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ANDREW JAMES
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Stacked up
Q What is the point of focus stacking, and is it difficult to achieve a good result?
Bob Hall
A FOCUS stacking is a technique that merges a number of images together in order to increase the sharpness in a final image. It’s a way to overcome the lack of depth of field inherent in shooting macro images. It’s not exclusively a technique used in macro photography; it can also be used in landscape photography to ensure front to back sharpness in a photo.
Focus stacking is not particularly difficult to do, but it does need careful attention both in the shooting and post-processing stages, or your final image won’t work. When shooting for macro you need to take multiple images, refocusing carefully on the subject so that each image you capture builds up the sharpness. You must work manually with exposure and focus so that nothing changes apart from the point of focus. This also
