Low level photostacking

[DaveW]

I was browsing the Web and came on this article on low level photostacking. He uses Photoshop for it but Combine ZP can be downloaded for FREE if you browse for it. Most people associate photostacking with macro work, but it can also be used in general photography as well:-

http://www.macrostop.com/pdf/FocusStacking.pdf

And the technique explained in this second part:-

http://www.macrostop.com/pdf/ArtofFocuStacking.pdf

I presume you all have a PDF Reader on your computer, but if not you can download one FREE here:-

http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/otherversions/

DaveW

[mark_h]

thank you Dave for this link, I found something I had been looking for for a long time.

[PaulFurman]

Thanks Dave, that is uncommon technique, well done and well described. Stacked plant photos in the field with a tripod are pretty much impractical as far as I'm concerned and these pages explain why. I do quite a lot of these low count hand held stacks.

For educational purposes, here's a low magnification stack I did at 5 feet away, in 25 frames, with an 85mm f/1.4 portrait lens for the purpose of getting the backdrop cloth 3 feet behind the subject, softly out of focus. I should try it with DMap to get a better background (ugly halos everywhere) but it was just an experiment.

[rjlittlefield]

He uses Photoshop for it but Combine ZP can be downloaded for FREE if you browse for it.

Ah, well, strictly speaking what the author writes (on page 4) is that

The program I use almost all the time is Zerene Stacker

This document (The Art of Focus Stacking) first came to photomacrography.net's attention back on April 22 in a posting by its author Michael Erlewine (merlewine). At that time, he was using Photoshop CS4 for most of his work and had noted a lot of its foibles, but assumed that they were common to other stacking software as well. Based on suggestions from other people he tried other tools, and subsequently posted a revised evaluation HERE. I see that The Art of Focus Stacking has been revised as well, noting the comments on pages 16 and 17.

I should add that the type of photos targeted by Michael Erlewine are quite challenging and are significantly different from those for which Zerene Stacker was designed. His work will be very influential and helpful in future development of stacking software.

--Rik

[DaveW]

I see you have the same problems with backgrounds as I do Paul. If not stretched completely tight any undulations in the background pick up more light and alter the tone locally, even with black velvet.

I am thinking of trying the black box method where you mat black paint the inside of a reasonably deep box and then take the plant standing in front of it, rather like placing it at a dark cave entrance. The sides of the box shield the back of the box from any stray light. I did see one article where a photographer taking small flowers used a black plastic bucket on it's side for a similar effect.

You can play around with the background in post processing, but to me it never seems to be as good as getting it right in the original image.

DaveW