Creating an HDR Composite of the Corona from a Total Solar Eclipse

[W5JCK]

I'm placing my instructions for creating an HDR composite image of the corona captured during a total solar eclipse. I'm not a pro, but this is what I've learned from extensive research, trial, and many many errors! I gleaned information from the forums and websites for months, and I thank all those from whom I got information that was helpful and useful.

Here are the instructions I used.

Creating an HDR Composite of the Corona Captured during aa Total Solar Eclipse

In Lightroom:

1. Load RAW images into Lightroom and select the ones you will use.
2. In Lightroom, export the RAW images to 16-bit TIFFs.

Hint: If your camera can save in uncompressed RAW then use that setting.

In Photoshiop:

1. In Photoshiop, choose File —> Scripts —> Load Files into Stack:
2. • Select the images to load.
   • Leave Attempt to Automitically Align Source Images unchecked. PS would just screw it up.
   • Leave Create Smart Object after Loading Layers unchecked. You will do this later at a more appropriate time.
3. Choose OK in the Load Layers dialog box to load the files into layers within a Photoshop file.
4. Align the images as follows:
5. • Select all layers
   • Change the layer types from Normal to Difference. This makes alignment much easier.
   • Choose one of the darker images where the Moon sillouette is very pronounced and use it as the one to which to the align all the others, then one by one use the Move tool to align them.
6. Align the Moon/Sun in the center of the image. Note: This is vitally important for a future step.
7. Save the file as something like 18a-corona-photos-bracket-preprocessed.psd. Note: You might have to save the file as a large document file due size restrictions. Make a backup of this file just in case…
8. Select all the layers then choose Layer —> Smart Objects —> Convert to Smart Object to turn them into a Smart Object.
9. Select the new Smart Object and choose Layer —> Smart Objects —> Stack Mode —> Mean, which stacks the layers into one image that averages the exposures from all the layers. This creates an HDR image, which happens to be a Smart Object.
10. Save your file as something like 18b-corona-photos-bracket-stacked-HDR-smart-object.psd. Note: I find that saving new files fairly often prevents the hassle of having to redo a lot of work if you mess up along the way.
11. Using the Camera Raw Filter tool to make exposure and sharpness edits. Save your file as something like 18c-corona-photos-bracket-Camera-Raw-Filter-adjustments.psd.

In Photoshiop: Optional Radial Blur Layer Creation

1. Select the Smart Object then choose Layer —> Flatten Image. Rename this layer something like “original Image” then duplicate it and name the duplicate “Radial Blur”.
2. Select the Radial Blur layer then choose Filter —> Blur —> Radial Blur and set Amount to 10, Blur Method to Spin, Quality to Best, and press OK.
3. Select the Radial Blur layer then choose Image —> Calculation…: In the Calculations box, select the Radial Blur layer for Layer under Source 1 and select Gray for Channel. Then select the Original image layer for Layer under Source 2 and select Gray for Channel. Then for Blending select Subtract. Set Opacity to 100%, Offset to 128, and Scale to 1, then press OK.
4. This image from Radial Blur filter is saved in the Channels tab (next to the Layer tab) in the Layers panel. Click the Channels tab and you will see it listed as “Alpha 1”. Now choose from the main menu Select —> Select All, then choose Edit —> Copy. Then select the Channels tab and select the RGB to display the composite image again. Select the Layers tab then turn off the visibilty of the Radial Blur layer you created. Then choose Edit —> Paste to paste the new Radial Blur Calculations adjustment layer into the Layers tab, and under Blend Mode change Normal to Overlay.
5. If you want to make the Radial Blur Calculations even stronger, simply duplicate that layer 1 or more times.
6. Save your file as something like 18e-corona-photos-bracket-final-post-processing-adjustments.psd.

Final Thoughts

Here is a little bit about the images and HDR composite I created. I shot two separate 9-image brackets covering 18 photos from 1/4000th sec to 0.6 sec with 0.7 EV increments, which covered 9.3 stops of light. Added to a 12 stop image that yields about 21 stops of light. Here is an image showing all the images I used in my HDR composite. Note that I shot 5 sets of brackets so I had 5 photos to select from for each of the 18 images which make up the HDR composite.



Here is the final HDR Composite. I had high thin to moderate clouds during most of the totality, so I had to work around that as best as I could.



I hope you find all this helpful.

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Best Regards,
Jack
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAfQN-Ygh9z7qqUXdZWM-1Q
Flickr Meteor Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums/72157710069567721
Sony RX100M3, a6000, and a7

 

[Orion347]

I saw the radial blur technique in a couple YouTube videos but had never seen anything about it before that. What exactly does it contribute to the edit? Seems to work well on the couple edits I've done so far. Is there any way you can change the blur settings to get a different effect?

 

[W5JCK]

I saw the radial blur technique in a couple YouTube videos but had never seen anything about it before that. What exactly does it contribute to the edit? Seems to work well on the couple edits I've done so far. Is there any way you can change the blur settings to get a different effect?

The best I can say is experiment. Try using different blur amounts and perhaps try some different settings. Everyone has different tastes in post processing, so experiment to see what is possible. I didn't experiment much, but probably will when I get the chance if for no other reason than to answer a question that often drives me, "What if...?".

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Best Regards,
Jack
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAfQN-Ygh9z7qqUXdZWM-1Q
Flickr Meteor Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackswinden/albums/72157710069567721
Sony RX100M3, a6000, and a7