A note on where this fits today: with a 100MP medium-format sensor holding more range in one frame, exposure blending is now an occasional technique I reach for on particular twilight scenes rather than a routine step.
HDR does some amazing things, particularly for twilight photography.
The results can sometimes look other worldly … with super saturated colors. At night, the lighting often becomes more moody and directional (which can be a good thing). Additionally, the focus becomes entirely the interior, as our eyes naturally gravitate toward the lightest part of an image. How do we still give the exterior some focus? Here we use exposure blending.
We take one photo while the sun is still slightly lighting the facade so the building exterior looks great (but the interior does not). Then we take a second photograph when the interior lights are stronger than the outside and that looks great.
We then merge these two photographs together so that we get the best of two different times of day. Even better, it gives us options we would otherwise not have at night … like the street lamp reflection on the right side of the building is omitted from being brought over.
In case you were curious, here is roughly what this building looks like during the day (as an HDR).
