In this video, photographer Micael Widell talks about focus stacking to help you get started with macro photography:įocus stacking involves taking a series of shots, with each shot focusing on a different plane of the subject. The shots are later processed using software to display only the sharpest parts of the image. The result is a sharp image that has a depth of field greater than that in the individual images. Macro lens: True macro lenses have the ability to recreate life-size images (1:1) of subjects on the sensor. Widell uses a Laowa 60mm f/2.8 macro lens. Macro slider: A macro slider allows you to move the camera back and forth with slight movements. This way, you get to take multiple images with the lens focusing on different planes every time. Widell uses a basic macro slider from Velbon. Tripod: For focus stacking, you cannot simply move the camera. The only movement it should make should be via the macro slider. Lighting: If lighting isn’t sufficient, you’ll need some artificial lights. Widell uses a Godox LED light, but you can use any other light source of your choice. If you’re shooting outside on a sunny day, natural light may suffice. Remote Shutter Release: For the best possible results, use a remote shutter release. This way, you eradicate any chance of introducing camera shake when pressing the shutter button. If you don’t have one, you can use your camera’s 2-second self-timer option. Software for Focus Stacking: Since you will need to merge the images together to reveal the sharpest areas, you’ll need to use some kind of software. Widell uses Helicon Focus, which is an application dedicated to focus stacking. Taking Photos for Focus Stackingįor consistent results, turn the camera to manual mode. Then, select an aperture value that will deliver sharp results. This value can differ on every lens but you can safely go with aperture values somewhere around f/5.6-f/11. Widell sets his lens to f/5.6 because that is where his lens performs great. #Helicon focus tutorials isoįor clean and detailed results, set the ISO to the lowest setting. Once you have your subject, camera setup, and lighting in place run through the following steps to get started with focus stacking: And since you’ll have the camera mounted on a tripod, you can get away with using slower shutter speeds, as well. Start by finding a point on your subject to focus on.It’s usually best to start from the part of the subject that’s closest to you. #Helicon focus tutorials manualīe sure to have the camera in manual focus mode and leave it there while focusing. Once happy with the first composition, take the photo.
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