How to FOCUS STACK for amazingly sharp landscape, macro or product photos.
This week I take a look at focus stacking, a technique used by landscape and macro photographers alike. With tips on camera settings PLUS demonstrations on how to stack images using software by Helicon and Adobe Photoshop.
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Filters for landscapes : • ESSENTIAL filters for...
Outdoor macro : • MORE MACRO Photography...
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About Photo Genius
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Photo Genius was set up in 2008 by photographer Paul Farris to help others improve their photography with weekly photography courses and workshops held in Brisbane, Australia. In 2016 Paul began also creating content and video tutorials for KZread, the Photo Genius channel now has now had over 21 Million views and is growing daily. For more info on Photo Genius and our courses please visit our website www.photogenius.com.au
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About this video
Focus stacking is such a great technique that can benefit many different types of photography and photographers. Watch this video for tips on how to take and edit amazing focus stacked images.
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#photography #focusstacking #photogenius
Пікірлер: 115
Very Thorough and great editing! Cheers from Chicago
@photogenius
22 күн бұрын
Much appreciated, thank you so much.
Excellent tutorial. Cant be better. Thx
@photogenius
14 күн бұрын
Very kind, thanks.c
I’ve always wondered what people meant by focus stacking. Thanks for the explanation and the visuals!
Fantastic video Paul, appreciate the captures of the older cameras, I’ll be photo stacking in GIMP.
Never thought of changing my auto white balance off thanks, I do a lot of macro and stacking great tip from the Uk .Great channel 10
As always Paul, great video tutorial. Thank you
Another great video Paul.
What a teacher!! Best teacher ever
Thanks a lot Paul! You’re a educational genius as well!
Always a pleasure to follow your videos. Thanks, see you soon.
Thank you! Clear and concise.
Incredible!
Great video!! Thank you!
Well done Paul, love the old Pentax
Another really interesting video Paul, thanks for sharing.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Steve, was fun to make. Hope you are well.
Great video again Paul.... Thanks for all your hard work.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Paul 👏
@paulshelbourne1690
Жыл бұрын
@@photogenius Its been a while. I am just picking up my camera again so I will most likely book into one of your courses again as a refresher. I need it with this new camera!
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Sounds good, I look forward to seeing you again.
Thank you very much for posting this video :)
Precious tips!!❤
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Gabriela.
Thanks Paul🎉
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
You are welcome James, thanks for watching.
excellent video!
Hi there Paul , another great video , so much to learn , so much fun to have , appreciate all your hard work , best regards from northern NZ
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Andrew, appreciate the feedback.
Another good tutorial Paul
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Lyn.
Thankyou!
Thank you
Hi Paul, Nice to see another one of your videos. What a difference Focus Stack makes to a photo. It was good to see some Vintage, Important cameras. Loved the end result of how good the Focus Stack was on the ROLLEIFLEX Camera, such a pleasure to look at. Some photos can make you a bit Dizzy to look at, but not with Focus Stacking. Great viewing this video was, Thanks
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the great feedback, I really appreciate the support 😃
@seaeagles6025
Жыл бұрын
@@photogenius Your welcome paul👍
Hi Paul can we have another video with Susan & You on a camera shoot out, a follow up to the last one please.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Hi Paul. We have been talking about getting together for another challenge video, feel free to suggest a fun challenge theme and we will see what we can do.
@paul-c7541
Жыл бұрын
@@photogenius Hi Paul, how about the beauty of Brisbane street photography many of us have never being to Australia I'm sure you have beautiful markets full of colour, or the challenge could be ,selling us the beauty of Brisbane, I'm sure you two could come up with something.
Thank you!
Very useful video, thank you. Thing is when I first got into photography, my camera was a point and shoot, everything was in focus and pin sharp, could zoom into the photo and see all the detail, but yet now with a modern (more expensive) camera I struggle to get the same results
@Bishnu_Deb
10 ай бұрын
Don't struggle with expensive and modern cameras rather shoot with your point and shoot camera and be happy.
Great tips . I use the tubes and the lens
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Awesome! Thanks for watching.
brilliant as usual mate 🙂
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you.
Wonderful video..❤❤
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
I very much appreciate your kind feedback - thanks for watching.
Another great video. The Olympus Trip 35 was my first 35mm film camera when I was in high school. I wish I still had it.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
That is awesome!, I remember the Olympus ads on TV.
Thanks so much, Paul! Another excellent tutorial! I have just recently begun to learn and practice focus stacking and I think it's one of the best things I've learned since exposure bracketing and HDR. I use a Canon Rebel T7 on a mini-tripod with 18-55mm kits lens, ISO 100, f/11 (sweet-spot for this lens) on shutter priority with a focal length set to 35mm. I've done both natural light and flash (Altura AP-305C) and they both come out razor sharp. The flash is a bit more earthy than the natural light. It actually looks more "natural" than just natural light. I think that this is a must-have skill for any serious photographer, no matter what level you consider yourself to be. Also, I have been using both Photoshop and Helicon and while they are almost exactly the same, I have found that Photoshop handles image alignment far better than Helicon. Because of this alone, I will stick with Adobe. Thanks again, Paul! You're the best!
Thanks
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Allan for supporting my channel, very much appreciated. Paul 🙂
Hey Paul,just found you. Great tutorial and thank you. Subscribed.
Thanks Paul, I have a canon 6DM2 and the canon 100mm f/2.8 non-L lens and I have to give this ago!!!
The green fly was cool!
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching until the end 👏
@Twobarpsi
Жыл бұрын
@@photogenius always!!
You are so personable (and obviously very knowledgeable, and have a great ability to teach). It is ALWAYS a pleasure to watch your tutorials. Your's is the first macro video I've seen where you not only "zoom" in on the subject getting closer and closer, but you also change the focus point for each shot. Wondering why you haven't introduced a "focusing rail" while you were at it. Perhaps that's in your dedicated macro video and you didn't think it would add anything to a focus stacking video. Your little smiles are delightful, BTW.
@photogenius
3 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for the kind words and great feedback. I didn't feature a focusing rail, but I might do in a future video as I think there's definitely more to explore in the macro world! Best wishes to you.
@usernamemykel
3 ай бұрын
@@photogenius Paul, in the next video on macro, you may wish to include how and why to use flash - it could be important for some of your subscribers. Regards from Florida
Hi, Paul, can we have a photo stacking tutorial video of the moon? I am learning digital photography from you and I own a D3500 with kit and 70-300 mm telephoto lense. Would anxiously wait for the requested video.
Hi Paul, thanks for teaching the magic. I stacked nine photos with each focusing on one object at a time which were placed about one and a half feet further from each other. Each photo had only one object sharp while remaining objects were blurred because of wide open aperture (f/2.8). Your stated adebra cabera worked well on PS and end result was stunningly sharp image throughout. Each object was perfectly sharp. Wow. Thanks again guru. (Note: jpg images worked fine. NEF kept giving error saying image need to be saved before stacking. I did all logical save methods and formats but error persisted. Not sure what was wrong)
@usernamemykel
3 ай бұрын
Abracadabra!
Thank you for this informative video, especially the final bonus tips. I've tried focus stacking in photoshop the same way you explained however the result is not perfect. Some contrasty areas inside the image and particlarly the left and right edges are blurred. I did auto-align in the process but camera was in Av mode.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Hope you get better results next time, thanks for watching.
Love those vintage cameras thanks Paul very informative video, way to much for work me lol...😵💫😃
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Appreciate the feedback, thanks 🙂
Good video, I have tried this technique but it's mote than just taking multiple pictures and adding them together. The computer program selects the portions that are in focus and adds them together.
Thanks Paul, very helpful. I always wondered why the merged images rendered an all sharp final image rather than an all blurry final image. Doe the software recognise what is sharp and what is not?
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Yep, the software recognises the sharpest areas of each individual shot - clever stuff 🙂 Thanks for watching.
Another great video. I am new to focus stacking and am anxious to give it a go. I have seen some that take photos hand hekd for stacking and using the software’s auto-align function to get them lined up in the final stacked image. It seems to me as if that wouldn’t be as precise as sticking with a tripod mounted camera. Do you ever focus stack handheld photos? Thanks again for excellent content. You are so pleasant, upbeat and extremely knowledgeable. New to your channel, and loving all of your videos!
Another brilliant tutorial Paul, tell me if I’m wrong but if you focus stack in av mode on canon the exposure may vary slightly, but if you merge as hdr in Lightroom i think it focus stacks aswell. Would be interested in your opinion, thanks
@marcofreitas5321
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking the same thing... Will have to try it.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
HDR is very different to focus stacking.
Hi there, thanks for another clear and concise video ! Would it work as if I stack the images using the HDR stacking in Lightroom ?
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
No HDR is very different to Focus stacking.
good stuff Paul, is this similar to star stacking.
Hi Paul. Great tutorial. Thank you. I'm just confused as to when to use the focus point for focusing (as in the coin) or zooming the lens in (as in the flower). Is this dependant on the type of lens ... prime or zoom?
@warrior_zap8648
Жыл бұрын
You should use the zoom to decide how much stuff you want it the shot, then use focus to make everything sharp
Paul, I've just gone a brought a Nikon P1000 great Camera but sensor is small and only 16mega pixels but it's a 3000mm Optical Super zoom, this will really help with my moon shots
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
The P1000 is ideal for moon photos, have fun! 😃
Great video.. I would be interested in how you organised the raw files in camera.. don’t all the shots get mixed up with other images.. ? you made the process look easy but it’s the organising of the images that stumps me.. do you put them in a file in camera if so how? Cheers mate great work!
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Hi John, All the RAW files are numbered in camera and run in sequence. When taking multiple exposures such as bracketing, HDR or in this case focus stacking, a good tip is to take a blank image between stacks so that when transfer the images to a computer you can see clearly where each set of images starts and finishes. I just cover the lens with my hand for this - hope that makes sense! Best wishes.
@johnstaples1606
Жыл бұрын
That’s great.. I’m sure I’ve seen somewhere that you can create a folder in camera? Great tip .. cheers
HI Paul nice video once again, one question I do not have light room so does the other program you said to use for macro photography work for landscape also?
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Absolutely - Helicon is a great programme.
Hi Paul, thanks for yet another great and informative video. I have a question, though. In the case of the photos of the cameras, why focus stack? Wouldn't a lower aperture number such as f5.6 or maybe f8 provide enough depth of field, especially since lenses tend to be a bit softer at both ends of the aperture spectrum?
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Whilst you are right, shooting with a smaller aperture is going to give a deeper depth of field, there is likely to still be some softness as the camera was near to the subject.
@constantinoskostakis7876
Жыл бұрын
@@photogenius Thank you for your answer! I'm not sure I understand how distance to the subject would cause softness thgough. Maybe an idea for future video?
Can you do a video on best lenses for bird photography?
@benyaminsedighi4831
Жыл бұрын
Hello , can I have your e mail address
Paul, using in-camera focus bracketing and stacking, with flash, should the shutter curtain be mechanical or electronic? With in-camera focus bracketing and stacking, how is flash able to keep up with all the shots?
The pic of the building bridge and rocks could be clear if shot at say f22 right? Why focus stack in this scenario?
@justnoted2995
Жыл бұрын
I guess only for illustration purposes
@marksieving7925
Жыл бұрын
At f22 you're likely to lose some overall sharpness due to diffraction. Most full frame lenses are sharpest at around f8-11, so shooting at those apertures and focus stacking will get the best sharpness.
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
At f22 lens diffraction will almost certainly cause some softening of the image, that's why most landscape photographers usually stick around f11 - f16 for sharper results. Thanks for watching.
I'm considering what would be my first "mirrorless" camera, a Canon R10, for macro photography., From what I understand, it would ONLY focus bracket/stack in Auto Focus, yet for macro, I'd be shooting in manual focus. Do all the mirrorless cameras have this limitation? Thank you!
I have used Affinity Photo for this. Would Helicon Focus do a better job?
How does water or clouds affect photostack? As they’re moving would that not affect the finished picture?
Can Lightroom do this as well
I have a Canon R8 that has focus stacking built in. Some of my focus stacked shots are good. But some has this blurry outline around the subject. I'm wondering what is going on and how to prevent this. Help will be much appreciated
Hello,I wanna to know whether you have a photo studio here in Kenya,if yes particularly where to be found or do you have a friend who is a photographer here in Kenya?
Hi Paul great video, very interesting, something I would love to try when I get back to Photography after my operation thanks Paul once again great tips and Images 👍👌
@photogenius
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much.
Will Lenses with heavy focus breathing work okay here...
Do you photo stack with raw images or jpegs?
3 pictures for a landscape which includes a bridge with people who are moving and a river which is moving ? How kan you stack them without getting terrible motion blur ?
If you want everything sharp use your phone with its tiny sensor & lens everything is almost always sharp :-P Stacking is nice for (super) macro not landscape or portret it makes it 2D !
Why Every Professional Photographer Uses a Canon Camera ? What the reason behind it ? Plz give me actual answer. I want to know, and I have seen most of the professional photographers uses at last canon. Please suggest me the answer.
@playoflightphotographicsllc
Жыл бұрын
Been a pro shooter for decades. Always used Nikon. I like the ergos better.
Ummm Well as the results look nice.. I do not want to sound like I am bashing anything but with my GFX system I can not see stacking 20 HUGE files because I did not use a good lens and just stack two or three good images of that film camera and get the same results.. You are telling me you can not get that nice of results with only 3 shots using that low cost Canon and its kit lens? At F8 and take 3 shots instead and then add a touch of sharpening in Lightroom and ill bet you can not tell the difference ... But I have never stacked that many images.. Now the one you did outside YES three images would probably be what I would have considered too .. Also as you probably know with such a large sensor my camera is much slower as well so trying to get many shots of anything including water or anything moving would be tricky so not sure how that would work out :).
Macro is often done for insects --- photo stacking would not be possible -- this is only for inanimate objects?
Thanks