High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of exposures; that is, the range of values between light and dark areas, than normal digital techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.

HDRI has been practiced for centuries by artists when rendering paintings that look realistic. Now digital artists are using HDRI to create virtual worlds that are just as compelling as the real world since the physics of light can be simulated in their full glory. Simply put, HDRI is a method to digitally capture, store, and edit the full luminosity range of a scene.

The HDRI Handbook is 344 pages long and is divided into seven chapters. There is a companion DVD that contains software, HDR Images, and bracketed exposures for you to work along with, tutorial files and other tools for working with HDRI.

Chapter 1, "The Background Story," begins with an in-depth discussion of the ideas and concepts behind HDRI. Here the author questions the basic concepts of digital and analog photography. You will learn about how little progress has been made in digital imaging until now, and how HDRI has the potential to push those boundaries further than ever before.

Chapter 2, "New Tools," presents the tools that are needed for producing HDR images. Here a comparison of the image formats and programs are discussed as well as how to put them together in a usable workflow.

Chapter 3, "Capturing HDR Images," gets in to the meat of HDRI. It is all about the capturing of the images. In this chapter you will learn both about the scientific as well as the easy way. You will also learn about some research labs and about the future of HDRI. According to the author, it is only a mater of time before HDRI is the standard and not the exception.

Chapter 4, "Tone Mapping," will introduce to you the automatic, as well as the creative method used to reduce the tonal range of an HDR image while preserving all of the details. It is here that you will learn to create superior prints from HDR. Adding their expertise in this chapter are authors Uwe Steinmüller and Dieter Bethke showing their personal workflow in practical tutorials.