Nick, You are gifted teacher who can present information in a clear and concise way for people to learn easily. I miss your tutorials and hope all is well. John
Great tutorial Nick, thanks. For anyone that is a Canon R5 or R6 owner use the Focus stacking tool, works amazing. It shoots the images so quickly you can focus stack and hand hold at same time. Doesn't seem to matter what settings you use either, camera just knows how many to take and where to focus for each image. Never seen it work so well on any camera until now.
When a stack shows obvious focus breathing after the Auto-Align step, and you have Content Aware Fill checked, PS will be filling in the edges from a different, and likely out-of-focus, frame. It pays to closely inspect the edges of the final stack for sharpness, and crop as needed. In many cases, if you select the one frame showing the most breathing (with the widest empty border), and the visibility of the other frames in the stack off, the Image, Trim menu will eliminate this edge problem and give you the exact crop.
I always encounter blurry edges around the photo after focus stacking with PS. Do you simply just crop it out or are you explaining a method to eliminate it instead? (Also, if I were to just crop a little on each side will this affect m 35mm (full frame) aspect ratio when it comes to printing?)
@@lancebryson9013 In PS, I usually have only the bottom layer with visibility turned on (the eye icon on the layer). This will cause a white area around the image to show if focus breathing happens. (But for some lenses, focus breathing is reversed, so just the top layer made visible.) The TRIM command affects the whole stack so removes the edge blur. (And by-the-way, the Helicon Focus software does this automatically.) If you just want to use the crop tool to remove the edge blur, and also maintain the correct aspect ration, simply set the crop tool preset according to your image format.
Fantastic video! I’ve always found this confusing and could never really get it right. Your step by step directions and tip to make copies prior to running the process in Photoshop was a huge help. Thank you for teaching us how it’s done!
As a young, emerging photographer I always wanted to learn how to focus stack my images, but was always overwhelmed with the thought of it being to complex.. today I eventually ventured into it and found your video. What a gem! Clear, concise, helpful … thank you so much! That one small thing has made such a change to my image making already ! 🙌 I’ve subbed 📸 thank again!!
Been focus stacking using Photoshop for years so assumed I had it nailed. Then you threw in the tip about duplicating the layers as a back-up. Boom! I never thought of that. Thank you Nick. A valuable lesson.
Hi Nick: I just discovered your teaching videos on photo stacking. Thanks for making it clear and understandable for us Photoshop newbies. I have listened to hundreds of RUclips videos and your's is one of the best.
Hi Nick, as always, very concise and to the point tutorial. I typically try not to be one of those people that tries to teach others in the comments, however, in this case I think it would have been helpful to add a short segment on how to manually focus stack images if Photoshop doesn't do a "perfect" job. I'd say probably 95% of the time Photoshop nails it and the image comes out perfect. However, that 5% of the time it does weird stuff to the image and it doesn't look right so you have to go in and manually focus stack the images.
Great tutorial. I like they idea of putting the images in a separate file if the blend goes wrong, unfortunately it went okay. I would love to see a video/tutorial on how you would correct it with your copied folder if it did go wrong.
I was going through your Essential Photoshop practice files where we go through focus stacking and then this video showed up. Both are very well done. Thanks!
As a past Darktable user, and new user to the most recent Adobe suite, thank you for the very informative video. I have been a subscriber for some time now but have never heard of your golf course superintendent background. My father was one of the Treasurers of the National Golf Course Superintendent's Association a long time ago, and in the business for more than 4 decades. He got me started in photography at a very early age, and to see the commonalities is really cool. Thank you for your insight and wisdom...you have made me a better photographer by your efforts!
I was introduced to focus stacking through macro photography, using Zerene Stacker, a necessity when stacking dozens to hundreds of subs (or it’s counterpart Helicon). However I’ve only lately started applying focus stacking to landscapes when necessary, and your tutorial stands out from those I’ve viewed for all the reasons cited by those who have commented. I should have started here, and I know better:-).
Excellent tutorial. Thank you. I was trying to photo stack my images in Lightroom rather than Photoshop and couldn't work out why they weren't merging. However, success in Photoshop after following your tutorial. PS : I am a fan if the Great Courses.
Your videos have been invaluable for my reintroduction into landscape photography and editing. Picked up a wacom (where's it been all my life!?) and started applying more advanced luminosity masks adjustments and dodging/burning techniques. Now I'm taking focus stacking to the field. My confidence post-shoot has been roaring lately and the time in the digital darkroom is so enjoyable. Keep up the great work!
PERFECT video for anyone just wanting to bust this out and make it happen. The juice sprays right at 4:13 if anyone just want to dive right in. Thanks Nick!
I always learn something new ... thank you. Today, I learned about using the folders in Photoshop. I love using Nikon’s touch screen shutter release for landscape photo stacking and their “focus shift shooting” mode for automated shooting when doing macro photography. The toolkit is always improving!
I just wanted to say a quick thank you. This video helped me so much and I've finally managed to compose my first focus stacked image. I am so stoked right now! Thanks again!
You answered a key question for me in regards to why a certain number of images go into any given focus stack. Many thanks for taking the time to put this info together. Top shelf as always 🤘
Thank you Nick, I ran into Ben out at Death Valley last weekend with him doing one of his shots with his 8X10 and seeing and being a fan of his and yours, I decided for this trip to set up more of my shots for processing with Focus stacking, this video came at teh perfect time and plan to later today start the process of focus stackin in order to get my shot from Dante and Badwater so much better. Thank you and Ben is one hell of a nice guy and true master on his Large Format. Thanks again
Thanks Nick! This is unlike I've ever seen before and such a simple way to focus stack. I can't wait till the day that all of this will just happen right in camera. im sure its coming sooner then later.
Nick, this JUST came up a coupke weeks ago. I was shooting blue ice formations at the Mackinac Bridge, and realized having the bridge in the background would look better in a focud stack, but....I had absolutely no idea hoe to do it. Luckily, I realized that I could try doing it if I shot the needed frames, so now, as effing sime as this is (how humiliating fot me!( Im going to go back to my desk, fire those up, stack em, and see how it comes out. Im still trying desperately to learn some of these tricks but its very hard sometimes. Thank you!!
History Nerd=Awesomeness. Loved the folder for copy idea. I'll road test your instructions. Loved the Alabama Hills image. Journeyed the 44 miles there recently and dang there were so many people out there! Such a buzz kill. We did find solitude on Tuttle Creek Road, thankfully. Lack of people is one of the best parts of the East Side.
Was so stoked about this because it's so straightforward and well explained and you hinted at what to do if the auto blend doesn't work and you have to manually fix it. But then you never went there. :( Another video hopefully? All the other ones I've seen here aren't that great. At all.
Thanks Nick - the fog has lifted for this Grandma! I will now give this a go as previously I was in a state of muddle but after watching this I think I can do it!
So thank you for this and for all you do Nick. Been digging your videos and process for years. Especially your style of a lot of atmospheric audio and 'setting the scene' for the beginning of videos, I often forget that you haven't even said a word for minutes at a time. Engaging stuff. Anyway, I seem to have decent success with stacking when there aren't too many complicated/busy layers, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to go right. I was recently shooting some tree trunks popping out of manzanita bushes in Bend, Oregon and at the edges of the first layer (foreground) where it meets the second layer (mid), there is an obvious 4 or 5 pixel border where it used the out of focus mid layer, from my foreground image, instead. It also didn't fill in some of the spaces between the manzanita leaves with the focused mid-layer, so there's blur between those leaves as well. Is that simply because I didn't have enough images to stack? I had 3 images (foreground, mid, background). I was using a Sony 24-70, about 18" or so from the front of my foreground. I'm not experienced enough to mess with the layer masks to try to fix it, but figured in case you needed an idea for another quarantine-studio-video, maybe you had some ideas on how to fine tune those types of edits if it's even at all possible. I'm happy to send you the files if that helps. (P.S. The Great Courses Plus is a goldmine!!! I shoot a lot of my jobs on my own, so I'm a podcast/audiobook sponge also, so thank you for that!!)
Wow, I'm glad this video came up in my suggested videos (although I've been subscribed for a while). Focus stacking is so easy - I never did it because I did not know how to but after this why wouldn't I do it. Thanks Nick!
You are a very good communication Nick... many thanks for that. I'm going to have to retrace every landscape shot I've ever done now!! Might have to get a new camera for the occasion!!
Nick- great video. In order to keep file size down I will make a “snapshot” in the history so that I do not need to double my working file size. If the stack doesn’t work I can go back to that reference point.
Nick its great to see you back in the education saddle. Enjoyed this tutorial its simple, attainable, repeatable, and effective. Your winter camp vlog was timely as I had just returned home from my winter camp. Purpose was to camp, ski, and take photos. Winter had a different objective as the temperature dropped into the -30C area and the winds picked up into the 50-70 kph range. Had a blast keeping the fire going in my tent, but didn't take many photos. Your camping Vlog and now focus stacking renewed my ideas to head back to Abraham Lake and make more images. Thanks Nick. Howard Koch
An excellent tip for focusing on landscape pictures. I use Lightroom for 95% of my editing and hardly use Photoshop because of the layer feature which I find to be too tedious. I occasionally use Photoshop Elements for fine-tuning cloning and such. This method makes it relatively easy to do this and get great results in Photoshop without the steep learning curve. Very useful tip.
I am completely new to your channel - Yesterday I completed a hike during which I tripoded 3 focusly different images, but I had not blended for some time and forgot - thank you for sharing - I have just subscribed and liked.
Just wanted to say thanks for this. I've been putting PS off for a long time, and recently got into doing more landscape stuff. I learned about you and your channel after I got the F4 Roadtrip package (originally started watching Tom, then Gavin), and this was one of the suggested videos for me from your channel. Focus stacking was one of those things on the short list of things I wanted to learn, and your video was great. I now see everyone that's doing landscape has a focus stacking tutorial video lol, but you helped me, so I just wanted to say thank you.
I've focus stacked several images in PS without problems, but here lately things have started going bad. Out of focus areas next to sharp areas and weird artifacts. Don't know if this from the new camera and lens combo or subject. Still trying to get a handle on the shallower depth of field on a full frame. Snow covered rocks in a moving stream. It would be a great help if you could have shown an example of one that didn't go so well. Anyway thanks for all of the videos and tutorials.
Thank you Nick for sharing. I'd like that Lightroom being able to do that like we can do it for combining different pictures with a different exposure and get a HDR result.
Great video, very informative and appreciate hearing about the Great Courses. Thank you for doing these videos, they are so helpful and I learn so much.
Fantastic video!! I have watched a few new trying to learn how to do this and yours was by far the easiest to follow. I've subscribed and Im off to watch more from you. Thank you!
Hey man. Thanks again for the advice on my photo that I shared on your fb page. I totally knew where I had went wrong but I needed to here it from someone who’s work I admire and respect artistically.
Update: I tried this process. Wow. Unbelievable how easy it is and how much more that image pops. Now, to be fair, I didnt get nearly enough frames. The ice in the middle of the frame was soft, but shazayum I am going to be focus stacking a lot I think. This is definitely a huge help to me. Thank you!!!
yeah this is one of those things that, then next time you shoot you will be thinking about and knowing what you need in post processing will totally change how you shoot.. and what you shoot
@@NickPage I have been off work for a year, and trying desperately to pick up little tricks like this here and there to help my photography. That aHA moment was awesome just realizing how simply this is and how I will be able to do this effectively. Thats why I cannot say thanks enough. Unfortunately my D850 is being repaired so I will be trying this again once it returns. Thanks again!!
Thanks Nick. Love your photos. I'm wondering if you could do a video on manually focus stacking as when the auto technique will just not work. I apologize if you have done this. Thank you.
Great video Nick. Like you I am a sponge when it comes to History and tend to read and watch everything I can. I'll have to check out the Great Courses site.
Great Video Nick. I use focus stacking for a lot of my photos. every once in a while I run into issues where they just aren't blending right. Could you do a video and demonstrate how you go about fixing issues you may run into? considering moving to Helicon focus, but before I do may I suggest a further video on better manipulation of the issues post photo stacking in Photoshop? Thanks for all of your great work Nick. Keep it up.
Do you always shoot at the same aperture, or do you change it based on what your trying to take a picture of? Also which one is best for focus stacking?
Great video Nick, and such perfect timing... I kid you not I just took a photo of this type of cactus in this location with the intent of focus stacking. Will use this folder copying in PS just in case the auto blend doesn’t work. I didn’t know that it’s better to have 4-5 images too, that’ll be helpful for next time!
Couple of things: 1) You could create an Action for the 'Auto-Align, duplicate layer group, Auto-Blend' sequence. 2) No mention of selecting the best f-number for sharpness (usually a couple of stops down from maximum aperture), because f/16 will introduce some softness from diffraction, even with a full-frame sensor.
That is true, I have talked about it before but f16 is a decent balance (if you’re using a decent lens) between depth of field and sharpness. You could create an action of course, but this video is not about creating actions it was about teaching a technique
I'm so excited to try this, thanks for sharing! I guess my question then becomes when to focus stack and when not to, sounds like it may be more of a artistic decision. I find I've often been a bit intimidated on getting more into photoshop but working on that being a high priority this year to really improve my images. I hate it too when taking pretty high f-stop images getting those nasty dust spots, so this sounds like a better option when I can.
Thanks Nick I am going through your Mastering Luminosity Masks II course right now and I am finding it really helpful. I have been using luminosity masks for a bit now (Thanks to you!!) but was clearly not using them to there full potential. The only struggle I had is I am a TK panel user so I have to keep that slightly different workflow in mind. The power of photoshop in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing is awesome.
Nick, you mentioned in the first image that the f stop was 16. Did you take your focus stack images at f16 or did you reduce the aperture to f8 to maximize the overall sharpness of the results?
I shot them at f16.. anytime depth of field is already an issue you're fighting.. i find f16 to be a decent blend of depth of field and decent sharpness (depending on the lens) If a person is shooting with a crop sensor, or a low quality lens.. I would suggest something more like f14 because diffraction will be more present and a bigger problem.
@@robertstonephoto yes , an f8 or f11 will be that tiniest bit sharper, but realistically, when your in the field, changing compositions with changing light, that sharpness difference is going to be unable to be noticed to most.. but not getting the shot at all because you had to take so many frames for the focus stack would be. Like everything, there has to be a balance. And I wont take on any technical challenge that will cause me to miss the moment and miss the shot for the sake of 5% more sharpness
Nick,
You are gifted teacher who can present information in a clear and concise way for people to learn easily. I miss your tutorials and hope all is well. John
This should be the model for all tutorials. Thank you, Nick!
You are very welcome. I am glad you found the tutorial helpful!
Bro, english is not my first language and you speak so easy to understand. I loved this tutorial, you ROCK!
This is by far the best, most comprehensive, and simplest tutorial of the countless focus stacking videos out there. Bless you.
Great tutorial Nick, thanks. For anyone that is a Canon R5 or R6 owner use the Focus stacking tool, works amazing. It shoots the images so quickly you can focus stack and hand hold at same time. Doesn't seem to matter what settings you use either, camera just knows how many to take and where to focus for each image. Never seen it work so well on any camera until now.
Yes, Canon cameras focus stack very well. Too bad the Canon cameras don't do the final process in camera!
When a stack shows obvious focus breathing after the Auto-Align step, and you have Content Aware Fill checked, PS will be filling in the edges from a different, and likely out-of-focus, frame. It pays to closely inspect the edges of the final stack for sharpness, and crop as needed. In many cases, if you select the one frame showing the most breathing (with the widest empty border), and the visibility of the other frames in the stack off, the Image, Trim menu will eliminate this edge problem and give you the exact crop.
I always encounter blurry edges around the photo after focus stacking with PS. Do you simply just crop it out or are you explaining a method to eliminate it instead? (Also, if I were to just crop a little on each side will this affect m 35mm (full frame) aspect ratio when it comes to printing?)
@@lancebryson9013 In PS, I usually have only the bottom layer with visibility turned on (the eye icon on the layer). This will cause a white area around the image to show if focus breathing happens. (But for some lenses, focus breathing is reversed, so just the top layer made visible.) The TRIM command affects the whole stack so removes the edge blur. (And by-the-way, the Helicon Focus software does this automatically.) If you just want to use the crop tool to remove the edge blur, and also maintain the correct aspect ration, simply set the crop tool preset according to your image format.
66feet a
First time i tried to focus stack was today...got lost watching other videos and yours nailed it! I appreciate the help! Great photos by the way!
Good tip about copying images into a group. Too often I get a blob or smear when I auto blend.
Fantastic video! I’ve always found this confusing and could never really get it right. Your step by step directions and tip to make copies prior to running the process in Photoshop was a huge help. Thank you for teaching us how it’s done!
As a young, emerging photographer I always wanted to learn how to focus stack my images, but was always overwhelmed with the thought of it being to complex.. today I eventually ventured into it and found your video. What a gem!
Clear, concise, helpful … thank you so much! That one small thing has made such a change to my image making already ! 🙌
I’ve subbed 📸 thank again!!
Been focus stacking using Photoshop for years so assumed I had it nailed. Then you threw in the tip about duplicating the layers as a back-up. Boom! I never thought of that. Thank you Nick. A valuable lesson.
Hi Nick: I just discovered your teaching videos on photo stacking. Thanks for making it clear and understandable for us Photoshop newbies. I have listened to hundreds of RUclips videos and your's is one of the best.
Hi Nick, as always, very concise and to the point tutorial. I typically try not to be one of those people that tries to teach others in the comments, however, in this case I think it would have been helpful to add a short segment on how to manually focus stack images if Photoshop doesn't do a "perfect" job. I'd say probably 95% of the time Photoshop nails it and the image comes out perfect. However, that 5% of the time it does weird stuff to the image and it doesn't look right so you have to go in and manually focus stack the images.
Great tutorial. I like they idea of putting the images in a separate file if the blend goes wrong, unfortunately it went okay. I would love to see a video/tutorial on how you would correct it with your copied folder if it did go wrong.
I was going through your Essential Photoshop practice files where we go through focus stacking and then this video showed up. Both are very well done. Thanks!
As a past Darktable user, and new user to the most recent Adobe suite, thank you for the very informative video. I have been a subscriber for some time now but have never heard of your golf course superintendent background. My father was one of the Treasurers of the National Golf Course Superintendent's Association a long time ago, and in the business for more than 4 decades. He got me started in photography at a very early age, and to see the commonalities is really cool. Thank you for your insight and wisdom...you have made me a better photographer by your efforts!
I was introduced to focus stacking through macro photography, using Zerene Stacker, a necessity when stacking dozens to hundreds of subs (or it’s counterpart Helicon). However I’ve only lately started applying focus stacking to landscapes when necessary, and your tutorial stands out from those I’ve viewed for all the reasons cited by those who have commented. I should have started here, and I know better:-).
Excellent tutorial. Thank you. I was trying to photo stack my images in Lightroom rather than Photoshop and couldn't work out why they weren't merging. However, success in Photoshop after following your tutorial. PS : I am a fan if the Great Courses.
Thank you! A great tutorial and one of the best and most comprehensive I have seen on the subject.
This tutorial is superb, now I'm focus stacking like a pro. Thanks Nick.
Your videos have been invaluable for my reintroduction into landscape photography and editing. Picked up a wacom (where's it been all my life!?) and started applying more advanced luminosity masks adjustments and dodging/burning techniques. Now I'm taking focus stacking to the field. My confidence post-shoot has been roaring lately and the time in the digital darkroom is so enjoyable. Keep up the great work!
PERFECT video for anyone just wanting to bust this out and make it happen. The juice sprays right at 4:13 if anyone just want to dive right in. Thanks Nick!
I always learn something new ... thank you. Today, I learned about using the folders in Photoshop. I love using Nikon’s touch screen shutter release for landscape photo stacking and their “focus shift shooting” mode for automated shooting when doing macro photography. The toolkit is always improving!
Ben Horne has become the “reference” for everyone and everything!!! Ha, loved it!!!
I just wanted to say a quick thank you. This video helped me so much and I've finally managed to compose my first focus stacked image. I am so stoked right now! Thanks again!
Amazing lesson!! thank you - by far one of the best Photoshop videos
Yes, still using in 2024!
Thanks Nick for this very clear explanation. As you say, “why wouldn’t you do it!”. 👍
You answered a key question for me in regards to why a certain number of images go into any given focus stack. Many thanks for taking the time to put this info together. Top shelf as always 🤘
This was a HUGE help Nick. I love your teaching style. Thank you for all you do.
Thanks for the followable tutorial. I'm just learning PS, but have wondered how to perfect sharpness in my images. Thanks so much!
You know you are experienced when you say "Make a back up, because......" - thank you!
Agree - the Great Courses are wonderful.
Thank you Nick, I ran into Ben out at Death Valley last weekend with him doing one of his shots with his 8X10 and seeing and being a fan of his and yours, I decided for this trip to set up more of my shots for processing with Focus stacking, this video came at teh perfect time and plan to later today start the process of focus stackin in order to get my shot from Dante and Badwater so much better. Thank you and Ben is one hell of a nice guy and true master on his Large Format. Thanks again
Thanks Nick! This is unlike I've ever seen before and such a simple way to focus stack. I can't wait till the day that all of this will just happen right in camera. im sure its coming sooner then later.
Got to say Nick you explain things so well - really easy to follow - defo saved this vlog to my favs for future reference...
Thank you Nick! I think this knowledge will make the biggest difference in my photos.
Nick, this JUST came up a coupke weeks ago. I was shooting blue ice formations at the Mackinac Bridge, and realized having the bridge in the background would look better in a focud stack, but....I had absolutely no idea hoe to do it. Luckily, I realized that I could try doing it if I shot the needed frames, so now, as effing sime as this is (how humiliating fot me!( Im going to go back to my desk, fire those up, stack em, and see how it comes out. Im still trying desperately to learn some of these tricks but its very hard sometimes. Thank you!!
History Nerd=Awesomeness. Loved the folder for copy idea. I'll road test your instructions. Loved the Alabama Hills image. Journeyed the 44 miles there recently and dang there were so many people out there! Such a buzz kill. We did find solitude on Tuttle Creek Road, thankfully. Lack of people is one of the best parts of the East Side.
Was so stoked about this because it's so straightforward and well explained and you hinted at what to do if the auto blend doesn't work and you have to manually fix it. But then you never went there. :(
Another video hopefully? All the other ones I've seen here aren't that great. At all.
Absolutely stellar explanation. Comprehensive although easy to the ear.
Thanks Nick - the fog has lifted for this Grandma! I will now give this a go as previously I was in a state of muddle but after watching this I think I can do it!
So thank you for this and for all you do Nick. Been digging your videos and process for years. Especially your style of a lot of atmospheric audio and 'setting the scene' for the beginning of videos, I often forget that you haven't even said a word for minutes at a time. Engaging stuff. Anyway, I seem to have decent success with stacking when there aren't too many complicated/busy layers, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to go right. I was recently shooting some tree trunks popping out of manzanita bushes in Bend, Oregon and at the edges of the first layer (foreground) where it meets the second layer (mid), there is an obvious 4 or 5 pixel border where it used the out of focus mid layer, from my foreground image, instead. It also didn't fill in some of the spaces between the manzanita leaves with the focused mid-layer, so there's blur between those leaves as well. Is that simply because I didn't have enough images to stack? I had 3 images (foreground, mid, background). I was using a Sony 24-70, about 18" or so from the front of my foreground. I'm not experienced enough to mess with the layer masks to try to fix it, but figured in case you needed an idea for another quarantine-studio-video, maybe you had some ideas on how to fine tune those types of edits if it's even at all possible. I'm happy to send you the files if that helps. (P.S. The Great Courses Plus is a goldmine!!! I shoot a lot of my jobs on my own, so I'm a podcast/audiobook sponge also, so thank you for that!!)
Great video. Never considered photo stacking before, looking forward to trying it out.
Wow, I'm glad this video came up in my suggested videos (although I've been subscribed for a while). Focus stacking is so easy - I never did it because I did not know how to but after this why wouldn't I do it. Thanks Nick!
You are a very good communication Nick... many thanks for that. I'm going to have to retrace every landscape shot I've ever done now!! Might have to get a new camera for the occasion!!
Nick- great video. In order to keep file size down I will make a “snapshot” in the history so that I do not need to double my working file size. If the stack doesn’t work I can go back to that reference point.
Nick its great to see you back in the education saddle. Enjoyed this tutorial its simple, attainable, repeatable, and effective. Your winter camp vlog was timely as I had just returned home from my winter camp. Purpose was to camp, ski, and take photos. Winter had a different objective as the temperature dropped into the -30C area and the winds picked up into the 50-70 kph range. Had a blast keeping the fire going in my tent, but didn't take many photos. Your camping Vlog and now focus stacking renewed my ideas to head back to Abraham Lake and make more images. Thanks Nick.
Howard Koch
An excellent tip for focusing on landscape pictures. I use Lightroom for 95% of my editing and hardly use Photoshop because of the layer feature which I find to be too tedious. I occasionally use Photoshop Elements for fine-tuning cloning and such. This method makes it relatively easy to do this and get great results in Photoshop without the steep learning curve. Very useful tip.
You really made it easy to understand, well done and thank you for the tuturial Nick!
This was no exaggeration. This is literally the first photoshop video you should watch!
Great content man, you broke it down really simple and once I get off work tonight I shall try it out.
I am completely new to your channel - Yesterday I completed a hike during which I tripoded 3 focusly different images, but I had not blended for some time and forgot - thank you for sharing - I have just subscribed and liked.
What a fine video that breaks down each stone i this complicated task.
Just wanted to say thanks for this. I've been putting PS off for a long time, and recently got into doing more landscape stuff. I learned about you and your channel after I got the F4 Roadtrip package (originally started watching Tom, then Gavin), and this was one of the suggested videos for me from your channel. Focus stacking was one of those things on the short list of things I wanted to learn, and your video was great. I now see everyone that's doing landscape has a focus stacking tutorial video lol, but you helped me, so I just wanted to say thank you.
Wow! I followed along with you to make my first focus stack. Knocked my socks off! Thanks!
I've focus stacked several images in PS without problems, but here lately things have started going bad. Out of focus areas next to sharp areas and weird artifacts. Don't know if this from the new camera and lens combo or subject. Still trying to get a handle on the shallower depth of field on a full frame. Snow covered rocks in a moving stream. It would be a great help if you could have shown an example of one that didn't go so well. Anyway thanks for all of the videos and tutorials.
Such a great video, and such a powerful process for creating amazing images! Thank you!
thanks so much Nick for publishing this on Focus Stacking! It is such an needed remedy for so many contrasting frames, albeit all frames!
Thank you.. focus stacking replicates the way we see nature!
Thank you Nick for sharing. I'd like that Lightroom being able to do that like we can do it for combining different pictures with a different exposure and get a HDR result.
That's a bloody awesome video, presented with great articulation. Many thanks!
Excellent tutorial Nick, very impressed with all your videos. Many thanks.
Great video, very informative and appreciate hearing about the Great Courses. Thank you for doing these videos, they are so helpful and I learn so much.
Fantastic video!! I have watched a few new trying to learn how to do this and yours was by far the easiest to follow. I've subscribed and Im off to watch more from you. Thank you!
Hey man. Thanks again for the advice on my photo that I shared on your fb page.
I totally knew where I had went wrong but I needed to here it from someone who’s work I admire and respect artistically.
Great information and so well-explained. Thanks for sharing!
Well explained, well presented. Great video. Just have to go take a few photos .
Thanks for an absolutely brilliant guide to Focus Stacking. Wonderful stuff.
Best video that I have seen about focus stacking! This is must-see post.
I appreciate that thank you
Thank you for sharing, showing, and explaining this simple and easy process!!
I was literally just focus stacking some photos of the snow in Texas from this past week. Perfect timing for me! Thanks for another great video.
The best stacking info online-thanks Nick
Thanks Nick, I now know what I was doing wrong when stacking and stitching. Very well explained.
Wow! Amazing video and instruction. My first try was very good! TY
Update: I tried this process. Wow. Unbelievable how easy it is and how much more that image pops. Now, to be fair, I didnt get nearly enough frames. The ice in the middle of the frame was soft, but shazayum I am going to be focus stacking a lot I think. This is definitely a huge help to me. Thank you!!!
yeah this is one of those things that, then next time you shoot you will be thinking about and knowing what you need in post processing will totally change how you shoot.. and what you shoot
@@NickPage I have been off work for a year, and trying desperately to pick up little tricks like this here and there to help my photography. That aHA moment was awesome just realizing how simply this is and how I will be able to do this effectively. Thats why I cannot say thanks enough. Unfortunately my D850 is being repaired so I will be trying this again once it returns. Thanks again!!
Thanks Nick. Love your photos. I'm wondering if you could do a video on manually focus stacking as when the auto technique will just not work. I apologize if you have done this. Thank you.
Great video Nick. Like you I am a sponge when it comes to History and tend to read and watch everything I can. I'll have to check out the Great Courses site.
This is super helpful, Nick. Thanks so much for doing this. Seen a few other videos on it but yours is the simplest yet most detailed. Thank you.
Great Video Nick. I use focus stacking for a lot of my photos. every once in a while I run into issues where they just aren't blending right. Could you do a video and demonstrate how you go about fixing issues you may run into? considering moving to Helicon focus, but before I do may I suggest a further video on better manipulation of the issues post photo stacking in Photoshop? Thanks for all of your great work Nick. Keep it up.
Do you always shoot at the same aperture, or do you change it based on what your trying to take a picture of? Also which one is best for focus stacking?
Excelent tutorial. I shall certainly watch more.
Thank you sir, you convinced me to use stacking for landscapes.
Great video Nick, and such perfect timing... I kid you not I just took a photo of this type of cactus in this location with the intent of focus stacking. Will use this folder copying in PS just in case the auto blend doesn’t work. I didn’t know that it’s better to have 4-5 images too, that’ll be helpful for next time!
Outstanding pace and detail! Thank you. Now, I need a good complete course on Photoshop.
Great snappy tutorial again Nick..👍🏻 Great delivery! And to top it, I’m a history (early British) nerd too..Result!
Brilliantly articulated. Many thanks
Couple of things: 1) You could create an Action for the 'Auto-Align, duplicate layer group, Auto-Blend' sequence. 2) No mention of selecting the best f-number for sharpness (usually a couple of stops down from maximum aperture), because f/16 will introduce some softness from diffraction, even with a full-frame sensor.
That is true, I have talked about it before but f16 is a decent balance (if you’re using a decent lens) between depth of field and sharpness. You could create an action of course, but this video is not about creating actions it was about teaching a technique
Thank you so much!! I’ve been frightened to even try you made this look so easy I’m willing to try now!
Got this notification right as I was looking up how to focus stack. Thanks Nick!
Great video I never realized focus stacking was so easy.
I'm so excited to try this, thanks for sharing! I guess my question then becomes when to focus stack and when not to, sounds like it may be more of a artistic decision. I find I've often been a bit intimidated on getting more into photoshop but working on that being a high priority this year to really improve my images. I hate it too when taking pretty high f-stop images getting those nasty dust spots, so this sounds like a better option when I can.
Fantastic. I had no idea about auto-blend. Game-changer!
Thanks Nick I am going through your Mastering Luminosity Masks II course right now and I am finding it really helpful. I have been using luminosity masks for a bit now (Thanks to you!!) but was clearly not using them to there full potential. The only struggle I had is I am a TK panel user so I have to keep that slightly different workflow in mind.
The power of photoshop in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing is awesome.
Yeah there’s a little bit of translation when you’re using a different panel, but hopefully the techniques translate well!
@@NickPage Yeah it 100% translates, awesome course that has already helped take some of my "failed" images to the next level.
Short, concise and incredibly useful. Thanks Nick!
Sweet segue and relatable explanation of your sponsorship. Those e-books are great for road trips!
Thank you so much for sharing Nick.
Perfect simple explanation! Focus stacking here I come.
Thanks for the great easy to understand explanation
Awesome trick this will improve my photography
Thank you, Nick. You've made the photo stacking process so easy. I really appreciate it.
You make this very easy to digest... thank you for another awesome video!
Nick, you mentioned in the first image that the f stop was 16. Did you take your focus stack images at f16 or did you reduce the aperture to f8 to maximize the overall sharpness of the results?
I shot them at f16.. anytime depth of field is already an issue you're fighting.. i find f16 to be a decent blend of depth of field and decent sharpness (depending on the lens) If a person is shooting with a crop sensor, or a low quality lens.. I would suggest something more like f14 because diffraction will be more present and a bigger problem.
@@NickPage I think of this as DOF stacking. For best results, use the lens' sweet spot. Yes, more frames required, but sharpest outcome.
@@robertstonephoto yes , an f8 or f11 will be that tiniest bit sharper, but realistically, when your in the field, changing compositions with changing light, that sharpness difference is going to be unable to be noticed to most.. but not getting the shot at all because you had to take so many frames for the focus stack would be. Like everything, there has to be a balance. And I wont take on any technical challenge that will cause me to miss the moment and miss the shot for the sake of 5% more sharpness