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Can Photoshop Elements (6.0, for Mac) support HDR (high dynamic range) photography?

A lot of the web tutorials on HDR indicate that Photoshop or Photomatix software can do the tonal mapping, etc. But can Photoshop Elements also do this? I own PSE (for Mac, v6.0).

The short answer is "nope"...but HDR has been around longer than Photoshop. It's real name is "digital blending" and you can still do this with Elements. It's not really difficult and since Elements 6 allows us to open jpgs in the RAW converter (File>Open As), we can use 1 photo to create HDR (expose the photo first for highlights and save a copy, then expose the same photo for shadows and save).

If you know how to create a layer mask using the Levels, Brightness/Contrast or Hue/Saturation adjustment layers or if you've downloaded a layer mask action, then this classic Luminous Landscapes tutorial will be useful. It's good to read through it anyway so you know what an HDR's all about.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/digital-blending.shtml

You can also use a black and white gradient and the eraser tool on a mask to create the blending you need for HDR.

If you'd like to experiment, here are links to some free HDR software:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-high-dynamic-range-hdr-software.htm Scroll down to the quick selection guide to find OS requirements, etc.

Here's the Flickr group photo pool for Qtpfsgui (the first HDR free app):
http://www.flickr.com/groups/qtpfsgui/pool/ I think I'm going to download and try out this program.

I hope some of this is helpful. I've learned some things I didn't know before. Thank You.

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