as it allows us to expand the area in focus, giving impressively sharp and detailed images. Three expert photographers explain how to do it..
. Macro photography lets us explore the magical world of tiny beasts, flora and fauna. I love to photograph live wild insects, yet discourage the use of any practices that could harm these tiny important beings.
When working close to our subjects, the depth of field reduces considerably. The smaller apertures needed to achieve extra depth of field can impact picture quality through diffraction and reduce the faster shutter speeds we need to maintain image sharpness. Focus stacking is a great solution to this problem.
The technique entails shooting a sequence of images at different focusing distances, and using software to blend the sharp areas together into a single file with greater depth of field and better image quality. By focus stacking, we can use wider apertures with lower ISO numbers to maintain a decent shutter speed. Sounds ideal, but there are a few caveats.
For a successful stack, exposure must be consistent and neither we nor the subject can move. Photographing living beings means we won’t have the opportunity to shoot hundreds of frames. The keep rate can be low, but thankfully there are some things we can do to increase our chances of success.
Dawn and dusk are ideal shooting times as the cooler temperatures make creatures easier to approach and less likely to move. Stability is key to successful stacking. My camera has .