[35mmfilmfan]

I've seen several references to this technique with reference to macro work - can anyone suggest a (very) simplified guide to how to do it, please ?

Thanks

Tony

[MikeMcE]

Stacking is done in post processing.
Shooting is merely a number of identical shots, each focusing on a different plane. Camera locked on tripod. I use Affinity Photo, then it’s pick and stack


Hang up and DRIVE!

[Blamking]

Pat David has a good tutorial using Hugin and Enfuse software to align and fuse the image stack.

[clickclick]

Check out this site. Lots of great info and links to software etc.

Extreme Macro Photography

[MossyRocks]

I've done some focus stacking and it basically is a way to increase the depth of field in a final image. This is accomplished by making very small changes to the focus in an image and taking a lot of shots. Then you use some software to combine the focused parts of each image into a single final image with increased depth of field. I say small adjustments as you want to avoid banding and also provide good overlap between each image to allow for a good alignment. Below is an image I created using focus stacking but used the D FA 100mm F/2.8 WR Macro and took 137 shots. Between each shot I moved the focus about 1/2 of a ridge or less on the focus ring.



To combine the images I also use hugin and enfuse and the method I used is this one that was mentioned earlier in this tutorial. I believe that the current version of Photoshop has this ability now but I don't have it so I can't speak to how to use it or how good the results are.

[Wheatfield]

I've seen several references to this technique with reference to macro work - can anyone suggest a (very) simplified guide to how to do it, please ?

Thanks

Tony

I use liveview with the focus highlite thing turned on and manual exposure. I set my lens to its best aperture and focus on the closest point I want in focus. Take a picture and move the focus ring a little bit towards focusing farther out.
Take a picture.
Repeat until the farthest point I want in focus has been captured.
I then load tge whole thing into Photoshop as a stack, let the software auto align the images and then auto blend them. The software takes care of any resizing.

I have a really relaxed approach to it.

[Kerrowdown]

a (very) simplified guide to how to do it

Here's the quick a simple way if your an Adobe person... as already mentioned by others, take a few pictures... moving the plane of focus for each shot, one way throughout the depth on the image you wish to appear sharp.

Load in images into Lightroom, then select all the images and open edit tab and select open in Photoshop as layers. Once in Photoshop select all layers then to edit tab, select auto align-layers, once done back to edit tab and select auto-blend layers.

Hey presto... new layer is created with the sharpest bits from all the the other layers.

Enjoy.

[jlstrawman]

focus stacking - Google Search

[mlag]

The basics

Focus Stacking: The Ultimate Guide (With Step-By-Step Instructions)

I used picolay for the photo postprocessing, quite easy.


A landscape ( or a larger scene) is easier to start , deep macro is more complex: the focus steps in the first are larger and easier to control manually, the latter macro might require millimeter precise focus steps hard to realise by hand, and because of small steps many more images...


While the first stack of large objects or a landscape can be easy, with a tripod, 3..5some pictures (fore, halfway and background focus points by manual focus) one will soon learn that there are quite some pitfalls and corresponding solutions...
- quite some lenses suffer from focus breathing - they zoom a bit while focussing - making picture matching difficult, can be solved by sw to some extent or by focus rails for macro work (you shift the camera to the new focus point without changing camera/lens focus), sometimes controlled remotely by stacking software on a focus rail with a step motor
- ideally all your pics should cover the full focus range, nicely spaced, accounting for the depth of field (light, lens, aperture, ...): there are apps to calculate how many pictures and focus points one needs and again some focus rails or sw can do this for you...
- moving objects (or backgrounds from even the slightest wind) can ruin the stack, favouring studio work. An insect on a flower in the slightest wind is a nightmare for stacking..
- manually changing focus can move your lens/tripod, resulting in non matching images , but can be solved by heavy, a sturdy tripod and remote control, best via apps for camera focus points setting & triggering. Sometimes referred as tethering , combined with downloading images on the fly for verification... also avoid shutter and mirror vibration (mirror up locking)

Fun but you need some dedication and time...

[35mmfilmfan]

Thank you all very much for taking the time and trouble to respond - I'll check out each of the links you have so kindly provided, and experiment with the manual focusing technique suggested. This was the stumbling block that I faced - I had an idea of what to do, just not how to do it ! You have all helped tremendously - once again, thank you.

Tony

[BWG]

One thing that helps is a macro slider. Instead of refocusing through the focal range, leave the focus ring in place and move the camera forward (or backward). You can pick up a cheap one for around $40 on Amazon or eBay.

[35mmfilmfan]

One thing that helps is a macro slider. Instead of refocusing through the focal range, leave the focus ring in place and move the camera forward (or backward). You can pick up a cheap one for around $40 on Amazon or eBay.

Thanks for the tip - I actually already own one, picked up very cheaply from a charity shop 'junk box', where they put everything they wot not what it was !

[JensE]

In addition to @mlags's excellent advice, for macro work, start with something with a simple mostly convex shape, i.e. avoid a lot of intersecting objects partially obscuring each other. As for (free of charge) software, I second the recommendation for Picolay, even if the interface takes a moment to get used to.

[35mmfilmfan]

In addition to @mlags's excellent advice, for macro work, start with something with a simple mostly convex shape, i.e. avoid a lot of intersecting objects partially obscuring each other. As for (free of charge) software, I second the recommendation for Picolay, even if the interface takes a moment to get used to.

Thanks again - I shall check out the software, and take your useful advice about starting simple.

Tony

[MossyRocks]

start with something with a simple mostly convex shape, i.e. avoid a lot of intersecting objects partially obscuring each other.

This is really good advise. The watch movement image of mine above is probably one of the worst types of images to do focus stacking with. Many layers with many concave and convex shapes and overlaps usually results in a mess of an image and requires lots of very small steps in focus or movement to avoid issues.