HOW TO Edit and share HDR clips and stills

2024-05-01 -

1 Activate HDR

On a Mac that supports HDR (such as a new MacBook Air), go to Pixelmator Pro > Settings. Click Load HDR Content. The HDR button will now be clickable, enabling you to work with more color and tones.

2 Open image

Go to File > Open, and select an HDR image. We used an iPhone–sourced image shot in Apple ProRAW to ensure that the image has a high dynamic range. Make sure the HDR button is toggled on to see the wider tonal range.

3 Make tonal tweaks

Press “A” on your Mac’s keyboard for Color Adjustments. The subject is in contrasting lighting so some details are lost in shadow. Here, we’ve brightened the Exposure by 70% and selectively lightened the shadows by 43%.

4 Before & after

Choose View > Split Comparison. A vertical line divides the shot. The before version of the image is on the left. The edited version with more detail in the shadows is on the right. Drag the line to compare different areas.

5 Boost Clarity

To give the picture a bit more “punch”, toggle on the Selective Clarity slider. Click Midtones and drag Texture to 40% and Clarity to 18%. This selectively sharpens delicate texture details, such as clothing and brickwork.

6 Share your shot

Before sharing your processed shot, come out of Split Comparison mode. Choose File > Export. To create a lighter and more shareable file that can still be viewed as an HDR image, choose the HDR JPEG format.

7 Transfer to iPhone

To share your processed shot on the iPhone’s Retina display, Ctrl–click on its thumbnail. Choose AirDrop to send it to your iPhone. You can view the edited image’s full range of HDR colors and tones in the Photos app.

8 Grade video

If you shoot video in ProRes format, it will be editable as an HDR file in Pixelmator Pro 3.5 Flare. For this Apple ProRes video, we’ve selectively brightened the shadows and applied a creative Landscape filter for a new look.

9 Export HDR clip

When you’ve finished processing your HDR clip, choose File > Export. Then, from the Format menu, choose a format such as MP4. This creates an HDR10 type video that will look great in your social media streams.