High Dynamic Range is like fudge.

HDR is good in little amounts.

My use of framing in the first image is very symmetrical. I wanted to emphasize how the stove looks like it is used frequently. The only lighting is the kitchen light on the camera's axis, and then the light above the stove. I took about four shots of different shutter speeds, and the resultant image has more even lightning than any of the four images. I don't much care for heavily HDRed images, so I intentionally toned down all the the options. I'm happy with the result, however, and will probably use the feature in the future, but only subtly.

I like that the highlight on the wall is not too bright, but I do feel the white stove-top could be brighter. I'm very happy with the shadows in the image. If I were to use this as a jumping off point for a series, I'd probably photograph people's kitchens (I'm interested in how other people eat) or maybe just the most used part of the living space. That would be interesting to see how people use their spaces to fit their personalities.

My second image is of my sister, who sat very still for me as I took about six or seven images of different shutter-speeds. I do feel the light is still overexposed, but the HDR was still effective with most of it. This image was difficult in using HDR becuase it either looked over-done or under-done. I played around with it or a while before I decided it looked normal.

I don't think I'd use this image as a jumping-off point for anything, because I don't think this image has much value. Maybe if it were the only image of my sister, but there are so many images of my sister, that this one does not stand out at all. I think my favorite part is the bird on top of the fruit bowl because of the way it's balanced and because it's a bird.