easyHDR is a photo editor for Windows and macOS that merges bracketed exposures into high dynamic range images. It then tone maps them into photos you can view and print normally. It also works on single RAW or JPEG files. You can run it on Linux through Wine. easyHDR is paid software sold under a lifetime license. A demo version adds a watermark to output photos and disables TIFF and JPEG 2000 export.
Loading and preparing brackets
A typical input is a sequence of two or three photos of the same scene taken at different exposures, usually 1 to 2 EV apart. easyHDR reads JPEG, PNG, TIFF, JPEG 2000, OpenEXR, Radiance RGBE, FITS, HEIF/HEIC on supported systems, and camera RAW files.
The RAW import dialog sets white balance, brightness, contrast, color space and noise filtering for all photos at once or for each one separately.
Lens correction uses the LensFun database to fix chromatic aberration, vignetting and distortion. It runs automatically, with manual settings for unsupported lenses.
Alignment for hand-held shots
Automatic alignment detects matching features across the frames and corrects shift, rotation and perspective. Manual alignment instead uses pairs of pins placed on matching points in each frame.
Three ways to merge
easyHDR offers three methods for combining the frames:
- True HDR builds a real radiance map that holds the scene’s full brightness range. Tone mapping then compresses that range.
- Smart Merge fuses the differently exposed images directly, producing a pseudo-HDR result.
- Image stacking averages the photos, which reduces noise when the frames share the same exposure.
A “360°” option makes tone mapping treat the left and right borders of a panorama as connected.
Ghost removal
Moving people, cars or leaves appear as semi-transparent “ghosts” when frames are merged. With the True HDR method, easyHDR opens a ghost removal window before generation. It creates masks automatically, with adjustable strength. The user can paint masks by hand so that each marked area comes from a single frame.
Tone mapping controls
After the merge, easyHDR switches to tone mapping, where built-in or saved presets serve as starting points. easyHDR shows the preview at full image resolution. A History tab records tone mapping and layer mask changes for undo and redo.
The global operator applies the same treatment to every pixel, which avoids brightness inversions. Its controls include compression, gamma, contrast, saturation, a tone curve, and 3D LUT color grading from imported .cube files.
You can switch on two local operators alongside it. Local Contrast compresses the dynamic range while bringing out detail, with separate sliders for highlights, shadows, micro contrast and fine details. Mask works like a graduated gray filter, darkening large bright areas such as a sky.
Color controls cover temperature and tint, with an eyedropper for a neutral point, and saturation selective by hue or brightness. The histogram can mark under- and overexposed areas on the preview. A padlock button keeps chosen settings when you apply another preset.
The same tone mapping tools work on a single photo. easyHDR calls this LDR enhancement, and it suits one RAW file that already contains a wide range of tones.
Masked layers for sky and foreground
You can add up to nine layers, each with a complete set of tone mapping settings and its own mask. You can therefore process a sky and foreground, or a window view and a room interior, differently within one image. You paint masks with a brush, flood fill or gradient. An “intelligent” mode limits the effect to pixels similar to the starting point.
Retouching and finishing
A clone and healing brush removes dust spots and unwanted objects during tone mapping. Rotation, cropping and perspective correction are available at any stage. A final post-processing tab adds blur, sharpening, noise reduction and selective color balance.
You can save results as JPEG, TIFF or JPEG 2000, or pass them directly to an external editor. You can export the HDR data itself as OpenEXR, Radiance RGBE or 32-bit TIFF. easyHDR projects store the aligned inputs, ghost masks, layers and tone mapping settings for later editing.
Batch processing and timelapse
The batch processor runs a list of tasks. It can render each task several times with different presets. An “Auto create tasks” dialog builds the list from a folder of photos. You can stop and resume a batch. This also suits timelapse sequences, where disabling histogram clipping reduces flicker between frames.
Lightroom Classic plug-in
A Lightroom Classic plug-in installs with easyHDR when Lightroom is present. It sends a selected photo or bracket set from the Lightroom catalog to easyHDR. One export preset passes the original RAW files; another lets Lightroom develop them and sends 16-bit TIFFs. You can edit by hand or in the background with a preset. The result is imported back into the catalog.
Home and Commercial licenses
easyHDR is sold with Home and Commercial licenses. The program’s features are identical in both; the Home license covers non-profit use, and the Commercial license covers commercial work. Each is a single-user license valid on several of that user’s computers.
