only an errant moving vehicle or person in the far background, an alternative fix is the Clone Tool or Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop.
Deghosting Example
Below is an example of removing a ghosting problem (left image) in HDR Merge. Aurora’s deghosting yielded similar results. Previously, HDR Merge’s deghosting was mediocre, but the current version seemed to have rectified that.

Deghosting Examples. Left is ghosted image. Right is after enabling HDR Merge’s deghosting.
Deghosting Artifacts
Deghosting artifacts can appear without rhyme or reason. Anecdotally, I sense that HDR Merge and Aurora are better behaving than some of the other applications. Nevertheless, never drop your guard. Always inspect the entire image at a moderate zoom level, especially after merging five or more frames. I still recommend you try to avoid the whole deghosting issue by shooting as few frames possible. By supplementing the exposures with a grad filter, I can record most scenes with three frames and improve my chances of dodging inter-frame motion.
Below is a deghosting artifact example after processing with and without deghosting enabled in Photomatix. Note the strange discoloration of the tree limb in the deghosting-enabled image (right). This part of the image wasn’t a ghosting problem, but somehow was affected anyway.

Deghosting Artifact: Processed in Photomatix, the left image is without deghosting, right is with deghosting.
Halos are a common nuisance, particularly between a bright sky and darker surrounding. Below is a classic example. Notice the bright halo bordering the arch opening and the uneven gradient throughout the sky. The following are two methods to restore the image.

Example of Halos
Removing Halos in Aurora
In Aurora, click the Layer’s plus sign and select ‘Add New HDR Bracket Layer.' Then, choose the layer that best matches the exposure of (in this case) the sky. Next, click the Brush icon on the new layer, set the Brush parameters in the toolbar, and paint in the sky from the bracketed frame. Unfortunately, Aurora lacks any type of selection capability or “detect edge." You must painstakingly paint around all the edges of the arch; a long and arduous process. On the other hand, you are able to independently edit the new sky layer afterwards to however you want it to look.

Repaired Image: Simply “paint in” the offending sky with the sky from a single frame closest in tone.
Removing Halos in Photoshop
This technique exploits Photoshop’s sophisticated layer blending capability. It is the best option because often the halos get interwoven with other detail that may make the previous method too difficult.
With the HDR-rendered image of the previous example loaded into Photoshop, pick the bracketed frame closest in exposure to the problem area. Add the image as a new layer above the HDR image layer. Roughly select the new layer’s sky and delete the rest (see Layer Panel screenshot below). Then, double-click the new layer to display the Layer Style panel. As shown below, set ‘Blend If:’ to ‘Blue’ and move the right tab below ‘This Layer:’ to improve the sky’s appearance. To blend in the effect naturally, split the right tab apart and adjust it for the smoothest blend. To split the tab, hold the Opt/Alt key and click-drag the tab’s left side. Mask out any part of Layer 1 that causes problems and adjust its opacity if needed. The results are in the third image below.

Layer Panel: Layer 1 is a portion of sky taken from the single frame closest in tone.

Layer Style: After double-clicking Layer 1, ‘Blend If:’ is set to ‘Blue’ and ‘This Layer:’ right-tab is split between 193 and 233 for a natural blend.

Photoshop Repair: Good results with the less fuss.
Color Banding
This method can similarly resolve a problem with minor color banding that may appear in a blue sky. You follow the same procedure except instead of changing the Layer Style, change the Layer 1 mode from ‘Normal’ to ‘Color.'
Removing Thin Halos in Photoshop
This is the most common artifact I encounter. When a bright sky meets a much darker edge, a thin halo forms in between. Thin halo artifacts are very noticeable, even in smaller prints. In the two magnified images below, the left image shows common haloing in a scene shot during dusk. To eliminate the problem, select the Clone Stamp and set the brush size to a little larger than the halo’s width. Use a large soft-edge setting and, most importantly, set the mode to Darken. Set the clone reference just above the halo in the sky region and then clone out the halo. If the layer is a Smart Object, add a blank layer above it and clone on that instead.
 
Thin Halo Artifact: The left image is before cloning, the right image is after.