Updated · 2 min read
Lightroom Classic can merge HDR photos and panoramas, but not focus stacks. That doesn’t mean leaving your catalogue: a stacking plug-in sends the frames out and brings the finished image back next to them.
First, find your stacks
In the Library grid, focus brackets look like runs of near-identical frames. Select the first, Shift-click the last, and press ⌘G to group them as a Lightroom stack so they collapse into one thumbnail. Adding a colour label or keyword such as “focus stack” makes them easy to find later.
Workflow 1: a stacking plug-in
Select the frames
Select one stack, or several stacks from a whole shoot.
Send them
With Detalia, choose Library › Plug-in Extras › Stack with Detalia (also under File › Plug-in Extras). Detalia reads the original RAW files directly and keeps separate stacks apart on its own.
Check and touch up
Crop or paint in any spot from a single frame while the result is open.
Send it back
Choose Export › Send to Lightroom (⇧⌘L). The result appears in your catalogue, stacked on top of its first frame. Send again after more edits and the newer version arrives too.
Helicon Focus and Zerene Stacker also offer Lightroom export plug-ins. Those export TIFF files from Lightroom first, so your Develop settings are applied to every frame before stacking.
Workflow 2: open as layers in Photoshop
Select the frames, right-click and choose Edit In › Open as Layers in Photoshop. Align and blend there (see focus stacking in Photoshop), then save. The TIFF appears in your catalogue next to the originals. Good for a handful of frames; slow for long stacks.
Workflow 3: export, stack, import
Export the frames as 16-bit TIFF, stack them in any program, and import the result. It works with everything, including Lightroom (the cloud version), which doesn’t support plug-ins. If your stacking app reads RAW files, you can skip the export and point it at the originals instead.
Edit before or after?
- Before stacking: only what must match across frames. If you export TIFFs, sync white balance and lens corrections and leave sharpening and noise reduction off.
- After stacking: everything else. A DNG result keeps white balance, exposure and highlights fully adjustable, like a RAW file.
- Skip masking and heavy local edits on single frames. They change from frame to frame and confuse the stacking.
Questions
- Can Lightroom Classic focus stack?
- No. Photo Merge in Lightroom Classic covers HDR, Panorama and HDR Panorama only. Use a plug-in, Photoshop, or export to stacking software.
- Does the Lightroom cloud version support stacking plug-ins?
- No, Lightroom (the cloud version) doesn’t support plug-ins. Export the frames, stack them in an app, and import the result. A DNG result stays fully editable.
- Which file format should the stacked result be?
- DNG if you want to keep adjusting white balance and exposure like a RAW file, 16-bit TIFF for maximum compatibility with other editors.