How to FOCUS STACK your PHOTOS in PHOTOSHOP the SIMPLE way

[@russellraevo6123]

Hi, Its nice that you are still “giving “ us these tutorials, a of the other photographers I subscribed to and watch on KZbin seem to have given up on that. Rightly or maybe wrongly I find myself unsubscribing when there’s no educational value in the videos. Thank you for your time and help.. Russell

[@NigelDanson]

My primary 2 aims are to provide tips and education (in an entertaining way!)

[@williamcharlesworth4617]

Nigel, Thanks for sharing the Focus Stack tips. Have been working on just that, only with flowers. Health constraints keep me in the house right now. So, my wife's flowers have all volunteered to serve as models for my camera. Very happy to have the flowers, my wife, and you with your vlog. Stay well. Bill.

[@adilduredoran2477]

Thanks Nigel I have been doing photography for 7 years but never done stacking now after watching this video I will .🤙

[@89lava]

I have been out all weekend practiceing focus stacking and watching tutorials. Then Nigel danson uploads a tutorial just as I'm sitting down to edit... It really dosent get any better than this! Thanks Nigel! For me you are the superior photographey vlogger!

[@molopez619]

Mike Lavery the photo gods are in your favor! Lol 🙌🏽

[@levelupfilming2791]

Great video. That seems really simple the way you explained it. In past 4yrs camera have improved since this video. My current camera has settings for Focus Bracketing and will automatically take a series of shots but seems to have a lot of complicated options, like how many photos to take, up to 99 i think which seem crazy and i don't how many to ever chose, but liked your explanation of foreground, midground and background. Do you still do it this way on your newer camera or have to changed to letting the camera do it for you, and what all options would you chose if doing in camera.

[@rajajinnah6749]

When I am feeling down I just brew some coffee and play Nigel Danson videos ❤️

[@molopez619]

Raja J sounds like an amazing remedy!

[@oneandonlyjaybee]

I make tea and watch Ted Danson movies

[@giselesmith7795]

Thank you for going over this subject. You made it so simple that I think I might be able to accomplish it. Made my Sunday morning .

[@molopez619]

Gisele Smith have fun and good luck! 🙌🏽

[@LWD-Hidden-Links]

I've stumbled my way through learning by myself for years as I've had so much fun working it out, I found your panoramic photo video and realised I've gone solo too long. Enjoying the education, I'll stay tuned!

[@jababnamgay6366]

Thank you so much for all these tutorials. I have learnt a lot since I subscribed and followed your channel.

[@tjsinva]

Nigel x 2 this morning. The DP Review video dropped this AM as well. Safe travels! Rock on!

[@roadshoulderphotography683]

I usually do a Auto Align in photoshop first, just in case something has moved before I auto blend layers

[@lylestavast7652]

lens breathing/shift for instance gets fixed by doing the Auto Align IMO.

[@MrRhythmeen]

That’s the answer I was looking for to fix the focus breathing problem. Thanks!

[@Jake-vt4ow]

I do that, too. Great video, again!

[@chilipatrol]

Hi! Thanks for doing this video. I’m just getting into landscape photography and think this will really help me with my editing process.

[@jonmorgan-parker4209]

Hello Nigel. I’m absolutely grateful for your knowledge!🙏 Thank you for this tutorial and your others too!🙏

[@chrishall6364]

Very useful video; thank you Nigel! This has encouraged me to try focus stacking.

[@6rimR3ap3r]

Speaking of the tiff back to Lightroom: do you Lose any raw opportunities or detail by going back and forth between LR and PS, or say LR and Aurora HDR?

[@lsdustyrhodes]

I was just thinking about this when I saw your question. Although a TIFF file is uncompressed, it doesn't retain all the sensor data that the original RAW files contain. The way I would set up a shot (and something Nigel doesn't address) is to shoot all images to be stacked with identical exposures. Manual settings make this foolproof. Then make any major adjustments to the RAW originals, applying the same adjustments to each image to retain uniformity. This would be the time to recover blown highlights or lost shadow details. Only then would you export to Photoshop to perform the stacking function. Once reinstalled to Lightroom, you can make any final tweaks to the TIFF, without having to worry unrecoverable details.

[@lukedavies6055]

Thank you Nigel, been trying to figure this out for a while now, quality stuff!

[@molopez619]

luke davies always quality videos!

[@davidpalmer5290]

Thanks so much for this video. It's been ages since I've done this and your video was a great reminder. Thanks for all your hard work. It is much appreciated.

[@arghyachatterjee1787]

Exactly what i was looking for. thanks much

[@biotheif1]

hi Nigel yur videos are amazing and simple even i can understand them, i have just watched this one and think its great i watched one the other day and learn't how to take 3 images and bracket them to get hdr shot they make a great diff, now focus stacking is it possible to combine both techniques ? if so what order would be best or am i looking to hard at this

[@phooesnax]

Wow. Done panos but never focus stack. Got to try it. Thank You Nigel Jim

[@molopez619]

phooesnax just make sure to go over the masks to make sure PS did it right!

[@stumpyjock]

Great concise video on stacking Nigel. The calendar offer has been taken up too!

[@molopez619]

Steve Barnes it’s such a great deal!

[@the_mikewahl8953]

Very helpful! Love your videos Nigel!

[@billheidinger]

Just ordered you calendar, looking forward to the end of the year to receive it! Keep up the wonderful videos

[@garywedley9601]

Thanks Nigel, you made it look so easy....will definitely give it a try now 👍

[@daryllbphotography]

This may be a silly question, but I have a Fuji XT3 and was wondering how to set up the touch focus to take a picture... do you have a video on that? Not come across this setting (newish)

[@michellekeyte4447]

Thank you for another great video. I have done some HDR but not tried focus stacking yet.The shots you take for stacking, can they have different exposures, for example, if the sky is brighter than the foreground? I presume that you can use grads with this technique, however, I don't have any. Looking forward to Fotofest!

[@TheMoodyPhotographer]

The atmosphere of your videos just let me want to watch more, I know how to focus stack I do it every day it is like a second nature for me, but the music here, your clear voice and your confidence make me just want to watch and enjoy this beautiful content ✌🏻✌🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@muhamadasyraafsaid8037]

Great video Nigel! I always edit the 3 images before stacking them. Are there advantages from stacking them before editing?

[@molopez619]

Muhamad Asyraaf Said that’s how I do it too. Good question!

[@lindsaygoodwin3140]

Super useful for low light!

[@maharjansanam9509]

Really good content Nigel. Thanks for sharing

[@chrisromano8377]

So I have maybe a stupid question, but I guess there are no stupid questions, if you are focusing on foreground, mid ground, and infinity, do you move your camera on the tripod to focus on each point? I'm a beginner photographer. I would think then stacking the images may not be exact. Or do you change the focus points in the camera leaving the camera body on tripod perfectly still? Thanks I live your videos you are a great inspiration to me.

[@cloudatlasminer478]

Change the focus without moving the camera.

[@molopez619]

Stoked for your calendar Nigel!

[@NigelDanson]

Thanks a lot!

[@urmumsgstring8254]

nice vid, not sure if its needed but i always auto align layers before i auto blend, keep up the good work.

[@erikyoung2193]

I can’t wait for the calendar! Pre ordered it as soon as you put it up

[@oneandonlyjaybee]

Nigel, looks like you're using an apple mac laptop. Can u ask what specs you are using. I'm searching for a laptop for this sort of work but cannot seem to find any info on the requirements for using photoshop for using multiple layer raw files like this. Thanks

[@chafikboumehdi9724]

Informative vid ,Nigel . Please I'd like you to do a video on shooting raw and particularly important to me HOW TO EDIT THEM on PHOTOSHOP. I find it challenging to bring the best oit of these raw pictures. Many thanks in advance

[@stefanfuchs2773]

Pre-ordered the calender just in time ;-) 20 Minutes before July ends! I'm Iooking foreward to see it in real. Cheers

[@mswhite1532]

Great video, thorough and make it seem relatively straightforward. You inspired me today to try this technique...might try a macro shoot on flowers as I always have issues with depth of field...Happy Sunday!

[@NigelDanson]

Brilliant!

[@JoseCastillo-wx6jd]

Simple and clear, thanks,

[@antoniorochafotografia]

I'm surely take a chance on it

[@ChrisEdgecombePhoto]

Excellent informative video Nigel, looking forward to trying this out.

[@NigelDanson]

Thanks - good luck Chris

[@markvail979]

Nigel, as a fellow Nikon user, do you ever use the focus shift option in camera? Thank you for your time and assistance.

[@Evg2002]

You great man! Don't stopped!

[@todddevore1458]

If you used glass that wasn’t the sharpest, and focus stacked the shot would it still produce tack sharp photos? Thanks! Great video!

[@NigelDanson]

It won’t correct for bad lens quality no.

[@Jack-se2iz]

Thank you! Great info.

[@grantharrison1403]

Really helpful tips, thank you

[@MakingTracks]

Thanks Nigel ! 😀

[@Noealz]

great examples - really lovely they are

[@xtwu2011]

I am enjoying your calendar of 2019. No brainer to get the one of 2020!

[@NigelDanson]

Thanks so much Tracy

[@s.g.3901]

Hi Nigel, this Weekend I tried fokus stacking for the first time, but I realized that because of the different fokus the lense distorsion is massiv! Btw. I'm using the Nikon Z7 with 14-24 2.8 S. So ist really hard to stack them even after aligning them in PS. Do u have any tips what I can do?? Thank u so much!

[@jamesillsley6753]

Thanks for walking through the process - really clear. Lovely image. Do you find the histogram on the Z7 is always a little conservative? My D500 I find I can nearly always add a third/two thirds of a stop in reality.

[@wesselkriel8552]

Thanks -very enthusiastic and practical but MAYBE you should mention to turn vibration reduction off on tripod and to use remote trigger for shutter release or timer.Quite important.

[@MrRhythmeen]

Great video as always! I’ve tried focus stacking a couple of times but have found issues with focus breathing. Do you have any tips & tricks to reduce issues with focus breathing in post (or field) when focus stacking?

[@lylestavast7652]

edit - auto align...

[@Simon-mf5zb]

Cool video as usual ! Any chance to have a video on Profile Correction applied to landscape photograpgy on Lightroom ? Cheers, Simon

[@lookforbeauty1964]

Calendar reserved !! Cheers

[@jackarigho617]

Thanks, great video as usual.

[@michaelcockburn544]

is it better to do the photo stack this way or do it in cameras by setting the stacked images in there and let the camera take however many shots you selected etc?

[@atlanticdrift-uk]

Many thanks - a dumb question. I often exposure brakes and create an HDR image in LR. Can you focus stack and exposure bracket? I may be confused about the two. It appears if you focus stack you get once chance to get the exposure right??

[@shawnmcginnis2508]

For anyone reading this a few years later,.. Yes you could exposure bracket at your close focus point, then at your far. Once you do that create two separate HDR photos. From there focus stack the two HDR photos and you're good to go.

[@lunarisdawn4543]

Thx! I hope I'll try that technique tomorrow :)

[@jasonpringle47]

hi nigel, great job. do i buy photoshop, or photoshop lightroom, or do they come together.

[@allandavies1187]

Hello Nigel, very good! I felt that I had learned something new....

[@martinhall2593]

Simply explained, as always in your own way. Thx Nigel 👍🏼

[@1spitfirepilot]

Very clear and helpful. Enjoy Lofoten! I'm off to the Dolomites in a few days - have you done any landscape photography there?

[@philipculbertson55]

I always auto-align layers before the auto-blend. Did you forget that step or is it not necessary? I've never tried not aligning first so maybe I'm wasting a step. Now you have me curious.

[@TheMoodyPhotographer]

As I know, when you choose open the photos from Lightroom to Photoshop, there will be already an checked option (auto allein layers) before the photos are even opened in Photoshop

[@philipculbertson55]

@@TheMoodyPhotographer I did not know that! Thanks.

[@flipflopsleica]

Have you tried (good or so-so) Fuji focus stacking option?

[@TheDude-vx6wn]

Hi, how do we determine the ideal distance between subject and lens mm? Thanks.

[@greggv12345]

Thanks a lot Nigel, just a little question, when you finished in photoshop (after exporting in tiff). do you have the same flexibility with a tiff than a DNG file (white balance, color grading...) By the way, thank a lot for all your tips, really useful

[@NigelDanson]

Not white balance but everything else

[@samking7178]

What do you do when the wind is blowing the plants around?? There will be movement between the photos. I know it would be best to wait till the wind stops blowing, but that is not always possible.

[@anthonyplancherel8274]

Excellent, useful stuff! Thank you!

[@pasqualray1337]

Thank you.

[@joostverpoort]

Hi Nigel, do I get the same result, ....or even better, taking three shots and merge them in Lightroom.... you still have the RAW available instead of TIFF in that case.... or am I wrong?

[@NigelDanson]

You can’t merge focus ranges in Lightroom though. Good idea!

[@joostverpoort]

@@NigelDanson I'll try.... I think as long as you have the overlap in same focus it should work.

[@joostverpoort]

I did a quick indoor try..... (bad weather) and it works! Razor sharp from top to bottum. Alternative focus stacking in Lightroom... or actually focus merging. Best regards, Joost

[@joostverpoort]

It seems to have some limitations, if you merge not to many .... so let's say three it is perfect.

[@CassioHungria85]

Awesome tips

[@jeg569]

Is there a reason you dont use auto blend after auto align? Is it because Photoshop does a really bad job leaving areas that look like water spots?

[@stevemarson9665]

When do I get my public appearance fee, Nigel ? ...... despite the helpful video & stacking my final image isn't as good as yours 😟. Have a good time in Lofoten !

[@paulus0109]

Thnx Nigel.

[@jeg569]

Thanks for the video, usually avoid Photoshop because I cannot getvmy head around the layers.

[@molopez619]

jeg569 its a huge learning curve but it’s worth getting familiar with it!

[@jameshudson5989]

Nigel, Great explanation, Thanks ! When shooting with a longer lens( ie, 100mm) any advice on how many shots would be needed to in a similar situation? Jim H

[@lylestavast7652]

at what f-stop ? that's the optical result you're compensating for - the depth of field around a focus point. crack out a DOF calculator and dial in distances then see how many you have to do to step your way all down the intended view... don't forget to overlap them

[@Doug.H.Butler]

I come for the Nigel but was again curious about the tripod. I am likely out of the running for harping on it (again) but thought there was to be a tripod give away. Maybe I missed it....

[@NigelDanson]

Announced next weekend!!

[@Baker1000NxD]

I recently tried a macro focus stack for the first time, around about 50 frames. It took photoshop over an hour to do it's thing with stacking them and blending together. Is that normal for a stack of that size? Is it my computer? These were JPEGs not RAW. Just wondering if you or anyone else in the comments knows. I really want to try some flower focus stacks now spring is coming, but waiting a full hour for photoshop is putting me off. I'll definitely have a go with some smaller landscape stacks though.

[@NigelDanson]

It is normal / that is a huge stack

[@Baker1000NxD]

@@NigelDanson thank you, I will experiment with smaller stacks!

[@kevins8575]

I've been trying to focus stack in GIMP, But am really struggling. Might have to buy photoshop after all.

[@mlevesque33]

There are other programs that costs less than Adobe products who can do the trick too.

[@grantnewton5705]

From my research, it seems the best software for stacking is Zylene stacker or Helicon focus, but both are expensive programs for one feature. Photoshops auto feature is OK but often gets it wrong .... sometimes it is easy to do it manually for landscapes

[@carlreid4161]

Really easy to follow and understand this process, thanks Nigel. Can't wait for the calendar ordered last week. Do you know if you can focus stack in Capture One?

[@SD_Alias]

No C1 has no stacking option. If you have to do focus stacking often i would prefer Helicon Focus. Much faster and exacter than PS…

[@grantnewton5705]

You may be able to do this manually ..... create your own masks ..... I haven’t tried Capture One for this, but worth trying ..... for landscapes it is normally not too hard to manually do this ..... for macro it would be much harder

[@SD_Alias]

@@grantnewton5705 C1 don't layer pictures. Only corrections layer like curves or selective colour corrections etc. From experience I would always stack in Helicon Focus or Photoshop and then eventually do manual correction after that. Fully manual focus stacking is pain in the a....

[@lylestavast7652]

@@SD_Alias best results I've seen are from helicon - although PS does really well if your setup before shooting is really well done... (same with panos)

[@SD_Alias]

@@lylestavast7652 Yes . Although with panos i prefer PT Gui when i have to set manual reference points or have to exclude photogear from set...

[@Keithphotorama]

Are there any issues with blending too many images?

[@ThePosiview]

Nice one, Dan. I often wonder why there isn't an "auto blend in Photoshop" function in Lightroom. Cheers.

[@mattiaferraboli5715]

Hei Nigel, i have a question: is the same to edit a TIFF and a ROW image in lighroom? By the way, great and very clear video!

[@NigelDanson]

Yes

[@mattiaferraboli5715]

@@NigelDanson Thank you sir, i always had a doubt about it!

[@qarhsi]

Hey man. If you don't mind me saying this... Do you think some photos are based solely on perspective? I ask this because I find some of your edits too dark and some compositions not very interesting. However, some other pieces are simply wonderful! So I was wondering if it's a POV thing.

[@Johnnycbtx]

What is the image size on your calendar? It looks pretty large.

[@philipkay6488]

How much better of a job does PS do with this compared to the "Photo Merge" option in LR?

[@NigelDanson]

Lightroom can’t do focus stacking or if it does it is luck and you can’t change it...

[@philipkay6488]

@@NigelDanson lightroom classic* with the de-ghosting options. Or is that just for exposure bracketing? Feel like I've used it a time or two for focus stacking as well with decent results.

[@RandyPollock]

Why don't you use focus stacking that is built into the X-T3? Thanks.

[@NigelDanson]

It only shoots the photos - doesn’t focus stack

[@Gundolf300]

Ive tried this with some shots of the moon. First of every time i try to auto align the picture it cant unless they are a certain degree of and if they are a certain degree of it wont align them anyway.

[@ellyelzinga01]

Very informative video again! I've tried focus stacking once so far and it worked out pretty well, except for I should have taken 5 images instead of 3.. LOL But for the first time, not too bad I suppose.. xD Ordered your calendar last week, excited about it!

[@davidhunt3161]

nikon is the best one

[@jaysantiago-BX-NY]

Never tried focus stacking, but thanks to your super easy tutorial I can't wait to try it out!! Thanks so much! 👏👏👍❤

[@user-ip2sw9wl6s]

Can I ask why you don’t do them in Lightroom? Is it better to do this in photoshop?

[@NigelDanson]

You can do it in Lightroom and photoshop gives you the opportunity to alter the outcome really easily

[@graciebarrabjj7]

Nigel Danson thank you! You have helped so much! I would wouldn’t mind seeing a video where you edit some subscribers photos. I enjoy your photos so much! Anyways thanks for helping! Always great to see your new videos!

[@mohammedaareeb5341]

Nice Video

[@randygemar]

Auto blend layers is grayed out, any ideas how to fix this?

[@NigelDanson]

Have you selected the layers?

[@jameslane3846]

I need to focus stack often with my medium format camera as it's such a huge image plane which is a huge shame as it means an extra 50p to £1 extra per photo! So I will be upgrading to a large format camera soon with a medium format back so depth of field issues will be no more! And ironically it will be a lighter set up than what I have currently and comparable to a full frame DSLR set in weight!

[@suxxesphoto6419]

That is easy. Would be even easier if could do in Lightroom.

[@oldmalty8412]

Yes PS does make a decent job most of the time, you really must take a tour of the resulting image to spot any clangers PS sometimes drops in, usually small pockets of the wrong layer where it messed up. Easily corrected as you say, once you spot the error. Also note on previous comment, Fuji X series have a focus-stack bracketing option which also works quite well (not always perfect but what is?) I find it very handy if you need to focus stack a hand-held series of shots. Have you experimented with this?

[@NigelDanson]

No - but have meant to and will try

[@303pearson]

Edit first in Lightroom then stack in Photoshop

[@0FanMusic]

Iv only filter on the phone omy.. iv not so good camera as you😨😰