Start point for Photomatrix settings

I'm new to HDR and was hoping someone could tell me a good start point with the settings in photomatrix. With my feable attempts to get anything I've very effectively messed the settings up. Screenshots with a little explanation would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Meanstreak and welcome to the forum. Great to have you aboard!

To answer your request, we need to know what kind of look you are looking for. Do you like those surreal, overcooked HDRs or do you like the very subtle HDRs?

Around here, we call those Creationists and Purists. Creationists get 'creative' with their HDRs and turn it into a piece of art. Purists use HDR to achieve a tonal range that wouldn't be seen in a high-contrast photo. Purists' work is very subtle. You might not even know that the HDR technique was used; You just know it looks better.

So, are you a purist or creationist? We can give you pointers from there!

Melanie

I do have tendencies for both schools, however, I can't get over how amazing the surreal images look.

Well, there is always the old fall back of using the default settings in Photomatix and go from there. What you will find is that no two images will react the same way to the same exact settings. Sometimes even very small changes can make big differences.

You also have the choice in PM to tone map or exposure blend and then choices under that. I would venture to say that most people use tone mapping over exposure blending. I would further hazard to say that most people use details enhancer over tone compressor in tone mapping.