HDR. Yes or no? Is it that simple?

HDR. Yes or no? Is it that simple?

This is an HDR image produced from a 3 image bracket of rocks and wild flowers in Yosemite National Park in the USA. These are on a shelf near about half way up Nevada Falls. It was necessary to use a bracket because the light difference across the image was so extreme. I used Aurora HDR 2018. The images were not on tripod and the combination of hand held and wind has introduced some softness to some areas of the image. Weirdly Aurora coped better with the moving plants than it did with the stationary rocks. #hdr #aurora

I gave Aurora HDR a good crack but the ghosting and inability to cope with slight movements in the image frame lead me back to Lightroom and Photoshop which simply handle these scenarios in their stride and produce lovely natural looking images.

To answer the question posed at the top of the post, no its not that simple but like any good tool, use it well and it will reward you with good outcomes. Don't get tempted to pop out that garish things that look like 80's wallpaper.