The problem of the first group is that it can elicit a stagnation in skill and creativity. Yes, sometimes in some locations you cannot set up a bank of strobe to balance interior and exterior light or some circumstance may otherwise inhibit the shot. HDR does give you a way around these problems, allowing you to properly expose the entire image. However, if every time you are shooting in these situations HDR becomes the default answer, you limit your technical and creative growth. Depending on HDR also promotes the mentality of “oh I’ll just Photoshop that out later.” If the camera or subject moves or the lighting conditions change during the bracketing sequence, post production can be a bear. In-camera techniques tend to be far superior in quality and force you to use your most important piece of photography equipment, your brain.

Pursuing High Dynamic Range as art is problematic. You have to contend with its stigma as a fad and the fact that much of the process is automated. Using HDR for creative purposes can be fun and produce some very interesting effects. However, I have a hard time classifying it as photography; these stylized images often share more in looks with panting than photography. Most of the HDR images I’ve seen on the web take tone mapping to the extreme. Creating these images is no longer about realism, neutral exposures or a High Dynamic Range – it is about painting with tones. Painting photos with tones is not everything it’s made out to be. At the risk of angering digital painters over the comparison, given the time and skill required to create an image in both mediums I will forgo calling them anything beyond images. No matter how well composed, the knowledge that the software for producing these images – both the in-camera bracketing and digital post production – can be highly automated, does not elicit the concept of art within these images even if they were produced in a more manual method.

Should you pursue High Dynamic Range images? Most things can be good with moderation, if this is what gets you out taking photographs then by all means. Master HDR if that is what interests you, but do not limit yourself in both creativity and technique. I often see galleries where this is the only style of image throughout; often many of the images would stand stronger on their own. Like spandex and leg warmers when sensation moves on you do not want to be left in the teal.