Export problem

[Diego Arroyo]

When I try to export the photo as any format it will loose a lot of quality making every light very exposed looking very different from the edited photo. Any solutions?

[Ldina]

@Diego Arroyo Are your original files 32 bit Linear HDR images? If so, you need to export to a file format that is specifically designed for 32 bit HDR images. Can you provide a screenshot of your entire AfPhoto screen, like below? Before taking the screenshot, select the View Tool (the 'hand', or use the "H" key on your keyboard to select it). Make sure your screenshot includes the entire Affinity Photo window, especially the color profile information in the upper left, and the entire Layers Panel, shown on the right. 

[Diego Arroyo]

Thank you for answering

[Diego Arroyo]

test.hdr.hdr

Edited Friday at 03:46 PM by Diego Arroyo

[Ldina]

Thanks for the upload, Diego. 

Yes...that's the problem. HDR images need to be 32 bit Linear in Affinity apps. You need to make sure you have an EDR/HDR monitor setting and that your monitor is HDR capable. You also need to have the "Enable EDR" box checked in the 32 bit Preview Panel (that's on Mac...Windows terminology is a little different, but same basic thing).

If you export that file to one of the HDR formats, it will retain all the 32 bit linear HDR data and all those extended tones. PNG 32 bit, TIFF 32 bit, HDR, EXR and JPEG-XL support HDR imagery....IF you make sure they are set to 32 bit. Whatever App or browser you use has to support those formats and HDR, otherwise they won't display properly. They will display properly if reopened in Affinity Photo, as long as Enable EDR is checked. 

If you export your 32 bit HDR image to JPG, PNG-8/16 and other "standard SDR" file formats, all the extended tones will be clipped to fit into SDR (0 to 1, in floating point terms). SDR formats just throw away extended range tones outside of 0-1, so your images will look like c**p. You can "preview" what it will look like by Unchecking Enable EDR in the 32 bit preview panel. That ignores any extended tones outside of the standard 0-1 range. 

If you first CONVERT your 32 bit file to 8 or 16 bit, you will still lose those extended tones, but you will get a better image for exporting to SDR formats, like JPEG, PNG16, etc. This converts 32 bit Linear to 8 or 16 bit Gamma encoding. Whatever fits into your new colorspace, will be preserved, but some colors and tones will definitely be lost. 

If you ONLY want SDR images (and don't want or need HDR versions), Develop in 32 bit, and once in APhoto, immediately CONVERT to 16 bit, which will always be SDR format in Affinity Apps. Then you can perform edits in SDR and will get what you see when exporting to an SDR file format, which is usually 2.2 gamma (not linear). 

I hope that made sense and was clear. 

[Diego Arroyo]

Thanks!, I can´t fix it I don´t know what i am doing wrong. When I try to export in any format that you mentioned  it will automatically make it 16bit or less it doesn’t let me change the bit amount

Edited Friday at 05:06 PM by Diego Arroyo

[Ldina]

23 minutes ago, Diego Arroyo said:

Thanks!, I can´t fix it I don´t know what i am doing wrong

I'm not sure what you want to fix...what do you want to do? What is your final desired output. JPG, PNG, images for email, posting online, etc?

First, why are you using 32 bit HDR? You may have a good reason...I'm just asking. Are you HDR Merging multiple images, or do you need your final images to be HDR? If not, change the Develop Persona (using Assistant settings in the Context Toolbar) to 16 bit instead of 32 bit. That change does not take effect on a currently open image, so you will need to close the file and re-open your RAW file. HDR 32 bit Linear is designed for HDR Merging, and for images you want to save as 32 bit HDR for whatever workflow that needs them (Blender, a compositing pipeline that requires 32 bit HDR, etc). Normal photos should generally be developed as 16 bit, not 32 bit, unless you have a good reason for using 32 bit. 

If you want to print or export a "standard image" to email, post on the internet, etc, you'd probably want to save as JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc. These are all SDR (standard dynamic range) image formats if set to 8/16 bit (some of these formats do support HDR, but only in 32 bit in Affinity Apps). So, in the Develop Persona, make sure you are set to 16 bit, which will send 16 bit, SDR, 2.2 gamma files into APhoto, in whatever color space you choose...sRGB, P3, Adobe RGB, etc. Those files will be SDR ONLY, and won't have any extended HDR tones. They will export to standard file formats and look the same as what you see on your monitor. SDR images can be displayed on any monitor and should look fine. HDR images need an HDR capable monitor, proper software and settings, etc, to display all those extended tones. 

I hope this answers you question. If not, please provide a clear example of exactly what you want to achieve.

EDIT: Your PNG and Radiance HDR export screenshots are set to HDR formats, so those will be saved as HDR with all those extended tones. They will open as HDR in Affinity and display properly, since you have Enable EDR turned ON in the 32 bit preview panel. Other Apps and Browsers need to support HDR and the exported file format in order to show those extended tones, plus the user must have an HDR monitor set to HDR mode. All those requirements must be met to view HDR images properly. (your monitor IS current set to HDR mode, which is fine). 

Your TIFF export is set to 16 bit, so that will NOT be exported as HDR. All those extended tones will be clipped to fit into 0-1 SDR tonal range. TIFF will support HDR, but you need to set the pixel format to 32 bit in the Advanced dropdown box. 

 

[Diego Arroyo]

I'm preparing images for a real estate virtual tour and need to export them in JPG format. I shoot in DNG and capture 9 bracketed exposures to get accurate lighting, then use Affinity to merge them into an HDR image for editing. However, when I export the final result as a JPG, the image appears overexposed.

[Ldina]

21 minutes ago, Diego Arroyo said:

I'm preparing images for a real estate virtual tour and need to export them in JPG format. I shoot in DNG and capture 9 bracketed exposures to get accurate lighting, then use Affinity to merge them into an HDR image for editing. However, when I export the final result as a JPG, the image appears overexposed.

Thank you. Try this...

Use HDR Merge and merge your 9 images as desired. Enter into the Tone Mapping Persona and adjust the sliders and settings as desired, so it looks good. Since your final output will be JPG (which only supports standard dynamic range), check the "Clamp to SDR" checkbox in the Tone Mapping Persona. This will clip all your tones so they fit into 0-1 SDR. That's all JPG will contain anyway. Click Apply to go back to the Photo Persona.

In the Photo Persona, immediately CONVERT to 16 bit sRGB. Your image should look the same, but will now be in sRGB with a 2.2 gamma tone curve (which will match your final export to JPG). Make whatever edits you want to make in the Photo Persona. 

Export to JPG and it should look like what you see on your monitor. Let me know if that works for you.

By the way....The above workflow discards all HDR data and limits your final output to SDR, which is fine for JPG images. The tone mapping will enable you to cram all those extra tones into an SDR format. A different workflow will be required if you want SDR JPGs AND HDR images. 

[Diego Arroyo]

Thank you it finally worked!!, for exporting in HDR or any other format which is more editable for other apps can you explain me the workflow?

[Ldina]

If your final image will be HDR, it needs to remain a 32 bit Linear file prior to exporting. In the Tone Mapping Persona, you would leave Clamp to SDR UN-checked, since you want to retain full HDR capability. Then, you need to export to a format that supports HDR. In Affinity, those file formats are PNG32, TIFF32, JPEG-XL32, HDR, or EXR formats. Those exported files (properly configured) will retain all HDR data, but those file formats need to be supported by whatever app or browser is used to display them, and the user must also have an HDR capable monitor set to an HDR mode. So, to retain HDR properties, the file MUST remain in 32 bit. 

It can get complicated, and I don't do a lot of this yet, and probably won't until HDR becomes more mainstream. HDR and file formats are still evolving, and most people can't view my HDR images, so I usually don't bother. It will take a bit more time before it becomes mainstream, in my opinion. There are many options depending on the final desired result. My best advice is to watch James Ritson's many tutorials on HDR (check the tutorials section of this website, (Browse > Forums > Tutorials > Affinity Photo, both version 2 and the legacy version 1 tutorials). Unless you really need HDR images, get comfortable with the previous workflow first. At least you now know how to create JPG images from an HDR Merge. 

[Diego Arroyo]

Sorry, I didn’t reply, it worked perfectly thank you for all your help!

[Ldina]

26 minutes ago, Diego Arroyo said:

Sorry, I didn’t reply, it worked perfectly thank you for all your help!

No problemo...de nada. I'm glad it worked for you.