Getting started
Photomatix works with photographs of the same scene taken under different exposure settings. Such images are often called "bracketed" images in reference to the auto-bracketing exposure functions available on many camera models.
If you don't have differently exposed images available yet, you can start using Photomatix with the sample bracketed low resolution images available from the download page of our website. To try Photomatix with your own images, follow the instructions under the section Taking differently exposed images.
You do not necessarily need several exposures to use Photomatix though. If you have taken a single exposure shot in RAW mode, you can still use the Tone Mapping tool with it. For that, either open your RAW file in Photomatix to convert it into a pseudo-HDR image, or convert it first into a 16 bits/channel image in your favorite RAW converter. In both cases, you will then be able to process the image with Tone Mapping.
Another trick is to derive several exposures from the RAW file and combine them in Photomatix Pro. You will find more information on this in this section of the Photomatix Pro FAQ.
It is important to remember that the dynamic range you can retrieve from a single RAW file is limited. A single exposure is not sufficient for a scene having a high dynamic range, and in most cases not sufficient either for medium dynamic range. In order to take the best advantage of the dynamic range you camera can capture, we recommended that you overexpose slightly when taking the image to limit noise in the shadows.

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