[foobarrio]

Why not a single exposure? My camera (Nikon D750) shows up as having 14 stops of DR on DxOMark and IRRC a typical monitor in ambient condition is 8-9 stops. I haven't tested any of this though. Any in-camera JPG processing is applying a tone-mapping function to compress the range. Is the HDR label reserved for an image that has more range than the human eye can see and not necessarily the viewing device?

[dylan604]

Depends on the style of HDR; if you want that post-appocolyptic look vs a just a well exposed shadows and protected highlights look. Shooting ETTR will allow for the shadows to get extra exposure while using the highlight recoverability of a RAW file to protect the highlight. Each camera sensor is different, so you have to practice with your camera to see how much you can push the exposure before unrecoverable clipping occurs. Obviously, the camera’s preview will looked overexposed, so people you show it to will think you’re crazy.