The Enthusiast's Guide to Multi-Shot Techniques

40. FOCUS STACKING

FOCUS STACKING IS when you shoot a series of images of the same subject but with different areas of focus and combine them to create a single image. The final image has a greater depth of field than is possible in a single frame. This technique is most often associated with macro photography (Figure 40.1) and can also be used for landscape photography (Figure 40.2).

In both of these images the depth of field is greater than that of any of the individual images I used to create them (Figure 40.3). For just about every technique I’ve discussed in this book I have stressed the importance of maintaining the same area of focus from image to image. However, with focus stacking, you will need to adjust the focus for each frame you ...