Exposure Fusion
Introduction
Photomatix lets you combine images with different exposures using the Average method or one of the Highlights & Shadows methods. Those latter methods perform a process known as Exposure Fusion or Exposure Blending.
The Highlights & Shadows methods make use of advanced algorithms to select and blend together the details available in the different exposures.
The Average method combines the images using the same average formula everywhere, regardless of whether the computed pixels are in a dark or bright area. This is why averaging can not produce the dynamic range extension that you can get with one of the Highlights & Shadows Exposure Fusion methods. However, averaging has the effect of reducing noise and is often used for a process called Image Stacking.
To use the Exposure Fusion functions of Photomatix Pro:
1. | Drag your bracketed images to the open Photomatix Pro application (Windows) or to the Photomatix icon in the Dock (Macintosh). Alternatively, you can also click on the "Exposure Fusion" button of the Workflow Shortcuts, or choose Process > Exposure Fusion.
2. | If you have not dragged and dropped your images, click on the Browse button to go to the location of your bracketed images and select them using the SHIFT+Arrow keys or your mouse and CTRL key (command key on Mac).
3. | The window lists the source images that will be fused. If the images are not aligned (e.g. shot without the aid of a tripod), check the option Align images. Then click on the OK button.
To fuse exposures automatically and/or process large files, please refer to the section Batch Processing.

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