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What is photo stacking?
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Jun 23, 2019 21:33:20   #
LasVegasCindy Loc: Las Vegas, Nv
 
Hello All,

I have been seeing posts and photos related to photo stacking. Can someone please explain in plain terms, what it is and how is it achieved? I’m guessing it is done in post processing but honestly do not have a clue! So much to learn! Thanks in advance for any responses!

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Jun 23, 2019 21:39:46   #
bleirer
 
It is combining several similar images into one image. For example to reduce noise one could take 4 similar shots and layer them into one, and the part of noise that is random would be reduced by one half. Or one could take several shots handheld and the slight pixel shifts would be like higher resolution if you follow a certain recipe in photoshop or similar. Or one could have different focuses to make an infocus composite, called focus stacking. I like this website to explain image averaging for noise reduction. https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/image-averaging-noise.htm

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Jun 23, 2019 23:13:15   #
rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX
 
The most common type of stacking is 'focus stacking'.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=cus&q=focus+stacking

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Jun 24, 2019 01:37:23   #
robertjerl Loc: Corona, California
 
Some will stack 1-200 or more shots of the night sky to get rid of the noise and have a BLACK sky behind the stars or moon.

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Jun 24, 2019 05:58:40   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
LasVegasCindy wrote:
Hello All,

I have been seeing posts and photos related to photo stacking. Can someone please explain in plain terms, what it is and how is it achieved? I’m guessing it is done in post processing but honestly do not have a clue! So much to learn! Thanks in advance for any responses!


Photo stacking is a process where a individual or individuals place one paper photo on top of another paper photo. This unique process can be continued until the individual or individuals tire or run of of paper photo's.

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Jun 24, 2019 06:37:20   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
LasVegasCindy wrote:
Hello All,

I have been seeing posts and photos related to photo stacking. Can someone please explain in plain terms, what it is and how is it achieved? I’m guessing it is done in post processing but honestly do not have a clue! So much to learn! Thanks in advance for any responses!


Some photographers will use stacking to achieve depth of field, either in closeup/macro work or landscape. For closeup/macro, you start by picking a picture of something with some depth - like a flower. Using the lens' sharpest aperture, which is usually F8, your first picture will be the part of the flower closest to the camera. It will be extremely sharp and in focus but the rest of the image won't be. If you have a focusing rail, you could then advance the position of the camera forward in tiny increments, stopping to take a picture at each increment. This will move the focus plane deeper into the subject. You repeat this over and over until you are at the back of the flower. You then open a software application like Helicon Focus or Photoshop, and use the stacking instructions to combine the individual images into a single crisply focused single image with what seems completely impossible depth of field for the working distance and aperture. The other, probably more common approach is to simply manually adjust the focus. The problem with this approach is that many lenses made today will have some degree of "focus breathing" which just means that in order to get close to a subject the lens designer changes the focal length of the lens, diminishing it until the minimum focus is arrived at. So in this scenario, the focal length of the first image will be shorter and will lower magnification than the last image. Most software can handle that and make the proper adjustment, but not always.

You can do this and more using smart objects in Photoshop, where you load your individual images as layers and convert them to a single smart object then use a stackmode to do focus stacking, object removal, or noise reduction.

Lastly there is exposure stacking, or High Dynamic Range stacking, where you take a series of bracketed exposures, usually at least 3 and two stops apart, and combine them into a single image using Photoshop, LIghtroom, Photomatix Pro, Aurora HDR, etc. to ensure that you capture detail in the brightest and darkest areas of your scene. Logically, if you can do it in a single exposure it would imply that there is no need to do HDR stacking..

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Jun 24, 2019 06:53:34   #
traderjohn Loc: New York City
 
LasVegasCindy wrote:
Hello All,

I have been seeing posts and photos related to photo stacking. Can someone please explain in plain terms, what it is and how is it achieved? I’m guessing it is done in post processing but honestly do not have a clue! So much to learn! Thanks in advance for any responses!

Place the camera on a sturdy tripod – a must!
Frame the subject and compose the shot.
Determine exposure for the scene, and set the camera to manual mode, to ensure that the exposure is constant for every image.
Set the camera to Live View and aim the focus point on the nearest object desired to be in focus. Use the camera’s zoom (+ button, not zoom on the lens) to preview the focus through Live View. Then switch to manual focus and use the focus ring to fine tune for sharpness if necessary.
Take the first exposure.
Without moving the camera or adjusting any settings, move the focus point to an object mid-way in the image and refocus.
Take the second exposure.
Again, without changing anything, refocus on an object at the farthest point of the intended image.
Take the third exposure.
To capture landscapes, three images are generally all that is necessary to create sharp focus stacking images, but it’s completely fine to take extra images to make sure that the entire scenee is covered. A rule of thumb would be to add more images for longer focal lengths. Be aware that extra images will take longer to process in post-production. If available, check the DOF with a Smartphone app, in order to figure out how many images will be necessary, to get every aspect of the photo in focus.
This was taken off the internet.

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Jun 24, 2019 07:23:34   #
John Sh Loc: Toronto, Australia
 
This is a good description but there is an easier way.
Download digicam control here http://digicamcontrol.com/, free, and load it into a laptop computer.
Mount the camera on a tripod, essential, and tether the camera to the computer. Within digicam set up the near and far focus points and the number of shots to take. Press start and go read a book.
Once finished import the sooc images into Affinity Photo and read some more. Only do your post processing on the final stacked image. Affinity does as good a job of focus stacking as Helicon, zerene and a few others. The two outer images are the result of stacking 60 shots each. The flower is about 6mm high and 12mm deep. D500 + Nikor 105mm f2.8 macro lens. Post in LR and Affinity.



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Jun 24, 2019 07:32:50   #
bleirer
 
Some cameras have focus stacking built in and you can just tell it the max number of images and the focus increment. You still have to process the stack in the software that comes with the camera or some other software, it doesn't come out of the camera as one image, at least not mine.

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Jun 24, 2019 08:21:55   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Lots of links -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Dz34MMjQ0&t=142s
https://northrup.photo/my-account/download-sdp-ebook/stunning-digital-photography-video-index/landscape-focus-stacking/
https://digital-photography-school.com/post-processing-focus-stacked-images/
https://digital-photography-school.com/photograph-images-needed-focus-stacking/
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/focus-stacking-software-photoshop-helicon-combinezp-zerene.html
http://www.lightstalking.com/focus-stacking-in-photoshop/
http://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/docs/purchasing
http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft-products/helicon-focus/
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/simple-steps-for-focus-stacking-in-photoshop/
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-improve-your-long-exposure-with-photo-stacking/

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Jun 24, 2019 09:57:15   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
I shoot focus stacking images nearly everyday and I post them in the True Macro Photography section here.

I like to think of focus stacking as a loaf of bread. Imagine taking a picture a slice at a time where you can focus past the slice before it yet not completely focus on the slice after it. As you take the pictures slice by slice you progress your way from the starting heal to the end heal of the loaf.

You then use a software program that merges the individual images into one image that is focused sharply from one end to the other.

I've attached a focus stacked image of a Queen European Hornet that I posted a week ago to illustrate how the camera progresses from taking a photo from the closest tip of its antenna and progressing with photographs until I reached focus on the tip of the hair on its tail.

The lens combination that I use has a razor thin field of view so there are several hundred shots taken to be processed. The software that I used takes a bit over three hours to process all of the images taken in this session.


(Download)

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Jun 24, 2019 10:36:03   #
brianmcnarch
 
Ancillary question: how long did the shot take? how long will a hornet or bee stay still for this kind of work o

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Jun 24, 2019 10:46:26   #
moonhawk Loc: Land of Enchantment
 
What do you do when you're photographing flowers outdoors in the wind?

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Jun 24, 2019 10:55:47   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
moonhawk wrote:
What do you do when you're photographing flowers outdoors in the wind?


use a Plamp . . .

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Jun 24, 2019 10:58:10   #
lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.
 
John Sh wrote:
This is a good description but there is an easier way. Download digicam control here http://digicamcontrol.com/, free, and load it into a laptop computer ...
On behalf of those whose laptops are PCs, I thank you for posting this URL. However, for those of us who use Macs instead, such as myself, may I suggest that whenever you suggest software that is limited to use by only one Operating System or another (and is not multi-platform,) you state this feature?

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