Learn to create dramatic, detail?rich HDR images with an instructor who has been teaching HDR photography since the early 2010s and has 35+ years of professional experience.

From Edmonton Class to Global Online Course

From 2014 through 2018, Darlene Hildebrandt taught an in?person HDR Photography Class in Edmonton through the Burwell School of Photography, helping local photographers master high dynamic range techniques in both field and computer?lab settings. That same proven curriculum has now been expanded and updated into a comprehensive online HDR Photography course on Digital Photo Mentor, available to photographers anywhere in the world.

In the online version, you learn step?by?step how to plan, shoot, and process HDR images using modern software, with downloadable lessons you can revisit at your own pace.

What You Learn in the HDR Online Course

The online HDR course takes the original in?person class outline and builds it out with more examples, screen?recorded demos, and downloadable practice files.

You will learn:

• How to choose and use the right equipment for HDR photography, including camera settings, bracketing, and tripods.
• How to expose and shoot HDR sequences in the field so you bring home files that will process cleanly with minimal noise and ghosting.
• How to merge, tone map, and finish HDR images using current software tools, including strategies to avoid the “bad HDR” look and keep images natural or painterly by choice.
• How to refine your results with retouching, local adjustments, and noise reduction for high?quality final files ready for print or web.

A basic comfort level with your camera and photo editing software (Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar, or similar) is recommended, just as it was for the original advanced in?person class.

About Your Instructor: Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene is a Master of Photographic Arts (MPA) with more than 35 years of experience as a professional photographer and educator across commercial, editorial, fine art, wedding, and documentary work. She founded Digital Photo Mentor in 2014 and has since taught thousands of students worldwide through online courses, in?person workshops, and international photo tours.

Her teaching background includes:

• HDR Photography and other specialty courses for Metro Continuing Education in Edmonton (2011-2013).
• Photography instructor for Burwell School of Photography (2014-2018), including the original HDR Photography Class in Edmonton.
• Workshop leader and instructor across Alberta, British Columbia, Oregon, and Italy, plus 14+ international photo tours in locations such as Vietnam, Morocco, Peru, Cuba, Japan, and India.

She is also a Skylum Software Ambassador, a featured Luminar Neo course instructor, and a member of Team Canada for the 2025 World Photographic Cup in the Reportage category, underscoring her ongoing involvement at the highest levels of photography and education.

How to Enroll in the HDR Online Course

If you found this page while searching for the original Edmonton HDR Photography Class, please note that the in?person version ran from 2014-2018 and is no longer offered locally. The updated HDR Photography course is now delivered entirely online through Digital Photo Mentor so you can join from anywhere.

• Visit the Digital Photo Mentor Online Photography Courses page and look for the HDR Photography course.
• Enroll to get instant access to all video lessons, downloads, and future updates.

Whether you are in Edmonton or halfway around the world, you can now study HDR photography with the same instructor and curriculum that began in this local class.