![\"2_back2\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2_back2.jpg\")
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Foreground in\u00a0focus<\/p>\n
![\"1_front\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/1_front.jpg\")
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Background in focus<\/p>\n
![\"3_infiniteDOF\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/3_infiniteDOF-1.jpg\")
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Two exposures combined to achieve infinite depth of field<\/p>\n
How deep would you like your depth of field to be? The choice is yours. Today, there are virtually no limits. You can extend depth of field beyond the physical limitations of any lens\/camera system with multi-shot exposure practices and software \u2013\u00a0by compositing multiple exposures.<\/p>\n
To do this you first need to make a set of focus bracketed exposures, optimizing focus in different image areas. How many exposures you\u2019ll need will depend on how much depth of field a scene contains. At a minimum, make two exposures; one focused on the foreground and another focused on the background. Making three exposures is better; one each for foreground, middle ground and background. When dealing with extreme depth of field, like macro or microphotography, you\u2019ll want to make more exposures, at least three, probably six, possibly more. When in doubt, make more exposures than you think you\u2019ll need; you don\u2019t have to use them all when you stack the separate exposures, but they\u2019ll be there if you need them. Unlike bracketing for HDR, it\u2019s almost impossible to automate these types of bracketing sequences in camera as focus needs to be adjusted for each frame. However, for tethered shooting, you can use software such as Helicon Remote to take control of your camera and automate this process and other bracketed sequences like HDR and time-lapse. Whenever possible use a tripod to make focusing during exposure more precise and registration during post-processing easier. While using a tripod always delivers more reliable results, don\u2019t let this stop you from trying this technique hand-held, especially with simpler sequences, like those used in landscape. You may notice that In cases involving extreme depth of field, you may notice the relative size of objects may change between individual exposures. These effects will be automatically adjusted during the merging process.<\/p>\n
Before you combine a set of focus bracketed exposures, make all the Raw conversion adjustments you\u2019d like to make to the final file. It\u2019s quick and easy to process a focus bracketed series of files; process one file in the series ideally and then Sync the other files to it. Once a Raw file is rendered, you can\u2019t re-access the data in it, such as \u2018recovering\u2019 highlights or \u2018filling\u2019 shadows, without re-rendering it. While, you can adjust lens distortions after stacking with Photoshop\u2019s filter Lens Corrections, it\u2019s much easier, faster and more robust to apply Lens Corrections during raw conversion, before focus stacking 16-bit TIFFs.<\/p>\n
Once you have a processed set of focus bracketed exposures you can automate the process of stacking and blending them into a single file in Photoshop. (Unlike HDR and Panorama merges, you can\u2019t make a focus stacked merge in Lightroom \u2013\u00a0currently.)<\/p>\n
![\"6_AutoBlend\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/6_AutoBlend.jpg\")
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Photoshop\u2019s Auto-Blend Layers dialog<\/p>\n
![\"7_FocusStackLayers\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/7_FocusStackLayers.jpg\")
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Photoshop\u2019s auto-masked layer stack<\/p>\n
Take these four steps.<\/p>\n
1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Using Adobe Bridge highlight all of the files you\u2019d like to combine.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Go to Tools > Photoshop > Load Files Into Photoshop Layers
\n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In Photoshop\u2019s Layers palette highlight the layers
\n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Go To Edit > Auto-Blend Layers, check Stack Images and click OK<\/p>\n
You can then further refine these results, including manually adjusting the automated masks or distorting layers, but this is rarely necessary. Photoshop does a fine job for a majority of applications.
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\n![\"8_HFmain\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/8_HFmain.jpg\")
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Helicon Focus\u2019 main window<\/p>\n
![\"9_HFAutoadjustment\"](\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/9_HFAutoadjustment.jpg\")
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Helicon Focus\u2019 Autoadjustment panel<\/p>\n
\nWhen you\u2019re looking for the highest quality, consider focus stacking with Heliconsoft\u2019s software Helicon Focus. It consistently delivers superior sharpness and can be used to batch process multiple focus bracketed sequences. Take these steps.<\/p>\n
1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Click the Add Images icon and select the exposures to be combined.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Click the Render button to save a combined result.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Optionally, choose a Method other than the default Method B (Depth Map) \u2013 Method A (Weighted Average) or Method C (Pyramid).
\n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Optionally, use the Radius slider; this helps refine the software\u2019s search for focused sources by specifying a line width to favor.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Optionally, use the Smoothing slider; lower settings generate sharper results while higher settings create smoother transitions between sources.
\n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Optionally, use the Auto Adjustment dialog to refine image alignment.<\/p>\n
Why not just selectively sharpen images to achieve similar effects? Digital sharpening skills aren\u2019t a substitute for focusing skills, rather they\u2019re an enhancement to them. Optical sharpness is superior in quality to digital enhancement \u2013 plus, it\u2019s more flexible. You\u2019ll be able to achieve superior digital sharpening results with better-focused image sources. After all, no amount of digital sharpening wizardry will make truly out-of-focus images appear to be in focus \u2013 yet. In the not-too-distant future, focus stacking will be performed automatically in-camera during exposure and depth of field will be controlled by sliders during post-processing. (Take a look at the camera by Light.) Today, it still pays to know how to focus. You can go way beyond auto-focus with focus stacking. You can surpass the limits of traditional tools and techniques with these new practices. Focus stacking works more like our eyes and mind work together in concert with one another than the camera eye does on its own. In fact, you can do what\u2019s impossible to do with either eye or lens at one moment in time, like focus two parallel planes at significantly different distances.<\/p>\n
You can get highly technical with this technique but I recommend keeping it as simple and practical as possible \u2013 so that you\u2019ll use it more frequently. It\u2019s much easier to understand focus stacking than it is to learn the new habit of evaluating when using it is most valuable while making images. Develop this new habit and you\u2019ll quickly find many situations where focus stacking will help you make images of superior technical quality, sometimes subtly superior and other times dramatically superior.<\/p>\n