BE FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY HOW TO
BE FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY MANUAL

To get superb focus stacked images, you need the following things: You can focus stack only certain portions of an image to maintain sharpness throughout your subject in a shallow depth of field while preserving the beautiful blurred backgrounds and bokeh that come from wide apertures and separation between subject and background. Selective Focus StackingДЇocus stacking isnвЂ™t just for images that require corner to corner sharpness. Focus stacking of a sort is used to get all those microscopic elements sharp in one image, which makes study and demonstration a lot easier. LetвЂ™s not get sidetracked here, but it is worth mentioning that microscopes work with lenses, so depth of field is still a major factor. ItвЂ™s especially important to have accurate focus in product photography, so focus stacking can help you get every aspect of a product in focus, even if youвЂ™re having to compromise on your aperture setting. You may find it easiest to use your body to move forward, rather than your focus ring, to get snaps of every point of focus you want for a macro focus stack. ItвЂ™s painfully easy to lose your point of focus, especially with a moving target (think insects). Macro photography combines two things that donвЂ™t really go together: an extremely shallow depth of field and the need for absolute stillness. So, it may be better to get several shots at an aperture of, say, f/5.8, then focus stack them. You would think the aperture setting that provides the widest depth of field would just make sense, right? Except a вЂњperfectвЂќ focus at an aperture of f/22, for example, could result in lens diffraction that softens that focus.

In a landscape situation, youвЂ™re often trying to cover a lot of ground with one aperture setting. You donвЂ™t need an excuse to use focus stacking, but there are a lot of situations where it certainly makes sense. When you know your lensвЂ™s sweet spot, you can focus stack multiple images of that super-sharp focus level at different points in the composition and harness it throughout the final photo.

For most lenses, this means 2-3 stops from wide open. This is why itвЂ™s important to know your lensвЂ™s вЂњsweet spotвЂќ вЂ“ the setting that results in its sharpest possible point of focus. A narrow aperture creates a wide depth of field, but can result in diffraction, which causes a soft focus.A wide aperture creates a shallow depth of field, meaning you may have trouble keeping everything thatвЂ™s important in your image focused at once.Both a wide-open aperture and a tiny one can create focus issues in their own way: Your aperture setting will be one of the most important factors as you shoot to focus stack. Fortunately, the editing part is nearly as simple as shooting, and weвЂ™ll walk you through it step by step a little later on.Дepth of Field and Your LensвЂ™s вЂњSweet SpotвЂќ

ItвЂ™s a half-shooting, half-editing process, since you have to actually combine all those different points of focus in post-processing. By taking multiple shots of the same scene at different focus points, youвЂ™re covering all your bases for the final image. To create an HDR image, you take different levels of exposure for the same scene, then take the best of the highlights, shadows, and midtones out of all those exposures to create one, superbly-balanced photo.ДЇocus stacking is the same idea, if you switch exposure with focus.

To understand focus stacking, itвЂ™s easiest to make a quick comparison to HDR, since itвЂ™s a process most photographers have a baseline knowledge of.

BE FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY HOW TO

Not sold yet? Keep reading to find out how to easily fit this technique into your workflow, from shooting to editing to wowing your viewers in just a few steps.

ItвЂ™s the best way to get the sharpest point of focus possible from top to bottom, corner to corner.

If youвЂ™re already using a tripod and remote shutter release, it wonвЂ™t change much about your shooting routine.

BE FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY MANUAL

Focus stacking is easy to learn if youвЂ™re already familiar with manual mode and basic photo editing.

Ever wish you could extend the focal range on your macro lens? Desperately seeking tack-sharp images in spite of the pesky diffraction that happens when you hit f/16 or so? YouвЂ™re going to love focus stacking.

Be focused photography