Originally posted by OrchidJulie Ooh, I like it! Beautiful!
So, how does that "focus stacking" work? Presumably one has to use a tripod, and take multiple images with different areas in focus, but then what? What software does the magic part?
Precisely, Generally, the smaller the object you are photographing and the closer the camera is to it, the more useful focus-stacking can be. Rather than type a lengthy explanation I'll recommend looking for posts here on PF or trying a GOOGLE search. I've tried a couple of programs, Adobe Photoshop can do it, but I presently like & use Helicon Focus 7 which can be purchased and downloaded off line. Out doors with even the faintest breeze focus stacking is difficult and sometimes unsuccessful. The flower below is a focus stack of about eight image files. Aside from getting almost all of the big flower head into focus, the background is kept well out of focus (= good bokeh). On spiders that are sitting very still, insects that are dead specimens, I have used up to 20 stacked images. People who do really deep macro stacks, such as just the head of an insect, may use 80 to over 100 image files in a stack.