try using -2,0,+2 for your exposures.
start out with a natural landscape for a picture at a time with lots of shadows being cast, automotive hdr just isnt that easy or impressive

 

HDR is generally used when you have a really high contrast. Unfortunately the only HDR picture I have now is a complete one. But originally i took something like 8 pictures from really high exposure so i could see the forest to very low exposure so i can see the sky. The reason you can't do it in one shot is that if I want the forest, the sky is wayyyy too bright and comes out as white while if I want the sky the forest comes out as black.

This picture was last year in Vietnam. I shot this picture in raw otherwise i'd show you 2 examples of what it could have looked like before HDR

 

thanks for the advice

 

HDR can definitely be difficult to master. It takes the right scenery to make it look good. A lot of times, simple is better. Its easy to make HDR images look over processed. Heres some examples of HDR images I've either taken or helped someone else process.








Any comments or constructive criticism are welcome. Lord knows I'm anything but perfect at photography

 

A good HDR shot is when the a real picture looks fake(like a video game)

 

There's a fine line between this, and too fake though.

 

actually I believe that most photographers hate the HDR hype. It seems like they like a more natural look where you can barely even tell it was an HDR shot other then the really good exposure.