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02-18-2016, 06:56 AM - 20 Likes   #1
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Focus Stacking Tutorial

Short version:

1. In camera: I put the camera on a tripod and focused on part of the moth. For each shot, I slightly turned the focus ring to move the focus and took a shot each time trying to overlap the areas in focus with each shot. The picture from this post was 20 images (accidentally typed 22 by mistake in the previous thread), each with a slightly different part in focus.

2. In Lightroom: Add all of the pictures you took into Lightroom. Process one of them, then select all of the images and copy the settings (Right-click > Develop Settings > Sync Settings) of that processed pic to the rest of them so that they are all processed with the same settings. Then export to JPEG.

3. In Photoshop: Go to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack. Choose Browse and select all of your photos that you just exported from Lightroom. Remember to check the box that says Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images, and press OK. This may take a minute depending on how many images you have. Once they are all stacked and aligned, look at your window that shows all of the layers. Select every layer, then go to Edit > Auto Blend Layers. It will take another moment to do this. Once it's done, crop and save.

Long Version. I decided to make the long tutorial for those who may not be familiar with where everything is in LR or PS. Also, to show the workflow and gain opinions on what could be done better.

1. Do the camera work as described in Step 1 above. You should have a series of images that look something like this with a narrow band of focus:



2. Choose and process one of the images. Don't bother cropping or straightening right now. This can be done later.



3. Go back to Library and select all of your images. Then Right-Click, mouse down to Develop Settings, and choose Sync Settings.



4. You'll get this popup. I didn't use any Local Adjustments, and I didn't Crop. So I chose all but those. Click Syncronize.



5. Now, all of your images have the same settings applied. Export them as JPEGs. With all of them still selected, Right-Click on one, mouse down to Export, and choose Export.



6. Put them somewhere that you can easily find them. I chose to use the same location as the original files, but in a new subfolder.



7. Once they are finished Exporting, go to Photoshop. It's time to bring them all in as layers. Go to File, mouse down to Scripts, and choose Load Files into Stack.



8. You'll now see this popup. Choose Browse, find the photos that you just Exported and select all of them. Press OK.



9. You should now see all of the file names loaded into this window. Remember to check the box that says Attempt to Automatically Align Source Files. Press OK.



10. You should see something that looks like this. My tripod isn't the best, so you can see where Photoshop had to line everything up.



11. Select all of the layers.



12. Once you have all of the layers selected, go to Edit and choose Auto Blend Layers.



13. You'll get this popup. Choose Stack Images, and check the box that says Seamless Tones and Colors. Press OK. This will take a moment to do depending on how many photos you have, or how large your photos are.



14. Once it is done, you should see something like this. A subject in full focus.



15. Now to combine all of the layers into one single image. Choose Layer, then Merge Visible.



16. Crop as needed and Save.



(You can see poor camera technique on my part where I missed a few frames around the edges that aren't in focus. They show up as blurred lines. I blame it on the tripod. )

Hope this helps. Any comments, criticism, or suggestions for changes in workflow are welcomed. This is a technique that I have been reading about and finally decided to try.


Last edited by r0ckstarr; 02-18-2016 at 07:02 AM.
02-18-2016, 07:12 AM   #2
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This is awesome!
02-18-2016, 07:25 AM   #3
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Excellent! Very useful for me. Thank you!
02-18-2016, 01:58 PM   #4
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Great stuff, thank you!

02-19-2016, 10:53 AM   #5
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Definitely going to be using this!
02-19-2016, 01:48 PM   #6
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Look forward to following your approach to see what I can do. Thanks!
02-19-2016, 05:37 PM   #7
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Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing all of your results.

02-19-2016, 05:46 PM - 1 Like   #8
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Thank you. I have a few questions as I adopt this into my workflow.

You say to export to JPG. Why not TIFF? TIFF should give a better image but take longer to process.

You say to do adjustments in LR before stacking. Could you instead load the unprocessed images into PS, stack first, and then adjust exposure in the final stacked image?
02-19-2016, 08:07 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
Thank you. I have a few questions as I adopt this into my workflow.

You say to export to JPG. Why not TIFF? TIFF should give a better image but take longer to process.

You say to do adjustments in LR before stacking. Could you instead load the unprocessed images into PS, stack first, and then adjust exposure in the final stacked image?
I'll have to try it out. This is why I asked for suggestions or changes in workflow. Thanks!
02-19-2016, 10:13 PM - 1 Like   #10
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This thread should be turned into a sticky or a PF article so more people see it.
02-19-2016, 10:28 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
This thread should be turned into a sticky or a PF article so more people see it.
Thanks, that would be great. It doesn't seem like the Macro section gets as much activity as other sections. Plus, this technique doesn't have to be limited to just macro. I'll shoot a few more examples and post them over the next couple days. I also intend to try your suggestions above.
02-21-2016, 12:01 PM - 2 Likes   #12
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D FA 100mm
ISO 400
f/2.8
1/100

Single photo:

2NK30295

19 photos:



My camera technique needs more practice. I'm still missing a few small area's that should be in focus. Also looks like photoshop got confused on that front leg. Have not yet tried DeadJohns suggestion with TIFF files.
02-22-2016, 07:19 AM - 1 Like   #13
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Nice tutorial and examples

A suggestion for a slightly tidier file management- in Lightroom with your images selected you can right click on any of them and select Edit In > "Open as Layers" in Photoshop. Then Edit > "Auto-Align Layers" and then carry on with your blending.

It might also be worth mentioning that at step 14 you can manually edit the layer masks to correct any obvious errors from photoshops automated process, ex. the two horizontal blurred bands below the moths right wing.
02-22-2016, 07:44 AM - 2 Likes   #14
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Nice work.
Moving both the camera and the lens on a micro-metric rail is usually preferred than changing the focus on the lens. I think that using the lens might introduce some aberrations depending of the focusing types (floating elements or not) and will slightly change the exposure with the change in magnification. So if you have a rail, prefer to use it otherwise don't restrain you to use the lens, the difference may not be visible.

You managed to get great results with Photoshop but in challenging pictures focus stacking software will lead to better results than photoshop. People are doing great pics with Zerene Staker or Helicon Focus. I'm currently testing Helicon (I have left my trial period of Zerene expire before really training on it. If I do some pics soon I could show the workflow using Helicon.
02-22-2016, 02:43 PM - 2 Likes   #15
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I've been wanting to get into stacking, but have been holding off until I got around to aquiring a rail (especially for reasons given in Glorfindelrb's post). Likewise I've been holding off on the trials of Zerene and Helicon until I had a proper rail to test with. But this thread has served as an inspiration and I happen to have a subject to apply it to (ice!), so here goes attempt one:

I used 9 images, overall magnification roughly 0.33x. On the left is the image with the furthest focus, on the right is the closest. Note the differences in magnification as the focus distance changed (especially see around the borders). Lens is a dfa100m@f/8, camera is a k5iis:



On the left is CS4's stacked result, on the right used CS4's auto-align feature, but I hand painted which parts of which layer to use. This was pretty fast, the object is pretty close to being flat and I'm shooting at an angle so my layer masks were simple gradients (I also cloned out a couple hairs in the right image). Note that CS4's auto attempt really flubbed up the edges, so as a result the left image has a significant border cropped off.



Below is a close up of the stacks. The automated version was filled with goofs like this. I think it had trouble determine which areas were sharp since ice is generally kinda wobbly looking. Given the planar nature of my subject, my hand masks did a much better job and were quicker (I was careful here not to mention my "skilled fast hand job"... dammit).

Photoshop did a great job at aligning the layers though, especially given the fair bit of resizing from the first to last image.




And the burning question of why didn't I just shoot so the sensor was parallel to my relatively flat subject? It's the birefringent property of ice when viewed through cross polarized light. I believe the problem with head on for this naturally formed ice is the optical axis isn't the direction I'd like it to be, and as a result the beautifully gaudy colours of this section only showed up when photographed from an angle. Where's that tilt lens when I need it?

Thanks for spurring me on to try this!
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