I was flipping through some photos that I took a few days ago, and finally stumbled across a great example of HDR vs. non-HDR pictures. The first one is non-HDR. You can see that our model, Havana, is generally lighter colored, and better lit.
Havana non-HDR
Havana HDR
In the HDR photo, Havana is darker, but now pay attention to the house across the street seen through the window. In the HDR picture it is recognizable and details can be seen. In the non-HDR picture, it’s just a blown out white blob.
In this case, while the HDR picture provides more clarity in the background, using the non-HDR one is more appropriate as our subject looks better.