This week in the dekeLounge, we fulfill the promise we made a few weeks ago, and visit the through-the-looking-glass other worldly effects of the new HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5.  Hip dekeSters know, of course, that HDR stands for high dynamic range, meaning that the results capture both ends of the shadow-to-highlight continuum. Photoshop CS5’s HDR Pro lets you combine bracketed frames of the same subject that were shot at different exposures, which allows a wider range of luminance data to be combined in one image.The result is a compilation that in some ways more closely mimics the way our eyes—rather than our camera sensors—are able to take in a broad range of light information. What that means in practical terms is that you can create an image that resonates with depth and detail.

What that means in dekeLounge terms is that, cocktails in hand, Deke takes me on a tour of the wonderland that is HDR Pro. Here are the handy highlights:

Although the ability to process HDR has been around in previous versions Photoshop, HDR Pro is a significant improvement. And although we complain about the time it takes to process (especially after I accidentally hit the wrong button and have to start over) it’s lightning fast compared to earlier versions.

You adjust the sliders in the HDR Pro window to taste, which is a direction Deke hates to give because it feels like you people are depending on him. But many of your HDR experiments are going to rely on your own vision, not Deke’s. To make up for having to be vague, we give you these crib notes on the sliders.

• The Edge Glow controls help you create the effect of bounced light that has become synonymous with HDR.
• The Radius controls the size of the glow. Lower Radius values mean tighter edges, and higher Radius values make the edges more diffuse.
• The Strength slider controls the interpretation of what exactly is an edge by comparing pixel contrast.
• The next few sliders can be thought of as analogous to those in the Levels command. The Gamma slider controls midtone contrast. If you move it to the right, midtones are increased.If you move it to the left, which somewhat unintuitively makes the value bigger, the shadows and highlights are emphasized.
• The Exposure slider represents just that: the theoretical f-stop of the compiled image.
• The Detail slider will have a sharpening effect. To me, playing in HDR makes no sense if you don’t create some impact, so try cranking it up to see what happens.
• The Shadow and Highlight sliders control those areas of greatest darkness and greatest session notes lightness, respectively.
• The Vibrance and Saturation sliders work like the ones you find in Camera Raw.
• Ghosts are those remnants or halos created by something moving between the frames. Even sunlight (thanks to the Earth’s rotation, or is it the s) moves, so you’re bound to have ghosts. Address them by turning on the Remove Ghosts checkbox, and select the contributory image from the film strip at the bottom of the HDR Pro window that you want Photoshop to use as a reference for resolving the problem.

Oh, and by the way, if you missed it, HDR made it to Deke’s Photoshop CS5 Top 5 list. Check out the video here to see it in action.

Promises met and worlds created!  How can you resist? Here’s the regular-quality audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save. The High res version is subject to the upload speeds of the Mandalay Bay hotel, so it should be up sometime this week; you’ll want to download rather than stream. And don’t forget our usual plea to subscribe via iTunes.

Meanwhile, here’s wishing you a wide range of luminance data! Cheers, dynamic dekeSters!