Focus Stacking... what is it ?
Focus stacking for macros is a method to compensate for the very shallow depth of field using multiple images, with different focus.
If I’m honest, I didn’t know about focus stacking until a few days ago. Nor did I need it until now. But now that I bought a Marco lens, the topic of focus stacking became interesting to me.
Depth of field
Especially in macro photography, the depth of field is very shallow. This is due to the long focal length and very short distance to the object. To illustrate, if you photograph a fly frontally, the eyes are sharp, but the body or wings are barely visible. To further illustrate this problem, you will find an image example below.
On the picture example you can see two photos. Both pictures were taken from the same position. Neither ISO, aperture nor focal length were changed. Only the focus was set differently. Here you can see how short or narrow the focus is in macro photography. To get the whole object in focus, you need a trick. Better said a technical help.
How to...
- Adobe Photoshop (I used)
- Helicon Focus
- Zerene Stacker
- Combine ZP (freeware)
Final picture after stacking
Here you can see the final result of my first focus stacking attempt.
You might also like my post about using gray filters or pole filters.