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.