stacking - the last shot diferent aperture

[crayfish74]

I have seen than some photographers for stacking, in the last shot increase the aperture number, f14 for instance. (for example, 60 shot f 2.8 and the last shot f14 to complete 61)

someone has more info abouit it? how doing it ? what is the benefit of doing it?


best.

[elf]

Compare images with the same focus point at f/2 and f/16. The image at f/16 will have more apparent DOF, but won't have any area in sharp focus.

Most people are used to seeing images where the sharpness drops off slowly, so they associate this with reality or normal. In macro images the drop off between sharp and blurred is steeper. When you combine this with stacking, the images can look unnatural. Adding a background shot at a smaller aperture can help the image look more natural.

[rjlittlefield]

Previous discussion at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 557#123557

It's useful with deep subjects where you don't want to run the in-focus slab all the way back, but you do want to keep the remainder of the subject sort of recognizable and avoid the usual sudden transition from sharp to hopelessly blurred.

The logistics are that you install the iris but leave it wide open while shooting the in-focus slab, then at the back of the slab you shoot a few more frames with the iris stopped down to various sizes. Those may end up being effective f/200 or some such. In the plane of best focus the resulting image is horribly blurred from diffraction, but in the far background it's significantly sharper (OK, less blurred) than what the objective by itself will do. Stack that together with all the frames shot using the wide aperture, and you have the best of both worlds.

Depending on which objective you're using, you might need to stop down the aperture just a little bit for the in-focus slab also, just enough so the limiting aperture stays in the same place and you don't get perspective changes when you stop down.

--Rik

[crayfish74]

thanks...

[seta666]

First person I saw using this technique was John Hallmen
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... t=aperture

This is a technique I normally use both in the field and in the studio to make transition between focus and out of focus areas more smooth

[rjlittlefield]

First person I saw using this technique was John Hallmen

Thanks for the link. I had briefly looked for that one but couldn't find it.

There's a good demonstration of the desired effect at the bottom of that long thread, in this post:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 7644#57644

--Rik