Then manual focus on the nearest part of the scene, such as the sand in the foreground (if you’re shooting a seascape) or the tip of the flower petal (if you’re shooting a close-up). (There’s usually a little AF/MF switch on the barrel.) Step 2: Switch your lens to manual focus and take your first shot If everything turned out sharp, then you’re good to go – but if parts of the shot are blurry, then you’ll need to proceed with the focus stacking technique. Zoom in and check both the foreground and background. Not sure whether focus stacking is necessary? Take a test shot with your lens focused about one-third of the way into the scene, then review it on your camera LCD. It’s only when you add in close foreground objects – thus increasing scene depth – that focus stacking becomes essential. If you’re using a wide-angle lens, you can probably shoot most landscape scenes at f/16 or so and get an image that’s sharp throughout. It doesn’t need to be perfect – you can always make changes in post-processing – but if you can keep the white balance consistent, it’ll make your job much easier down the line.)Īnd by the way: Before you proceed with the rest of the focus-stacking steps, make sure that your scene actually requires focus stacking. (For the same reason, I’d also recommend you select a white balance preset and dial it in. Once you’ve set your exposure, you should not change it, or else you’ll need to do extra work standardizing the exposures when blending your shots later. You should use the camera’s exposure meter and histogram to guide you, and note that the exposure will remain fixed across all focus-stacked shots. Next, set your camera to Manual mode, then dial in an exposure. Pick a scene that will remain steady for the few minutes it takes to set up your shot.) (Quick aside: You’ll struggle to focus stack scenes that feature moving subjects, which is part of the reason why portrait photographers, wildlife photographers, and street photographers rarely use this technique. If you don’t have a tripod, you can do handheld focus stacking, but you’ll need to maintain the composition as carefully as possible. Mount your camera on a tripod and carefully compose your photo. Let’s take a look at how the stacking process works, from shooting in the field to blending the images on the computer: Step 1: Pick your subject, choose a composition, and set your exposureįocus stacking starts by locking down a subject and a composition.
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