Do your photos need more sharpness and details? Or do you feel like trying your hand at macro photography? Or you want to make a beautiful travel photo blog and need clear photos. Then you’ve come to the right place! We will tell you all about focus stacking: what ist it is and how to do it. And if you are interested in focus stacking software, we recommend choosing Luminar Neo. Its AI-powered extension will help you get the sharpest pictures possible.
Focus stacking: what it is in brief
Focus stacking is a method of converting images captured with different focus points to get an image with a greater depth of sharpness than any of the originals. That is, you need to do a perfect foreground, middle ground, and background. To do this, you need to take a series of photos, shifting the focus point each time. Then in post-processing, you combine them and get an image with perfect focus.
Essentials of focus stacking
Below is a list of what you may need to create the results you want. But you don’t have to use everything, this is just a recommendation.
Here are the basic tools that will help you take sharp, high-quality photos:
- A tripod – it will help you make sharp originals for your future creation.
- Camera with interchangeable lenses and manual focus method.
- Focus stacking software – you have to make a choice in one of the programs, which you’ll read a little later.
Now you know what it is and what it takes, but you don’t yet know what program to use. Let’s talk about them briefly:
- Adobe Photoshop – by selecting the correct version, e.g. CS6, the program will work correctly. Adobe Photoshop is understandable and cheap, but a very complex program. But your efforts will pay off when you see the results.
- Helicon Focus is a fast, stable program that you don’t need a tutorial to use. Of course, there are some disadvantages, such as the inability to set the white balance for RAW files. But in general, the potency of the program is quite good.
- Zerene Stacker – as well as Helicon Focus, is a very handy, easy program. But unlike Helicon, it does not have such a modern interface. Otherwise, the programs are almost copied from each other, so you will not make a mistake by choosing one of them.
- Luminar Neo – this is where AI comes in handy. It will identify the sharpest places in the photos and combine them. Even if there are more than 50, it will be able to do it.
Have you finally decided on an assistant software? Then move on to taking and post-processing your photos – the future work of art.
Step-by-step preparation and post-processing
Now that you have chosen the equipment you need, you can start shooting.
1. Select the object and the composition around
Set up your tripod and camera, look around, and choose the right shot. Are you satisfied with the composition? If yes, then set the exposure, which will be fixed for all shots.
2. Switch to handheld focus and take a test shot
Change to hand focus and keep the camera in focus on the subject closest to the lens. Take a test shot to make sure that the exposure has not moved.
3. Make the rest of the images
Take a series of pictures, moving the focus to a different location each time. At this point, you should take as many shots as you need to. Over time, if you take your focus stacking more seriously, you will learn to figure out exactly how many shots you need in which situation. In the beginning, take more shots. Deleting bad shots is easier than taking new ones.
4. Post-processing your photos at Luminar Neo
At this step, you can use any program you want. But many amateurs and professionals use Luminar Neo because of its simplicity of use, so this paragraph will describe exactly the editing in it.
- Upload your photos to the program
- Place them in a box called Focus Stacking
- Select the reference image that the others will be adjusted to.
- Click the Stack button and the program will generate the stacked image itself and place the finished image in the created folder
- Then you can open your photo and edit the final result, you can add shadows, highlights, brighter colors, or whatever you think is necessary.
- Save the finished image.
Now you know how to make the clearest photo, in the easiest way possible. The first few times you might spend a lot of time, but as you gain experience, it will be straightforward.
The last words about focus stacking
The most important thing in focus stacking is the result, that is, the photo you get after you finish editing it. This unique technique, together with the software you like, will turn an ordinary blurry photo into a bright, clear piece of art. So take your camera and go capture the beauty of this world.
