Hand-held Focus Stacking Tips & Tricks for Macro & Sample Shots

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks for watching! Remember all the links are in the description⏩️🪲🦋🐛

[@scaber247]

All good points, Peter. One extra point which I have found helpful is practice, practice, practice - every day if I can until my muscle memory starts to kick in with the appropriate amount of controlled movement. Love the video, thanks for sharing it with us.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Greg & you’e definitely right about muscle memory. The more you do something consistently the easier/2nd nature it becomes ( or should😀😀 ). Have a great week!

[@JonnyPink65]

Simple??? That was amazing. Peter, I LOVE your macro shots!!!! 🙏💖🤗

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot John, very kind of you!🙏 Have an awesome weekend buddy!

[@photoshoott2022]

Great video and advice Peter. Very nicely done and great outcome, results in the final images based on stacking. Have a wonderful weekend my friend. Happy shooting.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot buddy! You too!

[@IzzyAbuleelaPhotography]

As always amazing images and beautifully explained. Still can't believe that little shy critter was shot handheld. Great work Peter 🙏🙏🙏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Izzy, much appreciated. Have a great week!

[@NBNatureTrailvan]

Brilliant Peter. This will be really helpful - I think you’re becoming better and better at this. Some amazing results here mate That final Orb weaver image is stunning. - but they all are. Have a brilliant weekend mate

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Dave, much appreciated. Have an awesome weekend too!

[@BugBobsWildWorld]

Very well done, Peter. Clear and helpful. Thank you.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot, much appreciated. Have an awesome week!

[@thehehrarchive1556]

Another great video Peter, well put together and explained 👍🇦🇺👌

[@peterviragphoto]

Cheers Magpie Whisperer!😀🐦🐦

[@briansbuildsandoutdoors4936]

Great video Peter, chockers with really good information. Keep up the good work. All the best.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Brian, much appreciated. Have a great weekend mate!

[@FXWalesAnnaAlf]

So good and so clear Peter, great footage ~ Anna

[@peterviragphoto]

Thank you Anna! Have a nice weekend!

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Great video Peter. Explained everything clearly and was easy to follow. Showed some great examples too. Thanks for sharing mate 👍🙏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Adrian! Have a great weekend mate!:)

[@fernandoherrerab]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing your tricks

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Fernando for your feedback. Have a great day!:)

[@editvirag3944]

Great tips and beautiful images!

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Edit:))

[@clausgiloi6036]

Thanks for this great video... this is exactly what I am working on at the moment and your approach and results are a really helpful confirmation that my basic approach is sound. I was particularly interested in your aside on stacking with continuous light, as I have a project along these lines.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot for your feedback Claus, have a great week!

[@forced_perspective]

Excellent tips Peter but you are only the master of stacking. So everything is simple to you lol thanks for sharing

[@peterviragphoto]

Master of nothing haha😀 Thanks buddy, have an awesome weekend!

[@franmisantone3230]

some really great shots , i am using luminar Neo also and am having problems with the auto align it doesnt seem to work for me well at all to you have the same problems also , any tips would be greatly appreciated

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey there Fran, thanks a lot! The auto align struggles a fair bit if the layers your are stacking are from even slightly different angles so being rock steady when doing hand-held focus stacking will definitely help but I know what you mean, it has happened to me a few times as well with Luminar, so that’s one piece of advice I can give you. With troublesome stacks I also manually brush in parts in Photoshop using layer masks and adjusting the opacity to ensure the alignment is as good as possible. Cheers

[@christophermason7735]

Nice video. This is particularly helpful as I have recently upgraded my 7Dii to a Canon R7. Im using the sigma 105 mm macro. How good is the magnifier lens you are attaching to the front of your lens? I am also trying to design myself a new diffuser to replace my pringles tube on a flash setup that is also working quite well for me. I like the look of what you have put together as its simple. Im not keen on spending crazy amounts on something that can be made at home. I just ordered some white polyester dress lining material im hoping to use in a new diffuser :) Going to subscrobe and check out your other videos. One last thing. Im processng raw with DXO Photolab, then stacking in Affinity Photo 2. Is Zerene stacker worth it. Affinity does just fine unless the insects move, and then cloaning in the layers to correct it is very difficult and ofter ends up writing off the image. I also see for about the same price Helicon. Is one better than the other?

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey thanks Chris! The NiSi 49mm is pretty good when attached to an already optically excellent macro lens and definitely helps when shooting very tiny subjects. Good luck with the DIY:-) I like Zerene but only when shooting super deep stacks in a controlled environment while using a rail ( mostly in the studio ). Never used HF so can’t really comment. Thanks again for ur feedback and for subscribing. Have a great weekend and happy NY😀

[@gr33kb0i]

6:10 what did you mean by auto macro lens? Is it not a fully manual lens? Also amazing video, thank you for the tips!

[@peterviragphoto]

Hi there. I said “ultra macro lens”. Glad you enjoyed mate! Cheers

[@gr33kb0i]

@@peterviragphoto ahhh ok. Thank you for the reply and clarification. I hope they start making autofocus macro lenses like Olympus. Or at least one of the companies do… Keep up the amazing work. Just subbed so looking forward to seeing more. Cheers

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks for your support. I don’t expect them to release AF macro lenses anytime soon as they try to remain competitive and it’s one of the easiest ways to keep the production costs low. I agree with you though, it would be fun if they expanded their lineup. Have a good one buddy!😀

[@someoneonyoutube2518]

Where are videos for post processing?

[@peterviragphoto]

I’ve got multiple e.g. In the extreme macro playlist. Cheers