Recently I have fallen in love with taking HDR photos. Typically HDR photos produce a photograph which is far more representative of what you would have seen if you were there.
How does it work?
This is because all parts of the image can be illuminated, and in focus. Normally when you look at a composition you will look at one part at a time, your eyes will focus on the object you are looking at rather than the whole thing at a time. This is replicated in photos by using a small aperture, meaning thins in the fore, middle and background are all focused. However in normal photography, especially at night, you are unable to replicate your eyes ability to change the, "exposure". Using the HDR technique you are able to take multiple photos at varying exposure, then layer them, allowing extreme light and dark areas to be visible.
The effects vary depending on the subject, but typically photos will look like a rendering out of a next generation computer game, as everything is visible. In day shots you are able to pick out amazing skies, and at night you can get shining lights but also see detail in the shadows.
This may sound confusing so have a look at this photo on Flickr by Delox. An HDR photo using 9 exposures.
So how do you do it?
A lot of DSLR cameras have a bracketing mode which will take 3 photo, one after another at different exposures. However you can also just take as many photos as you want, changing the exposure in different ways. Once you have your photos the easiest way to create an HDR photo I have found is to use a program called Photomatix from HDRSoft.
When you open Photomatix, just click HDR>Generate. Then select the photos you want to use and hit OK. Once done you can then go to HDR>Tone Mapping. Once in you can start playing around with the settings, there is no right setting for a photo and it all depends on taste. Some outcomes will give you a realistic view, whilst others will give you a very surreal cartoony look. This is a good example of a before and after.
Once done you can then import the photo into iPhone, LightRoom etc and treat them like a normal photo. Have a look at my HDR photos on Flickr, and some of my favorite HDR photo on flickr.