>>4474040I actually used hdr unironically quite a bit, back in the days when the sensors weren't that great. Since I got a D750 I don't need it for 99% of shots so I lost a bit of my know-how for these, but one of the keys is to avoid being memed by "pro" software using local adjustment algorithms that mostly suck and give the grungy look.
I think it's worth trying bracketing in these situations, worst case scenario you just don't use the images. Producing decent hdr images takes a bit of know-how and investment in learning though, since most out of the box solutions and tutorials give trashy results.
I mostly use Picturenaut for this which is a great free software actually developed by Christian Bloch, a guy from the VFX industry iirc, unfortunately its development has been dead for a while now but it still works great. The software is mostly aiming at natural look through global tonemappers (so a bit like LR's highlights and shadows sliders) and it's probably the fastest. Still needs some further adjustments with ps most of the time though. I also sometimes try LR's hdr module just because it's integrated within LR and I'm lazy, but it's slightly worse most of the time.
Here's an hdr attempt with picturenaut using 2 handheld photos, I only increased the foreground's contrast in ps afterwards. I'll stop spamming my scene now kek
