Guides
Practical guides to shooting and stacking.
Focus stacking combines several photos focused at different distances into one image that is sharp from front to back. How it works, when to use it and what you need.
What separates good focus stacking software from bad: alignment, halos, RAW support, retouching and workflow. With an honest comparison of Helicon Focus, Zerene Stacker, Photoshop, Affinity and free tools.
Step-by-step focus stacking in Adobe Photoshop with Load Files into Stack, Auto-Align and Auto-Blend Layers, plus how to fix the problems it leaves and when a dedicated app is the better choice.
Lightroom Classic can’t merge focus stacks on its own. Here are the three workflows that work: a stacking plug-in, Photoshop layers, or export and import, and how to keep your catalogue tidy.
What focus bracketing is, how it differs from focus stacking, and where to find it on Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, OM System and Panasonic cameras, with settings that work.
How to focus stack macro photos of insects, flowers and small objects: magnification and depth of field, focus ring vs rail, lighting, step size, and working with live subjects.
Work out how many frames a focus stack needs, which aperture to use, and how big each focus step can be, with simple formulas, tables and the diffraction limit explained.
When hyperfocal distance isn’t enough: how to focus stack landscapes with 2–5 frames, which aperture to use, and how to deal with wind, changing light and moving water.
The common focus stacking problems: halos, soft bands, see-through edges, doubled detail from movement, blurry corners and brightness stripes. What causes each one and how to fix it.
The fastest ways to focus stack on a Mac: right-click in Finder, a keyboard shortcut for selected files, Open With, the Dock, Shortcuts and the Lightroom Classic plug-in, plus Detalia’s keyboard shortcuts.