Correcting ghost artefacts in merged HDR images due to movement

[invenio]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and not sure if this question qualifies for it. If it doesn't I'd be happy if someone could guide me to a forum where these things are discussed.

I have a couple of merged HDR photos from my iPhone with ghosting artefacts due to movements of the subject while the photo was taken. In most cases I also still have the "normal" image. I have attached a sample of both (though I cropped it to preserve the subject's privacy). How can I remove the ghost artefact?

Thanks!

[NotMyFault]

This might help

 

 

[invenio]

Thanks @NotMyFault. I've just tried to correct that with the instructions you provided from the video. It kind of works, though I don't have much wiggle room, since all I have are the "normal" photo, which the camera took using the normal exposure and the merged HDR image. I don't have the luxury of any other bracketed images that this demo has. I need to make some adjustments to the face in the resulting image that looks a bit to greyish. Is there any way to adjust the tone (if that's the right term for it) of one image to the tone of another image?

[NotMyFault]

10 minutes ago, invenio said:

Thanks @NotMyFault. I've just tried to correct that with the instructions you provided from the video. It kind of works, though I don't have much wiggle room, since all I have are the "normal" photo, which the camera took using the normal exposure and the merged HDR image. I don't have the luxury of any other bracketed images that this demo has. I need to make some adjustments to the face in the resulting image that looks a bit to greyish. Is there any way to adjust the tone (if that's the right term for it) of one image to the tone of another image?

 

Hi again,

this is possible, several methods exist, depending on the actual situation.

You may try one of this tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRvxU9zI1Sc&t=651s

 

[NotMyFault]

Actually, i think a simple brightness & contrast adjustment brings you better result compared to the HDR version.

I have put your screenshots into one file, and added the adjustment (visible on the outer area). The HDR images looks poor with many grainy artifacts. Actually there is not such a wide dynamic range in this photo that you need to use HDR at all. Shadows & Highlights, brightness & contrast may lead to better results.

To salvage the images you have (including the intermediate one where you corrected the ghost), you may run a suitable selection them through HDR stack or Focus stack, as these stacking does its own color matching. In additon, you can experiment with different blend modes.

I personally spend more than a day to combine a pair of HDR / regular shot on iPhone 4 (in 2012) images. I ended to re-paint several parts of the image affected by ghosting / mis-alignment, but this was finally faster, more accurate, and easier than trying correct the defects with other classical methods.

 

Another good approach is to use either clone tool or patch tool, as this tries to color-match, too. Please have a look at the other official Affinity tutorials, there are excellent and fun to watch.

 

[invenio]

Thanks, @NotMyFault. The rest (hidden part) of the HDR image does have fair range of light and dark areas. Unfortunately my iPhone at the time (iPhone 6) didn't have a good enough camera to handle HDR, at least not as good as today's phone cameras. The video about colour matching is good, but I'll also try the Shadows & Highlights, Brightness & Contrast tip.