Stacking? I was listening in on a partial conversation with two photographers. They were talking about stacking but I didn't get enough info to know what they were yak'n about. Any...

OneShotOne18

I was listening in on a partial conversation with two photographers. They were talking about stacking but I didn't get enough info to know what they were yak'n about. Any clues? Does it have something to do with layers?

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

I believe that they were talking about focus staking. It involves taking several shots while focusing on different parts of the subject, then the shots are brought into PS as layers and combined to show the area in focus in each shot. There are mechanical devices to do the camera part, I think Helicon is a favorite and it comes with it's own software or you can use other software also. This technique is used in macro photography to get the entire subject in focus.

Bill Munny Loc: Aurora, Colorado

Not layers. You take two or more files of the same pic, usually from bracketing, and in your PP software, merge the files. It will try to take the best of each file and blend them together into one file. Not sure of other cameras, but with Nikon one can set the camera menu to HDR (jpg only) and let the camera do the work but this process will only let you do it with two pics and it merges them internally with its own special software. The purpose is to end up with a photo with the best shadows and highlights from each pic. Most of the time a mono or tripod is needed to ensure good alignment and eliminate ghosting. This is a very quick and simple explanation of a much more technical process. There is focus stacking, HDR stacking and more. Hope this helps.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Could also have been about lens stacking.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

In addition to the above, my avatar is a stacked copy of about seventy pics taken on a tripod and then “stacked” in “starstax” software.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

OneShotOne18 wrote:

I was listening in on a partial conversation with two photographers. They were talking about stacking but I didn't get enough info to know what they were yak'n about. Any clues? Does it have something to do with layers?

Not layer in the sense of PS per se. You basically on a tripod and take a photo of a flower or even a scene, changing you f/stop from wide open to closed down. You take that set of pictures and drop it into photo shop or whatever tool you have that supports stacking. In effect the process will explore the pixels and the photo should be perfectly in focus front to back. More in focus than just stopping the shutter down to f/22 or f/36.

Went to seminar led by George Lepp of Outdoor Photography. he showed a picture of coin shot once with a single high end macro lens and them with stacking. When I saw the single shot, did not think there was much room for improvement. When I saw 6-8 shots stacked, if was freakishly better. While it can be used for landscape, it more common in the macro world where you could see every mm of flower.

If you want more info, jump on youtube and search on photo stacking. There will be tons on videos, some good, some not so good but you will see the technique.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Bill Munny wrote:

Not layers. You take two or more files of the sam... (show quote)

It is absolutely layers for both types of stacking - exposure, which is what you're referring to, and focus stacking - but both use layering/smart objects and masking.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/high-dynamic-range-images.html

https://youtu.be/qw3mmW15Q-I

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/image-stacks.html

Bill Munny Loc: Aurora, Colorado

Gene51, sorry about the improper reference to layers. I was referring to the OP using layers in PP in a single file, not what the software does during stacking. Appreciate the links which explain the process much better than I did.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Bill Munny wrote:

Gene51, sorry about the improper reference to layers. I was referring to the OP using layers in PP in a single file, not what the software does during stacking. Appreciate the links which explain the process much better than I did.

That is rather standard stuff. Say you have single photo of beautiful horse but the background is terrible. You create one or more layers with masks and have an entirely different background and leave the horse.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

OneShotOne18 wrote:

I was listening in on a partial conversation with two photographers. They were talking about stacking but I didn't get enough info to know what they were yak'n about. Any clues? Does it have something to do with layers?

Hey, you really can stack......lenses anyway!!!

(Download)

OneShotOne18

You must be a spokesperson for Lens Crafters!! hahha

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Bill Munny wrote:

Not layers. You take two or more files of the sam... (show quote)

So yes, layers!

SteveMcBill

Stacking is a method of increasing depth of field in a final image by taking multiple images of a subject each focused at a slightly different point and then merging them together so that the final image displays all of the in-focus parts - Helicon Focus is the software often used to merge the images but there are other s available such as Zerene Stacker - I use Helicon - see here: https://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft-products/helicon-focus/

It is a method most often used in macro photography but can also be used in landscape. For the macro aspect see here: http://extreme-macro.co.uk/focus-stacking/

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Gene51 wrote:

It is absolutely layers for both types of stacking - exposure, which is what you're referring to, and focus stacking - but both use layering/smart objects and masking.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/high-dynamic-range-images.html

https://youtu.be/qw3mmW15Q-I

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/image-stacks.html

Good information.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I would imagine that with cameras like the Nikon D850 which has a built in stacking function, you could use stacking multiple images of the same low light scene to reduce noise. (Noise being random it could be "filtered" out.)
If someone would give me a D850 I will test the theory