I have a RRS focus rail coming.?

Hi Jon,

I often read the contributions here but rarely contribute, not usually having much to say, but here I do have a little experience!

As far as I know, you can't actually focus stack in Lightroom (although I admit I rarely use this), but one can send images from Lightroom

to Photoshop, where you can stack them.? I use Photoshop almost exclusively, and focus stacking is really easy.? From Bridge (my preferred

method), you select the images to stack, then go to Tools>Photoshop>Load Images into Photoshop Layers.? I guess if you're using Lightoom,

there is a similar method for sending images to PS?? Then, select all the layers in the Layers palette and go to Edit>Auto-Align Layers.

Next, with the layers still selected, go to Edit>Auto-Blend Layers.? Then go and have a cup of coffee, especially if you have lots of layers!

And that's it.? Provided your focus stack is good - move the focus stage in only very small increments - Photoshop actually does a very good

job of stacking.? You will need to flatten the image before you can save it, especially if you have many layers and a high-pixel-count camera!

I have also used other freebies such as the various flavours of CombineZ in the past, but I've always had much greater success with the

current versions of PS CC.

There are lots of tutorials on YouTube, btw!

Good luck and best wishes

Chris

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Chris Gibbins

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As a follow-on from my last message - here are a few examples of focus stacking using Photoshop which I've posted

on another web site!

Best wishes

Chris

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Chris Gibbins

Hello Chris

Very nice photo's, I understand what focus stacking does but what are the real world uses of this or when do you make the choice to use this?
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Kind Regards

Roy

Hi Roy,? Thankyou for your kind comment.? Focus stacking in the real world is a method of increasing depth of focus.? In macro photography, especially at high magnifications, the depth of focus is truly miniscule, so by taking a stack of images, each focussed on a slightly different part of the image (i.e from front to back), the software takes the sharp parts of each image and puts them all together to form a new image with all the parts in focus, something that cannot be achieved in any other way.
Hope this helps, and best regards
Chris
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Thanks Chris

Very well explained

As always this group explains things in a straight forward manor that always seems easier to understand than any other rescource out there, I have just been offered the SB-R1C1 macro speedlight commander kit for only ?260 GBP complete in unused condition so I am thinking about getting it as macro does interest me a lot.? This picture I took was liked by a few people but it was Zane who spotted the out of focus part at the right hand side of the flower, now every time I look at it the out of focus just jumps out, would focus stacking work for this type of subject? it was taken with the 105 vr micro lens so I suppose it could be classed as macro.? Also if you take say 5 images close together in the QC mode on the D850 would you get any benefit from focus stacking these images to see if combined they just improved the image? the reason I ask is that I think one of the images was in focus at the out of focus area on the image I have shown?
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Kind Regards

Roy

Just being shot with a macro lens does not make it a macro image. It all has to do with image magnification. Yes, it would benefit from stacking. Stacking can be done with any image at any distance.

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Truly inspirational, I’ve been meaning to give this a try for years, as I have a small collection of Minerals that really need this. ?My long term goal is to produce 3D pairs using this technique.