# first attempts at macro stacking, let's see some stuff. (beginners only please)



## gnl.weirdness (May 14, 2014)

Went out with the cam and the 100mm today, had the tripod this time, to play with some focus stacking.

Nothing special done, tripod + 3-8 shots at varying focus + adobe automatic align and blend + lightroom for exposure/contrast/clarity adjustments.

The 100mm f2.8l is hands down the best piece of glass I have ever shot with... Anyone on the fence, don't think just buy.

Would love thoughts/comments. No flash was used, just natural light.


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## Menace (May 14, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

Well done - do show us some more 

Here is one of mine - natural light and processed same as your image. 5 shots.


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## gnl.weirdness (May 14, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

Here is the other one, it was too big so it didn't upload. Heading back out shortly to play around some more now that I have seen the initial results :: )

Have some Kenko tubes in the mail as well yayayayaya.


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## AcutancePhotography (May 15, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

There is an add-on to lightroom called "enfuse" I use that for both focus stacking and exposure stacking and have been very happy with the results.

Just beware, focus stacking can be addictive. ;D You may find yourself using focus stacking in non-macro situations. LoL


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## gnl.weirdness (May 15, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

Nice, I will check it out. PS is making some VERY large tif files ahahaha.

And yeah I am working on stacking with water and astro as well. Nothing worthwhile yet from those though.


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## Marsu42 (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Menace said:


> Here is one of mine - natural light and processed same as your image. 5 shots.



How did you people manage for the animal to remain stationary while doing the focus stack?


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## Menace (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Marsu42 said:


> Menace said:
> 
> 
> > Here is one of mine - natural light and processed same as your image. 5 shots.
> ...



Well I had to do about 6 different sets of photos as it was outdoors, with a bit of breeze and on top of that the caterpillar was moving! 

Focusing had to be very quick, timed between a lul in wind and whilst it stopped for a moment. 

I suppose one needs a lot of patience and quick focusing ability


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## wsmith96 (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

Nice shots. I've read about focus stacking, but have never tried it. Can you use PSE for stacking, or is the align functions only in photoshop?


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## gnl.weirdness (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Menace said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Menace said:
> ...




Marsu,

it's like Menace said, you need to focus pull quickly. I did everything in auto settings which I would not recommend, this was more just learning how to stack than try to get an epic shot. But yeah, your subject will most likely move and that seems to just be the nature of the game with stacking bugs/plants. Patience is your friend, i.e. willingness to set the tripod up perfectly only to find your subject decided to peace out while doing so ahahaha.


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## gnl.weirdness (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



wsmith96 said:


> Nice shots. I've read about focus stacking, but have never tried it. Can you use PSE for stacking, or is the align functions only in photoshop?



wsmith,

I am not sure as I have not use PSE before, but there is only one way to find out. Set yourself up with some layers (any random photos should work), select all the layers, then look under edit for "auto align layers". Once that is done, still with all layers selected hit "auto blend", also found under edit.

Hope that helps. If you get some shots post em up :: )


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## Marsu42 (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



gnl.weirdness said:


> i.e. willingness to set the tripod up perfectly only to find your subject decided to peace out while doing so ahahaha.



Indeed... but my question had a certain background: Afaik most really good macro (stacks) of insects are done with the animals frozen, tied down or simply killed... with these subjects, the viewer cannot tell the difference except wonder however the photog managed to set up the beautiful lighting and persuaded the animal to cooperate.

This is (one of) the reason I seldom do insect macros these days, it's fun for recreation, but what good is crawling through the woods and chasing butterflies and dragonflies if catching and killing them produces the better shots? My stacks are usually of mushrooms, they only grow outdoors, you cannot farm most of the at home and you can integrate the surrounding so you see it's actually outdoors :-o


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## gnl.weirdness (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Marsu42 said:


> gnl.weirdness said:
> 
> 
> > i.e. willingness to set the tripod up perfectly only to find your subject decided to peace out while doing so ahahaha.
> ...




Marsu,

I know some people do that, but I would never dare... I think half the fun of it for me is in trying to spend enough time to get an image of a bug just on its daily grind. I understand your disappointment with the shittier method for sure, but not quite sure why your turned off to macro of bugs entirely as a result. You can 100% capture incredible photos without staging anything, I think the first one I posted is a prime example.

I had ZERO background in macro or stacking. I spent maybe 5-10 minutes on google, and maybe a total of 2-3 mins getting the photos themselves. Editing/stacking was maybe another 10 mins tops...

I'd say give it another go :: )


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## Menace (May 16, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



gnl.weirdness said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > gnl.weirdness said:
> ...



I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.


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## tolusina (May 17, 2014)

Canon 6D,
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens
20mm Kenko extension tube.
Lens max magnification specification, 0.18x.
Calculated magnification, 0.68x.
Tethered to an ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 (Andriod 4.3). Focus limits, steps and control by DSLR Controller.
Gitzo, RRS, Acratech support.

Composites were stacked from the RAW .CR2 files, automated with Helicon Focus, saved as tiff, converted to jpg, cropped.

10 frames at f2.8, failure is obvious.


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## tolusina (May 17, 2014)

Canon 6D,
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens
20mm Kenko extension tube.
Lens max magnification specification, 0.18x.
Calculated magnification, 0.68x.
Tethered to an ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 (Andriod 4.3). Focus limits, steps and control by DSLR Controller.
Gitzo, RRS, Acratech support.

Composites were stacked from the RAW .CR2 files, automated with Helicon Focus, saved as tiff, converted to jpg, cropped.

12 frames at f11, better.


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## gnl.weirdness (May 19, 2014)

tolusina said:


> Canon 6D,
> Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens
> 20mm Kenko extension tube.
> Lens max magnification specification, 0.18x.
> ...



Tolusina,

Hell yeah, second attempt came out way nicer. Now just work on that light control :: ) 

My tubes just came in as well, tried to shoot some frozen blueberries but I had to much wobble in the tripod which I need to figure out. I have the 190pro, which should be well capable of holding the 5dmkiii and 100mm methinks.

Also have the dslr controller cable for the cam coming tomorrow which will eliminate any need to worry about wobble, just wind when outside hah.


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## mackguyver (May 19, 2014)

Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:


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## gnl.weirdness (May 20, 2014)

wow what a cool flower, and yeah I did PS and Helicon test on the same images and there was no discernible difference between PS and Heli.

So not worth the extra cost for me when I already have PS and PS makes it insanely easy. Will see if that changes as I get into it further.


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## Menace (May 20, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:



This is stunning mackguyver


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## tolusina (May 20, 2014)

gnl.weirdness said:


> ....
> Hell yeah, second attempt came out way nicer. Now just work on that light control :: )
> 
> My tubes just came in as well, tried to shoot some frozen blueberries but I had to much wobble in the tripod which I need to figure out. I have the 190pro, which should be well capable of holding the 5dmkiii and 100mm methinks.
> ...


 
Thanks. Um, the thread title does say "beginners only please", my $0.25 qualifies. I didn't bother a bit about lighting, I guess that's obvious. I just hoped for success stacking.

Tubes, not what I thought they'd be. Focusing and hyperfocal distances are incredibly close, so close it's going to take some clever to get light in there without shadows of the lens.

DSLR Controller, I think you'll like it, I sure like it a lot. Very convenient having tether control on my phone or tablet, focus stacking is only one feature.
It does yell at you if you've set up to back button focus, it apparently needs focus on the shutter button if you want to have app focus control. I set one of my custom shooting modes to shutter button focus, full manual, f6.3 @ 1/125, ISO 100, auto WB, it's as good a base point as any to start from.
I think there's a provision for a delay between sequential shots to allow flash recycling.
Intervalometer is built in. Focus pulling to preset stops in preset steps too.

Lots more, fairly decent interface. 
Last I looked for support, there are a few pages covering basics on the dev's home pages for the app, past that there's a huge long, single thread at xda-developers,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1202082 , 336 pages.

Here's the 12 frame f11 stack gif'd, hope I got the right one, it's 3mb. The largest version is 25mb, the xcf is half a gig.
Notice how the frames march closer as focus gets closer as though the lens zoomed. 
I actually think it did zoom but I'm clueless how and/or why.


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## tolusina (May 20, 2014)

This is indeed stunning.
---
Um, mackguyver, thread title is "first attempts.... (beginners only)".


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## mackguyver (May 20, 2014)

gnl.weirdness, Menace, and tolusina, thanks for the nice comments!


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## K-amps (Jun 9, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:



Amazing pop!


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## mackguyver (Jun 9, 2014)

K-amps said:


> Amazing pop!


Thanks! The comments I'm getting here make me think I need to try more macro stacking


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## chrysoberyl (Jul 10, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:



Lovely! And thanks for mentioning focus rails.


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## lion rock (Jul 10, 2014)

I built a focus rail and shot about 20 frames but the result that came out processed with PS CS5 was incorrect. PS chose all the OOF frames and thus what I got was a 100% blurry photo.

My question to the experts here, when you use a rail to select a focus plane, will the image in front of the selected plane be slightly larger because the camera/lens is closer and the image behind the selected plane be smaller, so as you change positions during the process, what would happen to the stacked end product photo?
Conversely, if the camera/lens is held stationary, and the focus is selected by adjusting the lens focusing mechanism, what will be the result?

My setup: 5D3 with remote flash mounted on hot shoe, 100 mm_f/2.8 with Kenko extension ring, and the camera is controlled with CamRanger all mounted with a screw operated rail.

Thanks for the advice.
-r


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## Menace (Jul 10, 2014)

lion rock said:


> I built a focus rail and shot about 20 frames but the result that came out processed with PS CS5 was incorrect. PS chose all the OOF frames and thus what I got was a 100% blurry photo.
> 
> My question to the experts here, when you use a rail to select a focus plane, will the image in front of the selected plane be slightly larger because the camera/lens is closer and the image behind the selected plane be smaller, so as you change positions during the process, what would happen to the stacked end product photo?
> Conversely, if the camera/lens is held stationary, and the focus is selected by adjusting the lens focusing mechanism, what will be the result?
> ...



Personally, when focus stacking, I never change the frame i.e. camera never moves. Here is my very basic MO

1. Fix camera on tripod
2. Frame your subject - use live view.
3. Manually focus and shoot a bunch of images - each focusing on a different plane of your subject. Use remote etc.
4. Process in PS.

Hope this helps

Menace


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## Marsu42 (Jul 10, 2014)

Menace said:


> Personally, when focus stacking, I never change the frame i.e. camera never moves



I also do this with Magic Lantern, the catch is that when re-focusing the _image magnification changes_ which means that you are _missing image data behind objects_. The software tries to compensate by adding some reconstruction blur, but this often doesn't work esp. not for high-iq pro purposes. 

There are only two ways around this problem: a) use a macro rail which forces all images to have the same magnification at all focus settings or b) stop shooting at the first large object and remove clutter in the foreground.


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## Hesbehindyou (Jul 10, 2014)

gnl.weirdness said:


> 3-8 shots at varying focus + adobe automatic align and blend ... Would love thoughts/comments. No flash was used, just natural light.



It doesn't look stacked - would be good to see one of the frames so we can see the depth of field you were working with.

Couple I took recently - I bought a licence for Zerene Stacker as it does wonders with spider legs and is super-quick:

Two (I think) shots taken hand held in a burst with external flash, moving the camera towards the subject. You can see that I 1) needed more shots as the edge of the abdomen is blurry and 2) did badly with the lighting - the head is too dark (and this is lightened in post). If I could do it again I'd have held the flash so the head wasn't in shadow.






These two were swinging about next to the TV so I grabbed a few shots (hand held with external flash) and combined 3 in Zerene Stacker. Woodlouse was already very dead but the spider was nice enough to stay still. I've never worked out how to shoot these spiders from a flattering angle - anyone managed it?


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## sparda79 (Jul 10, 2014)

It's been a while since I do macro.... even longer since I last played with focus stacking... So these 2 are from years ago.

Both with 100L




Shield Bug by Sparda (AMT), on Flickr
7 shots, hand held




IMG_6225-38 by Sparda (AMT), on Flickr
14 shots, focus rail

Anybody used Helicon Remote for Auto DoF bracketing?


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## Jura (Jul 10, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*


[/quote]

I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
[/quote]

Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.


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## tolusina (Jul 10, 2014)

lion rock said:


> .......
> 
> My question to the experts here......
> Conversely, if the camera/lens is held stationary, and the focus is selected by adjusting the lens focusing mechanism, what will be the result?.....



I know you asked for experts, I'll try an answer to this part at least. 
Two images from my posts above, first is the end result, second is a gif showing the progression of the frames.
The gif sure shows a zoom effect as focus changes, not being expert, I've no explanation, only the observation.














Canon 6D,
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens
20mm Kenko extension tube.
Lens max magnification specification, 0.18x.
Calculated magnification, 0.68x.
Tethered to an ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 (Android 4.3). Focus limits, steps and control by DSLR Controller.
Gitzo, RRS, Acratech support.

Composites were stacked from the RAW .CR2 files, automated with Helicon Focus, saved as tiff, converted to jpg, cropped. Gif stacked in Gimp.

12 frames at f11, 2 second shutter speed.


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## lion rock (Jul 11, 2014)

Thanks for the advices, Manace, Marsu and Tolusina!
I'll have to do some more tests. I should try to shoot several frames with and without rails.
Thanks.
-r


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## Northstar (Jul 11, 2014)

Menace said:


> lion rock said:
> 
> 
> > I built a focus rail and shot about 20 frames but the result that came out processed with PS CS5 was incorrect. PS chose all the OOF frames and thus what I got was a 100% blurry photo.
> ...



i've never done focus stacking...so pardon my noobness:

step #3...so for example...i'm shooting a flower at a 45 degree angle....i aim the first shot at the furthest petal, the next shot at a petal slightly closer, and so on and so on and so on until i've shot 8-12 images.

is this the basic strategy? (for step #3)


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## Chapman Baxter (Jul 11, 2014)

Hesbehindyou said:


> These two were swinging about next to the TV so I grabbed a few shots (hand held with external flash) and combined 3 in Zerene Stacker. Woodlouse was already very dead but the spider was nice enough to stay still. I've never worked out how to shoot these spiders from a flattering angle - anyone managed it?



As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a flattering angle for any spider!


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## eml58 (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Jura said:


> I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
> [/quote
> Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.



I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.

On the other side, your resolution was sort of humorous as well, Kicking People in the Nuts & stealing their Gear is clearly seen as no biggy, while freezing an Ant to slow it down before taking it's Photograph, is Nut Kickable , also very Funny, Love CR in the morning.

But I do like your defence of Insects & all things small, should be more of it, perhaps without the Nut Kicking though .

Some nice Images here, I do a lot of Macro Underwater Imaging, but generally not Focus stacked, this thread has me thinking to try it next time underwater, no chance of semi freezing the subjects as well so my Nuts should be safe ;D


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## lion rock (Jul 11, 2014)

Northstar,
That's the idea. Camera held by tripod ( I used a focus rail ), selected a portion of my object to photograph and focused on it with my CamRanger and iPAD and trip the shutter. Then I moved my rail mounted camera a small distance without refocusing again, the focus plain is moved by that distance I moved the rail. Remote release the shutter. Repeat until the object is photographed front to back.

However, when I stacked my images, the resultant photo was totally in a blur!
The experts here suggested a stationary camera, and focus of different planes will be achieved by changing the camera's focus rather than moving the camera. Something to do in this weekend while my orchids are still in bloom.
-r


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## Famateur (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*

*Off Topic:*



Jura said:


> Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.



Hard to believe one's respect for life is genuine when it stops short of humans. ???
*
On Topic:*

These "beginner" shots are simply amazing. Makes me want to pick up a macro lens and take a stab at it myself.

By the way, I didn't know LR/Enfuse could do focus stacking (never thought about it as I use it strictly for blending exposures). I'll have to check it out...


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## unfocused (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Jura said:


> > I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
> 
> 
> 
> Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.





Famateur said:


> Hard to believe one's respect for life is genuine when it stops short of humans. ???



Am I missing something here? Does putting an insect in the refrigerator to slow its metabolism slightly do some harm to the insect or are we just anthropomorphizing here? Because I've frequently heard about this technique and understood it to be quite common.


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## Famateur (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



unfocused said:


> Jura said:
> 
> 
> > > I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
> ...



I personally don't see anything wrong with the technique. Just thought it was odd to condemn chilling a fly for a few minutes, then turn around and advocate violence on a person.


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## Menace (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Famateur said:


> *Off Topic:*
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Not sure about Enfuse but LR doesn't do focus stacking - I use photoshop for stacking.


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## Menace (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



eml58 said:


> Jura said:
> 
> 
> > I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
> ...



Thanks eml58 - perhaps I should have added that the said photographer did not harm any insects - they were only sleepy for a little while.


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## Menace (Jul 11, 2014)

Northstar said:


> Menace said:
> 
> 
> > lion rock said:
> ...



Correct. Your framing has not changed however you now have 8-12 images each with a slightly different plane (in each photo) in sharp focus that can be stacked in PS.


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## Forceflow (Jul 11, 2014)

Here some examples of mine:





Stack of 6 images
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/400 second
Aperture F/2.8
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 100
Date Taken Jun 13, 2011, 2:56:54 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS4





~15 images also with the 7D but I think it might have been my old 50mm macro, not sure.





Again 6 shots
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/5 second
Aperture F/5.6
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 100
Date Taken Jan 1, 2013, 5:26:41 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS6





Sadly not sure how many images, possibly something around 10. The bee proved to be very cooperative, it was alive and I did not freeze or cool it in any way. The day itself was rather cold and it was apparently warming up in the sun when I found the little bugger 
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/250 second
Aperture F/16.0
Focal Length 300 mm (Sigma 150mm macro with 2x adapter)
ISO Speed 200
Date Taken Jul 29, 2012, 12:45:13 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS6


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## Menace (Jul 11, 2014)

Here is an example I shot a while back. 

5D III, EF100 f2.8, 12 shots.


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## CTJohn (Jul 11, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:


Awesome! The flower explodes out of the image.


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## AcutancePhotography (Jul 11, 2014)

Freezing an insect prior to shooting it, while not something I would do is not really worthy of nut-kicking.

Spraying hairspray on an insect, does warrant a double nut-kick. LoL


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## CTJohn (Jul 11, 2014)

12 images, using 430EXII in softbox plus reflector for lighting. 6D, EF100 f/2.8L lens.


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## mackguyver (Jul 11, 2014)

CTJohn said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:
> ...


CTJohn and chrysoberyl - thanks! The funny thing about this is that I had never seen one of these before and thought I had found some really rare flower. I later discovered it's an extremely common flower in the Southern United States...oh well, I like the photo, which was taken with the 180L macro.

Also, tolusina, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your comment before - this was actually my first attempt at focus stacking, so for this technique, I'm a total beginner. My only other attempt was with the 7-200 f/2.8 IS II and it's about as un-parfocal as they come so the framing changed a whole lot (way more than your very cool GIF) and I didn't even try to stack it. 

CTJohn, that's a great example of how to do it right - beautiful shot!

Forceflow and Menace - I love your shots as well! This is a really cool thread.


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## Famateur (Jul 11, 2014)

Forceflow said:


> Here some examples of mine...



Forceflow, this series is just brilliant! The burning wick? Spectacular. A perfect example of what makes macro photography so captivating -- seeing detail in things one has seen a million times but had no idea how it really looks...


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## bjd (Jul 11, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



eml58 said:


> I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.



Being a Brit I noticed it straight away too. 

Many types of live insect bait are kept in the fridge, when you take them out and they warm up they seem OK. 
Not saying that they enjoy it though. I guess they'll see it as a snap frost or something

Cheers Brian


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## danski0224 (Jul 12, 2014)

tolusina said:


> Notice how the frames march closer as focus gets closer as though the lens zoomed.
> I actually think it did zoom but I'm clueless how and/or why.



As you change the focus in a macro lens, the magnification changes.

You can see it if you turn off AF, prefocus at the "further" range, move in manually until the object is in focus, then repeat closer in. The object will become larger in the viewfinder.

The magnification ratios are different, and that is printed on the focus scale (1.5:1, 1.2:1,1:1- or however they are laid out).

I believe the technical term is focus breathing- could be wrong.

The only way to keep the magnification the same and change the focus point is to preset your focus, turn off AF and move the camera in/out to focus the desired point. Best way to move the camera is with a set of gear driven (manual or motorized) focus rails. Any precision or repeatability without a gear driven system is damn near impossible. 

I have a set of rails and have messed with an MPE-65, and I can see the focus change as the setup is moved on the rails. It doesn't take much movement. Apparent magnification (object size) does not change. Moving the tripod in and out proved to be useless.

I found it quite interesting, but it is very time consuming.

I suspect that the apps using focus stacking vs rail movement are stretching/shrinking the sharp parts of the image to blend it together for the final result with assumed quality loss (small image is expanded and large final image is shrunk). I would assume it picks somewhere in the middle as a starting point for final image size/scale.

There is a lot of skill in a good focus stacked image.


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## Cinto (Jul 12, 2014)

Taken with Magic Lantern Focus stacking, 5D MarkII and Sigma 150(non-IS). It is quick to do a stack, probably good for insects.


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## alexturton (Jul 12, 2014)

My first attempt.i went ambitious 

This was a 27 shot stack of a wasp using a demo I downloaded of helicon focus.

The wasp wasn't dead so as I was taking this my heart was pounding and I was terrified as his feelers kept twitching. There is a bit of movement in the stitch but I'm pleased with my first effort.

As daft as it sounds, I'm always amazed these creatures have faces.

Canon60d, 100mm macro, full set of kenko extension tubes, raynox 250 10x dioptre.
canon580exii with lastolite softbox



https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7992894960/in/photolist-dbiFcN-aH1wWx-aQ9zJ2-dngFic


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## Northstar (Jul 12, 2014)

Cinto said:


> Taken with Magic Lantern Focus stacking, 5D MarkII and Sigma 150(non-IS). It is quick to do a stack, probably good for insects.



Beautiful!


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## Larry (Jul 12, 2014)

Chapman Baxter said:


> Hesbehindyou said:
> 
> 
> > These two were swinging about next to the TV so I grabbed a few shots (hand held with external flash) and combined 3 in Zerene Stacker. Woodlouse was already very dead but the spider was nice enough to stay still. I've never worked out how to shoot these spiders from a flattering angle - anyone managed it?
> ...



Maybe a shot a bit more from the side to emphasize the breasts? ;D


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## Larry (Jul 12, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



eml58 said:


> I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.



If I am to be shot, please omit the pre-freezing! I will hold still.

Aussies, Kiwis, and some US-ians at least : (Spider breasts, anyone? ...see my previous post.)


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## Menace (Jul 12, 2014)

*Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )*



Larry said:


> eml58 said:
> 
> 
> > I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.
> ...



Thanks Larry for the heads up - I'll keep that in mind when you visit new zealand


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## eml58 (Jul 13, 2014)

CTJohn said:


> 12 images, using 430EXII in softbox plus reflector for lighting. 6D, EF100 f/2.8L lens.



Lovely Image, really I need to try this, great thread, some lovely Images.


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## eml58 (Jul 13, 2014)

Cinto said:


> Taken with Magic Lantern Focus stacking, 5D MarkII and Sigma 150(non-IS). It is quick to do a stack, probably good for insects.



That is an incredibly good Image, well done, honestly one of the best I've seen on CR, completely wowed me.


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## Forceflow (Jul 13, 2014)

Famateur said:


> Forceflow said:
> 
> 
> > Here some examples of mine...
> ...



Thank you  Yeah the burning wick was a successful shoot and turned out to be the favorite piece of art on my dA page. I was really surprised by the final result myself, it was a really unexpected look for sure. Really have to pick up my camera again. Been way to busy with other things recently and my equipment is really just collecting dust these days


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## niteclicks (Jul 18, 2014)

This is the best I have so far. I built a rail but this one was done with DSLR Controller. Still has a few artifacts but I think some more playing with both processing and shooting parameters I'll get there eventually.


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## Cinto (Jul 18, 2014)

eml58 said:


> Cinto said:
> 
> 
> > Taken with Magic Lantern Focus stacking, 5D MarkII and Sigma 150(non-IS). It is quick to do a stack, probably good for insects.
> ...


Thanks!


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## Menace (Jul 19, 2014)

My kid and I playing with his lego truck - He put it all together as I wouldn't know how to even start.

6 shots, EF100 f2.8


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## Vossie (Aug 22, 2014)

A little bug in my garden. Taken with 5D3 and 100mm 2.8L macro. 
10 shots at f/5.6, 1/40, ISO800 in natural light taken with RRS macro rail.


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## jwilbern (Mar 18, 2015)

This is my first try at focus stacking. I used magic lantern to take 20 shots with my 60D and 100mm 
canon macro lens at f 5.6. Processed with Zerene Stacker. Can't wait for the first flowers of Spring to try some more.


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## kphoto99 (Mar 18, 2015)

This is my first successful focus stack picture. This is a closeup of a feather. I used M on a rail to take it.


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## Andy_Hodapp (Apr 11, 2015)

Here are a couple of my first tries handheld on Canon 5d mkii with Sigma 105mm macro, Helios 44-4 reversed in front. Yongnuo YN-560 ii with Cowboy Studios remote flash triggers for lighting. 

I believe this one is 3 or 4 shots



IMG_2369-Edit by Andy Hodapp, on Flickr

This is two stacked



Double reverse lens macro double stack by Andy Hodapp, on Flickr


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## Northstar (Apr 12, 2015)

Andy_Hodapp said:


> Here are a couple of my first tries handheld on Canon 5d mkii with Sigma 105mm macro, Helios 44-4 reversed in front. Yongnuo YN-560 ii with Cowboy Studios remote flash triggers for lighting.
> 
> I believe this one is 3 or 4 shots
> 
> ...



very nice Andy! love that second shot..did you freeze him?


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## Marsu42 (Apr 12, 2015)

Northstar said:



> love that second shot..did you freeze him?



In that case, I don't love the second shot :-\ ... but alas, we all know how superior insect macro photography is done :-o


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## Andy_Hodapp (Apr 12, 2015)

Actually I just found him dead in my house, thought I might as well photograph him



Marsu42 said:


> Northstar said:
> 
> 
> > love that second shot..did you freeze him?
> ...


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## Omni Images (Apr 12, 2015)

Skateboard 608 ceramic bearing, about 12 shots. Erased the background then dropped this back ground in, a close up of the pattern on my snowboard boots, thought it looked interesting and deliberately kept it shallow dof.


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## trstromme (Apr 13, 2015)

This stack was my first experiment with the open source enfuse/enblend tools from Panotools and my second stacked image ever, so there are a few flaws, but next time!...

Stacked from 22 shots aligned with align_image_stack and blended with enfuse.



itsy bitsy spider.. by Trond Strømme, on Flickr


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## danski0224 (Apr 13, 2015)

3x magnification of a carbide tooth, 4 images stacked.


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## kphoto99 (Apr 13, 2015)

A stack of 3 shots, aligned with align_image_stack, but I had to do a manual merge since the wind moved the stalks.


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## jwilbern (Apr 27, 2015)

Here's my first one from out in the field. Two little sprouts growing out of some moss. I used 16 images in Zerene Stacker.



Two Sprouts by jwilbern, on Flickr


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## TheJock (May 4, 2015)

Is there any good free software for stacking?
I have Elements 12 but have no clue how to use it other than adjusting colours/contrast/brightness and maybe making an object disappear!


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## Eldar (May 4, 2015)

TheJock said:


> Is there any good free software for stacking?
> I have Elements 12 but have no clue how to use it other than adjusting colours/contrast/brightness and maybe making an object disappear!


This software can be tried for 30 days for free. It is very intuitive and easy to use.

http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft-products/helicon-focus/


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## scyrene (Jul 6, 2015)

I tried a bit of focus stacking a couple of years ago, but the software wasn't very good for Macs. Downloaded the latest HeliconFocus (demo for now), and am really impressed! Here's a dead leaf - 7 shot stack using the MP-E, and a pound coin - 27 shot stack. I just changed the focus to get each sub frame, seems to work fine. You need a lot more frames than might be expected, though, otherwise you get bands of in- and out-of-focus across the image. Fun times ahead!


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## lion rock (Mar 1, 2016)

I shot a few groups for stacking.
-r


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## lion rock (Mar 1, 2016)

one more.
-r


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## scyrene (Mar 1, 2016)

A few more from late last year, insects and ferrofluid.


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## lion rock (Mar 2, 2016)

Scyrene,
Great photos.
Bug eyes are incredible!
The ferro-fluid looks like chocolate spikes with raspberry sauce, almost edible. What kind of magnetic structure did you use behind the fluid?
And what lens do you use for the bug eyes?
Thanks.
-r



scyrene said:


> A few more from late last year, insects and ferrofluid.


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## scyrene (Mar 2, 2016)

lion rock said:


> Scyrene,
> Great photos.
> Bug eyes are incredible!
> The ferro-fluid looks like chocolate spikes with raspberry sauce, almost edible. What kind of magnetic structure did you use behind the fluid?
> ...



Thanks very much  I love insect eyes especially!

The ferrofluid came with a small neodymium magnet. If you place a blob of the liquid on a surface, and the magnet underneath, the spikes form naturally along the magnetic field lines


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## lion rock (Mar 3, 2016)

Thanks for the information.
Many, many years ago, I made some ferro-fluids for fun. Quite a bit of use.
-r



scyrene said:


> lion rock said:
> 
> 
> > Scyrene,
> ...


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## scyrene (Mar 3, 2016)

lion rock said:


> Thanks for the information.
> Many, many years ago, I made some ferro-fluids for fun. Quite a bit of use.
> -r
> 
> ...



That's cool! What did you use? I just bought some on eBay, it's surprisingly cheap


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## lion rock (Mar 3, 2016)

It started as a mixture of iron (II) and iron (III) sulphate in water solution and ammonia is used to precipitate the iron salts as hydroxide. It is heated to change them to the respective oxides, this part I don't remember too well (been nearly 30 years). An oil (oleic acid) is used to form a hydrophobic long linear chain with the iron oxides, at one end of the chain, which then is suspended in kerosene. Magnetic ferro fluid!
I understand the material is used in the solenoid gap between the magnet poles in high power power loud speakers to help dissipate heat. It is also use in some magnetically operated valves.
-r



scyrene said:


> A few more from late last year, insects and ferrofluid.


[/quote]

Thanks very much  I love insect eyes especially!

The ferrofluid came with a small neodymium magnet. If you place a blob of the liquid on a surface, and the magnet underneath, the spikes form naturally along the magnetic field lines 
[/quote]
[/quote]

That's cool! What did you use? I just bought some on eBay, it's surprisingly cheap 
[/quote]


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## gjones5252 (Mar 3, 2016)

So i tried this again after many failed attempts. your previous examples made me thing maybe i can do it. Here are two examples one with the trial Helicon and on with Photoshop cc. Can anyone explain why photoshop cc looks better but it can never get a good stack. there are always weird blury parts or its just unable to do it. 
Helicon got it but there is a lot of noise introduced and it isnt as crisp anymore. Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## scyrene (Mar 3, 2016)

gjones5252 said:


> So i tried this again after many failed attempts. your previous examples made me thing maybe i can do it. Here are two examples one with the trial Helicon and on with Photoshop cc. Can anyone explain why photoshop cc looks better but it can never get a good stack. there are always weird blury parts or its just unable to do it.
> Helicon got it but there is a lot of noise introduced and it isnt as crisp anymore. Any help is greatly appreciated.



Which stacking method did you use in HeliconFocus? The three different methods vary in effectiveness depending on the type of subject. Best to fiddle around with different settings. If the Helicon one is the second image, then I imagine you used pyramid - that can blow out highlights and cause posterisation. Best to use low contrast jpegs rather than raw images for that.


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## DRioux (Mar 3, 2016)

Here's my shot at a fly I made with a friend of mine 2 years ago.

Actually, it is a composite shot of the same fly taken at different times.

- In the center is the fly imaged with my camera in a macro stack. About 20 frames if I remember well. I was using a reversed 17-85mm on a 7D body for a magnification of about 5x.
- To the right is the same fly with the same imaging technique after depositing a thin layer of gold on it.
- To the left is the fly imaged using a Scanning Electron Microscope. The deposition of the thin layer of gold was necessary to be able to do the electron microscopy on the fly.

The left image was taken in one shot, no stacking needed. It shows well the incredible depth of field that can be obtained by using an electron microscope compared to optical lenses. However, this comes at the expense of colour, of course 


And for those who may worry; the fly was already dead when we found it... so we didn't kill it by covering it with gold and entering it into the electron microscope... Although that would certainly have killed a living fly!


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## hyles (Mar 6, 2016)

After reading this topic, I decided to give Focus Stacking a try, so I downloaded Helicon Focus.
I have to admit that it is a very interesting tool, I will try again in future, and iwill try even other software, just out of curiosity.
It require, for high magnification, a very sturdy tripod, otherway the micro movement of the camera will give unpredictable result, and you'll have to do the work manually.
Here what I tried:
Empty exuvia of a swallowtail butterflies, Eos 6d, Canon 100mm macro with 3 flash for lighting 18 pictures merged with Helicon focus.





Second picturs, the same subject RR 1:1 , eos 6D,Canon MPE 65mm macro @ about 1:1 with 3 flash for lighting 19 pictures merged with Helicon focus.
Then a very small fibre of silk from the same pupa, using eos 6D, MPE 65mm macro @ 5:1 with 3 flash for lighting 3 pictures manually merged with Paint Shop Pro. 
Ciao Diego


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## scyrene (Mar 6, 2016)

hyles said:


> After reading this topic, I decided to give Focus Stacking a try, so I downloaded Helicon Focus.
> I have to admit that it is a very interesting tool, I will try again in future, and iwill try even other software, just out of curiosity.
> It require, for high magnification, a very sturdy tripod, otherway the micro movement of the camera will give unpredictable result, and you'll have to do the work manually.



Great work, well done! But don't feel too constrained, I've done plenty handheld focus stacks. You just have to be as steady as possible


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## privatebydesign (Mar 7, 2016)

Here is one of the first focus stacks I did. I used 18 images for this one, the second image is a 100% crop. Shot at f8 for lens sharpness but I let the 'natural' effect of dof falloff remain, just mitigated it somewhat with the stack.


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## gjones5252 (Mar 9, 2016)

scyrene said:


> gjones5252 said:
> 
> 
> > So i tried this again after many failed attempts. your previous examples made me thing maybe i can do it. Here are two examples one with the trial Helicon and on with Photoshop cc. Can anyone explain why photoshop cc looks better but it can never get a good stack. there are always weird blury parts or its just unable to do it.
> ...


I dont really remember, honestly as my first time using it based on a recommendation on here. I pretty much just hit go and this is what came out. I will look and double check the settings. 
it just drives me nuts to pay for a program to do this when i have photoshop but it never seems to get really good focus stacking but on my first try Helicon can at least put the images together.


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## scyrene (Mar 9, 2016)

gjones5252 said:


> scyrene said:
> 
> 
> > gjones5252 said:
> ...



Helicon is a great program, and not too expensive. If you do stacking a lot, it's well worth it. It's not the easiest to get used to at first, but there is a reasonable user guide online. Mostly it's trial and error, as they admit themselves. Different types of subject (flat, complex, shiny, etc) will have different requirements.

It's also worth nailing the shooting technique for this. Take more shots than you need. You want some overlap of the in-focus areas so there aren't bands of softness in the finished image. Alternatively, if you're using an autofocus lens, you can tether it and get HeliconRemote to shoot the stack for you. That works well, but I think costs extra, and is no use for the MP-E lens of course.


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## hyles (Mar 9, 2016)

Here a couple of new shot just take, the portrait of the caterpillar about 10 pictures at f4, the entire caterpillars 46 pictures.
Hand holding camera it is very difficult mantinig allignmet of the images thus giving strange result, so after a few try I decided to use a tripod..
Really nice way of taking macro...
Diego


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## Al Chemist (Mar 10, 2016)

I have been meaning to try stacking and just never got to it, so you folks inspired me! I decided to try it on a wood carving I made a few years ago. Focused on the back of Marvin's helmet and worked my way to Bugs' ears. Only 5 pictures...probably could have used many more. 100mm Macro lens at f5.6 using manual focus on a tripod. I then processed the pictures in CS6 and was actually surprised at how well it worked.


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## niels123 (Apr 1, 2016)

Although formally I would not consider myself a beginner, it's too tempting not to show some of my work ;D


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## joe_r (May 9, 2016)

I've just started trying to stack images. Just using photoshop, but not having a good time with it. PS seems to randomly choose areas to blend in my images that make no sense. So I've just been doing it by hand. With the flower images I've been working with, it's pretty easy to do. I couldn't imagine trying something more complicated by hand though. That would be insanely tedious.



Tulip by Joe, on Flickr


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 10, 2016)

Does anyone know what type of spider this is? Its face almost looks human when viewed macro sized.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 10, 2016)

Here is a blow up of just the spider. My Macro shot for today 

BTW, Taken with my IPhone 6.


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## chrysoberyl (Jun 16, 2016)

niels123 said:


> Although formally I would not consider myself a beginner, it's too tempting not to show some of my work ;D



Exquisite gold crystals; are they natural? How tiny is the Childrenite on quartz crystals?


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## LordofTackle (Sep 2, 2016)

First attempt with stacking. The spider was sitting on the wall for the whole afternoon so I finally decided to give it a try. 
92 pictures @ f/2.8, ISO100
I'd appreciate some advice


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## scyrene (Sep 3, 2016)

LordofTackle said:


> First attempt with stacking. The spider was sitting on the wall for the whole afternoon so I finally decided to give it a try.
> 92 pictures @ f/2.8, ISO100
> I'd appreciate some advice



Looks great! It must have been patient to sit for that many exposures 

My advice would be, save yourself some time and try stopping down to f/5.6 and then you'll need fewer shots. Otherwise, you're doing fine!


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