If you’ve read my post on HDR you probably gathered that it’s not a perfect solution. Yes, it captures detail in the shadows and highlights, but can make white walls and ceilings appear dirty. Ughhh!
Along comes “flambient” photography—the process of blending an ambient light exposure with a flashed exposure. As you’ll recall, an HDR image blends the best of multiple ambient light exposures to reveal details in the highlights and the shadows, but can result in “dirty” walls and ceilings and blue windows. Blend in a flashed exposure and your windows appear natural, and walls and ceilings come out white, not dirty.
Colors are closer to “true” and windows are natural, not blue. Other areas in the room may benefit from the flashed exposure as well. A little painterly blending of the flashed image onto the HDR image keeps the benefits of HDR, while solving the problems it creates.
Flambient photography is still new and many photographers don’t use it. I use it on most of my HDR photography. I call it "Enhanced" on my rate sheet.
