Focus Stacking

Focus Stacking

(Note: The following steps apply if you are using Bridge, Camera Raw, and Photoshop CS5. It shouldn’t be too complicated to change them to work with the specific software that you are using).

1.)         When capturing the images, take shots at several different points of focus, making sure the acceptable areas of focus, from image to image, overlap. Capture raw files. Use a tripod. Always maintain the same aperture. If you use a larger aperture to throw the background out of focus, plan on taking more shots at different points of focus, since you will have less depth-of-field on your main subject also. Depending on your subject and your chosen aperture, you might need anywhere from 3 to perhaps 20, or more, shots. Note: Focus Stacking doesn’t work well if there is much movement in the main subject.

2.)         Once the images are downloaded to Bridge, highlight all applicable images. Then go to File – Open in Camera Raw.

3.)         In the upper left corner of Camera Raw, click Select All. This way, when you make your adjustments to one image, it will be applied to all the images.

4.)         Once you have made the adjustments in Camera Raw, click Open Images.

5.)         Once all the images are open in Photoshop, go to File – automate – Photomerge.

6.)         Click Auto mode.

7.)         UNCHECK blend.

8.)         Click Add open files.

9.)         Click OK.

10.)      In Photoshop, highlight all the layers.

11.)      Go to Edit – auto blend layers.

12.)      Check Stack images.

13.)      Click OK.

14.)      After processing (this takes a while, so go have a snack), the composite image will come up named Untitled Panorama.

15.)      Go to File – Save As.

16.)      Give it a name and click Save.

17.)      Once processed, there may be a small exterior edge left over where the layers overlapped. You can crop that out or you can flatten the image and use the Clone Stamp Tool to get rid of it. Doing it this way is rather tedious work. It’s best to compose you original images with enough room to allow for this small amount of inevitable cropping. Before you flatten the image, save a copy of it with all the layers intact in case you need to come back to the original composite.

18.)      Now you can make whatever adjustments you desire in Photoshop.

Try it out. It's fun to defeat the old "shallow depth-of-field" problem.