How to Create Custom HDR Presets

Creating HDR Presets in PaintShop Pro

Opening the HDR Lab

With two or more photos selected (the same photo taken at varying exposures) from within the Manage tab, right-click the selected images and choose HDR > Exposure Merge from the context menu. This will open up the HDR Lab. Remember, the HDR technique can be used on all kinds of photos but usually works best when applied to high-contrast photos, such as landscape photography.

From within this module, creating your HDR preset is a quick and easy process. The first window in front of you merges the various photos you’ve selected, and you can brush in or brush out areas of the final merge. This, however, is not an integral part of creating an HDR preset, so we’ll skip over this section. Go ahead and click Process at the bottom of the screen to merge your photos and move on to the next step.

Creating Your Own HDR Preset

Now in front of you is the HDR Adjustments window. In the first pane in the window on the left are a handful of HDR presets. Below this, options and sliders to adjust White Balance, Temperature, Tint, Contrast, Highlights, Midtones, Shadows, and Vibrancy. You’ll also see a drop-down menu to control the Natural detail (with sliders for Local highlights, Local midtones and Local shadows) and Creative detail (where you can adjust the Strength and Blocks).

To create your own preset, you can start from scratch or use one of the presets as a starting point (like in the example below). Then, to make it your own, simply move the various sliders left or right to adjust the settings and create your own unique HDR effect.

Saving Your HDR Preset

Once you’ve found a look you like, it’s time to save your preset and give it a name. To save the adjustments you’ve made, just click the small disk icon above the library of presets. After clicking, a pop-up box will appear where you can give your HDR preset a name. Click OK and your newly created preset will now appear in the library on the left.