# How can I get this apple sharp?



## Jack56 (Mar 9, 2014)

Dear oh dear,
What am I doing wrong?
This apple was taken with a 100mm L lens, ISO 640, f/14, 1/30 sec.
I didn't crop the image.
The "foreground" of the apple is sharp, the rounding curves aren't.
How do I get them sharp without loosing the blurring background or do you think this is all right?
Thank you for watching!


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## wickidwombat (Mar 9, 2014)

you'll need to focus stack and merge the images, there are various software package out there for focus stacking.


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## J.R. (Mar 9, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> you'll need to focus stack and merge the images, there are various software package out there for focus stacking.



+1 ... Perfect solution


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## Jack56 (Mar 9, 2014)

Thanks for your advices. But ..... I've got Lightroom5. So, I have to buy myself photoshop too?


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## danski0224 (Mar 9, 2014)

I'm sure that there are standalone focus stacking software solutions.

You may not have to buy a full version of Photoshop, but you will probably have to buy something. Could be open source (free/donate) software too.

An internet search for "focus stacking software" is the obvious place to start looking... ;D


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## privatebydesign (Mar 9, 2014)

Helicon Focus http://helicon.dstudiosoft.com/index.html is a cheap stand alone starting at $30. I have had it for years but I think they stopped developing it after Adobe put a very similar function in Photoshop.


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## Jack56 (Mar 9, 2014)

Thanks again, all.
I've just had a look at a free trial of Zerene.
When I pictured this apple of course there was a little breeze. Not a lot but the apple moved a bit.
Is it true, that to stack several images, the subject really got be still in focus?


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## Orangutan (Mar 9, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> When I pictured this apple of course there was a little breeze. Not a lot but the apple moved a bit.



Or use a longer lens and shoot from further away for greater depth of field.

Use this http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/dof-calculator.htm to calculate optimal settings. If you can get the whole foreground in focus, you need to composite just two images: the foreground and the blurry background.


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## Gert Arijs (Mar 9, 2014)

If you stack there's no need anymore to use f/14. You can use f/5,6 and take small steps. The background will be better. To avoid a moving apple: wait for the wind to slow down and/or stabilize your apple with another branch (out of the frame!).
And take multiple tries, seperated by a black picture (to easily group your series apart in Lightroom afterwards).
Good luck!
Gert


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## Jack56 (Mar 9, 2014)

Thank you again for all your advices. Will try again.


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## RustyTheGeek (Mar 9, 2014)

Please share your final results!


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## distant.star (Mar 11, 2014)

.
A mini-tutorial from Tim Grey:


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Ask-Tim-Grey---Focus-Stacking-in-Photoshop---February-12--2014.html?soid=1103416365862&aid=f5AiEclMtuo


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## mackguyver (Mar 11, 2014)

And another: Unleash Unlimited Depth Of Field


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## Forceflow (Mar 13, 2014)

Stacking really is the only way to go in this case. This is a result that I got with stacking:






Your situation looks similar, so I would really give it a try.


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## Grumbaki (Mar 13, 2014)

Forceflow said:


> Stacking really is the only way to go in this case. This is a result that I got with stacking:



While your pic is nice I really don't see how the "complicated way" of stacking is better than a bit larger DoF with focus set on the side of the apple (thus not the very foreground) to have DoF before and behind. The only limitation is the background proximity and it doesn't seem that close to me.


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## Forceflow (Mar 13, 2014)

The issue isn't that the background is too close, it's that you are too close to the object in order to get a big enough DOF at all. I am not quite sure about the dimensions in the OPs pic and it might just work, but in my case I was way too close to get anywhere near enough DOF to make this shot work. This is not a cropped shot, check out the much larger version on my deviantArt account: 
http://christophmaier.deviantart.com/art/Apple-in-the-Rain-175441292
DOF will only get you so far, you might be able to get an okay sharpness throughout the image but never the crisp clean look when working with multiple shots. And once you get anywhere into near macro distances there's just no way to get enough DOF in one shot. And he's pushing it with f/14 already I'd say.


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## privatebydesign (Mar 13, 2014)

Grumbaki said:


> Forceflow said:
> 
> 
> > Stacking really is the only way to go in this case. This is a result that I got with stacking:
> ...



It really depends on your reproduction size. At web sized images then diffraction is not hurting you so much as the circle of confusion can be so big, start to make the picture bigger, on screen or make a decent sized print and the limitations of small aperture values become apparent very quickly, a loss of sharpness everywhere is the trade for more apparent sharpness in more places, also the background often becomes more intrusive. There is no substitute for focus stacking if pin sharp deep dof is wanted on a three dimensional subject particularly if the camera to subject distance is close.


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## Grumbaki (Mar 13, 2014)

Forceflow said:


> And once you get anywhere into near macro distances there's just no way to get enough DOF in one shot.



I guess that's the part i'm not familiar with, thanks for the education


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## Jack56 (Mar 13, 2014)

This morning I went back. A bit foggy, no wind, so I thought this is my day for ..... stacking.
Guess what. No apple. Can you believe it. It conquered winter and now when spring is coming, no apple any more.
Ok, thanks for the lessons. I will try again with an apple from ..... the fruit basket.


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## dcm (Mar 13, 2014)

Jack56 said:


> This morning I went back. A bit foggy, no wind, so I thought this is my day for ..... stacking.
> Guess what. No apple. Can you believe it. It conquered winter and now when spring is coming, no apple any more.
> Ok, thanks for the lessons. I will try again with an apple from ..... the fruit basket.



I find it pretty hard to go back and get the same shot in most instances anyway. Something is always different.

It's probably better to practice it a few times in a controlled environment before trying it in the field. That way you are ready the next time the opportunity presents itself.


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## tntwit (Mar 17, 2014)

For what it's worth, I thought it looked good the way it was, but it is definitely a matter of personal preference or what artistic expression you were going for.

I also think this is a good candidate for black and white, but again, that's personal preference.


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