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I'm brand new to the forum and just trying to get my feet wet. All I can say is what a great resource. So be easy on me if I don't have a lay of the room, yet.

I have just started playing around with HDR photography. I have recently purchased Photomatix and have taken some bracketed photos. A couple of questions about HDR. What is the recommended number of photos I should use for an HDR photo? How do I recognize good subjects for HDR photography. Also, Here is a recent HDR photo I took that was comprised of 5 photos with +1 EV for my exposure compensation. I would appreciate any tips or suggestions.

Hi there. Welcome to the forum.

I have also played with HDR images and one thing that I have noticed with Photomatix is that it is easy to overdo the HDR. When you do you get that cloud or smokey look that you have in the sky on your pier image.

I prefer to reduce the amount of HDR I apply to the image to create a more realistic contrast, one that the eyes can see plus just a touch more.

I also try to use as fine a difference in exposure as possible, which means I end up with about +/- 0.3 per shot. I do end up with a lot of images to process though, which can be a pain. Having a camera capable of a high rate of exposures (8FPS) helps tremendously with moving objects such as waves. (Except when it's dark and long exposures are necessary.)

Try to give the software as much help as possible and it will produce a much nicer result. Here is one image I applied this principle to, just as an example of what I do with HDRs;

http://killakoala.smugmug.com/photos/26 ... 4UR-X2.jpg

The best thing to do is experiment until you are happy with a style of HDR that suits your photography. Some people prefer images that defy the principles of light while others, me included, find that simulating light conditions gives a nice look.