Competition winners will be announced in a video in 2 weeks time! Meanwhile, the books start shipping tomorrow - thanks so much for the support! www.jamespopsys.com/store/2019-book
Yesterday I managed to take a 20-exposure-picture of a blowball, free hand 😀 It took me two attempts, some luck and a camera with a fast burst (Olympus PEN-F)
2:19 So what I heard you say is that you use focus stacking so your picture of a shower cap on top of a building would look realistic. I think we define that word differently.
"Avoid Distractions", this has been my motto in photography. "What is not in a picture is as important as what's in it". Sure enough a totally focus photo can lessen the way the viewer will enter the image unless it has a composition with strong leading lines.
I focus stack macro photos because of the thin depth of field. The biggest problem I have is focus breathing and my software not being able to scale the layers well enough to avoid ghosting. This leads to long sessions of panning over the photo cloning out the ghosted outlines.
I'm sure you know about these, but in case you don't, macro rails could be very helpful! I use one and I get much better results than when I was changing my focus from the focus ring. Even when I used the automated focus system in the PhaseOne XF body, I still couldn't get as good of results as I could using the macro rail
@@noregretsyet do you need particular lens for focus stacking? I wanted to buy Canon camera but on the website its mentioned that focus stacking works only with few lenses.
In my opinion replacing the sky in a photograph removes the right to call it a photograph. It's "only" a composite. Why should you travel to distant places and countries when you could simply download some stock images, put them together and call that a photograph?
My take is that people enjoy music regardless of whether it was made by a live band or a computer. Nice stuff is nice, regardless of where it came from, in my opinion :)
@@JamesPopsysPhoto maybe so, the viewer of the image will not bother how it was made, but imho it takes away the pleasure for the photographer of 'creating' that great photograph. Why bother going outdoors if you can 'fix' an image on the computer, and mark my words: soon will come the days that all popular 'landscape themes' will also be in a software library, so you only have to combine a nice landscape with an even nicer sky, and the software will match the light conditions in the landscape according to the sky chosen. I rather prefer being out there, making images, enjoying my time and with any luck, make an image I am pleased with from time to time ... but of course, I would also like Luminar or any other brand to sponsor my channel ;-)
Yeah because if you can replace the background, you might as well photoshop everything. If it's made clear it's edited than that's fine. But when you get people entering photo contests claiming it's legit when they just replaced the background. Then nobody will be inspired to compose a great shot naturally.
Isn’t that like telling Rembrandt he can’t paint a moody sky (which is his style) because it’s a bright sunny day? Masterpieces have been painted (OFTEN) because the artists haven’t had to wait for a “Photographically” perfect day s/he envisions for a specific composition s/he wishes to depict. The finished image the Photographer-Artist is exactly the same concept. Image in Camera + Image clean-up/Image changing (from cropping to further altering) as the P-A envisions is EXACTLY same thing … but in a few minutes, not a few months or years. isn’t it?
Until recently I have followed your view on simplicity in photography but I have recently discovered Gavin Hardcastle's videos featuring his landscapes on Vancouver Island (where I also live) and other locations. His philosophy is to avoid boring negative spaces and in my opinion he makes it work specatularly. He has inspired me to try some focus stacking and panoramas. In summary both philosophies can produce excellent photos. Focus stacking and panoramas involve extra post production work though.
Absolutely spot on. Having things in extreme foreground as sharp as something 4 kilometres or more away isn't natural. When you are stood in the landscape looking at a scene, if you are looking at a distant mountain, your eyes blur the rock in front of you - so focus stacking is not a natural thing experienced in real life. Having said that it can sometimes make an image more pleasing having sharpness throughout, but I think it is overplayed by many photographers.
I thought I was in for an oppositional moment when first viewing the video title but I must acknowledge you got it perfectly right in camera without any need for post processing. Simply, isolate and eliminate!
I have the same aesthetics as you in that I like to blur what I don't want to be the primary interest. I mostly paint, but even there I'll blur the background by running a wet cloth across the background in a watercolour image and it makes what is not the subject less busy thus leading the eye to the real intended composition. Good luck with your contest, don't actually need the software, book or to win again, at least for another week or so.
I think the #1 characteristic that produces a photo most loved by the audience is SYMMETRY. It seems that you can take a picture of anything and as long as there is symmetry in the photo, many people will like it. Its the reason we want our haircut to look neat, our clothes to be tucked in, our belt to be centered, our faces to be absent of any markings or debris, our beds to be made well and our floor tiles to line up perfectly, etc. The human brain loves symmetry.
I like your line of reasoning. The "everything in focus" trap is an easy one to fall into as a landscape photographer. Your examples are a nice reminder that sometimes out of focus elements enhance an image. Plus no need for a tripod.
Thanks for this video James. Looking at other RUclipsrs videos they seems obsessed with focus stacking landscape scenes. I agree with you not stacking leads to something more atmospheric, less distracting, easy to view. Cheers
I always respect the fact that you talk about how YOU like to do things... and not telling people what’s right and what’s wrong like so many RUclips “experts” tend to do :-) Cheers 🍻
I always look forward to your videos! And especially now since I'm kinda stuck here at the house most of the time, seeing your videos are really highlights of the week. Thanks James!
Btw James, I suffered with nasal problems for 20 years. In Canada, we cant see the doctor when we want to, for we are putting on lengthy waiting lists. So, we have to often fix our own medical issues. Anyways, the best allergy treatment is to use a Neti Pot type of device, fill it with just under 1% salt in distilled water and rinse your nasal passages every 2 days. It does wonders for your allergies. Also helps with keeping colds to a shorter duration.
Dear James, your opinion on focus stacking has some good points! Next time I take a photo, I will incorporate the idea of when and when not to focus stack in order to tell a story in my composition! All the best!
I agree with you. I ike focusstacking sometimes if the foreground is really close. However If it's further away it's also nice to see some blurry parts if done right.
4 года назад
I love sky replacement so much!! Luminar simply kicks ass imo. I am not that much of a Fan of using Skies of other Photographers but i simply shoot pictures of the sky with may camera or drone when i have the feeling that this kind of sky is awesome. And when i travel or i do a shoot the actual sky does not matter as much. That makes everything so much faster, and better.
I now use a GFX camera James and occasionally I focus back but only very occasionally. I actually like the mountains in the background to be slightly soft and yes with GFX you're shooting at F1 16 anyway, so you get most of it in focus anyway and if you use the hyper focal method you get pretty much everything you need in focus you just need to be mindful of what you've got in the foreground and your focus Point stacking is a pain in the arse. It really is for the benefit is minimal. Yes, those images and you see in those galleries sometimes look amazing, but I almost think they look a little bit AI to be honest with the mountains in the background, Pin sharp, because that is not how the human eye sees itr, because that is not how the human eye sees it
Just subscribed to your channel a few days ago and I am loving it. I have been watching your channel for a few months now and decided I needed to subscribe after watching this video. The reason being is that I find myself agreeing with your style and approach to shooting more than other RUclips photogs. And I completely agree with much of what you say in this video. I've been shooting for many years and I am now retired and can now dedicate more of my time to this passion. So one point I would like to make regarding this video is your comment about making sure that when you choose to have something out focus make sure it is truly out of focus and not just a soft focus. Unfortunately, the state of being "out of focus" is a matter of degrees. In an image with great depth using an out of focus technique there will surely be content that is fully out of focus graduating to a soft focus, then to sharpness. This is especially true for landscapes. Any 2D representation of reality should mimic what the human eye and brain can achieve. This is my argument against focus stacking. Of course as an art form photography should not necessarily represent reality but should interpret it according to the artist's vision. My own vision requires something much closer to reality than a focused stacked image.
Welcome to the Luminar world! I just started any type of editing in January and found L4 to be very intuitive.... plus there are tons of tutorials. Love it!! -Elaine
i might be alone in this but my philosophy on photography is make as little edits as possible. for me, its about taking the "perfect" single shot. the edits i usually make is just exposure and lighting correction. i almost never even adjust the colors
I love the way you simplify your compositions. It’s one of the distinguishing characteristics of your work. I also really appreciate the way in which you simplify the photography process. Thanks for sharing your tips.
Thank you for this video! I’ve never really tried focus stacking in the field! And your video has explained it simply why we don’t need too! I will continue to just focus on the main subject and use the out of focus parts to frame the main part 👍🏼
Talking of DoF, I remember years ago reading about a bloke who took a lens out of a TV camera (about 4mm or something) and built it into a lens body for a 35mm camera - focus from about 1cm to infinity!
Thanks for bringing up the sharpest f-stop point on a lens and shooting at that and focus stacking for best overall sharpness. Few people take the time to really sort out their lenses to find that f-stop or 2 where it performs best. Shooting there will bring up image sharpness quite a bit overall even if stacking isn't the process. I never shoot one of my lenses at f16, 22 or 32 - it's always at f8 or f-14 - nowhere else - things just drop off noticeably. I learned this doing focus stacking about 7 years ago... good video and thoughts.
One place where focus stacking comes to be a real asset is in macro and close up photography. The shallow depth of field in these instances almost necessitates the use of focus stacking... Also, been using Luminar since Luminar 2018. Now of course I'm on Luminar 4...
I've been trying to process an image that I focus stacked. I've tried stacking it in Photoshop, Helicon and Zerene Stacker. None of these methods work, at least not without serious editing skills which I've yet to develop. The problems associated with this are several. Firstly I thought because I had a sharp f1.8 lens I could shoot fairly wide open. I shot a landscape with 30 or so images at f2.8. Despite not getting any movement I cannot stack it because the software cannot cope when there's something very close like criss crossing twigs and branches but with a mountain at infinity behind. I just get blurred edges all around the twigs. To try to correct this would likely be extremely difficult. I even shot the same scene at f8 yet I still cannot get it to stack. Perhaps I should have shot the foreground at f16 and the background at f5.6 using maybe 100th of a second for the f16 and the ff5.6 at around 1/6th of a second. BUT I was shooting at iso 64 so couldn't work out the exposure difference in my head at the time (isn't that awkward with Nikon). Some might suggest I shoot the scene at f18, but then I'd wonder why on earth I bought a fast lens if I'm going to be shooting with so much diffraction. Saying all this having watched the video I'm now going to have a try at processing it with the foreground out of focus. You images with the van and the white flowers that were OOF looked good. It'll be a shame if I can't get my image to look good, I flew 11,000km to take it.
The examples you show are lifestyle images which benefit from foreground blur. Landscape photos generally benefit from front to back sharpness for the exact issue you talk about: you don't want slightly unsharp rocks and grasses in the foreground. I think its not so much a personal preference thing so much as types of images needing different technique. You might say that a photographer that selectively uses focus stacking, or narrow depth of field has better versatility.
I'm not using focus stacking but I can see the need if you are using an ultra-wide angle and filling the foreground with a motive. I had problem with this when using a 20mm/4 lens during mountain shots. Must be difficult in forest due to wind movement of twigs. I will try it with a short tele lens.
I do focus stack when warranted but I totally get why one wouldn't. Sometimes when I shoot macros of flowers, I stack the bloom but leave the background de-focused. Not into sky replacement, largely because I've seen so many bad uses of it I'm just turned off. I might try this though just for spits and giggles and a chance at free stuff.
Thank you...i feel every time i watch a youtube on photography you have to focus stack, i cant anyway as i dont have a laptop, so this was a great reminder thats an individual decision, not a rule...cheers
Another informative video! I don't usually do this, but you have inspired me to be competetive, and I would love a copy of your book :-) So here goes.....! (Sound of me grabbing my camera and thinking of an idea for a sky enhancing shot)
I feel for you. I used to get the worst hayfever in the UK and... I've been away for nearly 20 years now and haven't had a summer of pain since I left. It appears I am only allergic to pollen in England. :-) Always enjoy your videos, looking forward to your take on Luminar 4. I am in two minds about buying it myself.
Recently watched a video by vox, if i remember correctly. They explained how the intensity of pollen is the result of the reforestation of only male trees in the past centuries due to missunderstood controll over biology. That might be the reason this is a local phenomenon for you too. Have a nice weekend.
Just recently found your channel and I've already ordered both of your books. Really like the content, the style of the videos, and it's given me new ways to look at photography. Keep up the good work, and cheers from Sweden!
I'm an old school photographer. My approach to photography is to create the picture the moment I press the trigger, not to use captured digital information to create a picture out of that at the computer. For me the latter is some form of digital design, not photography. Yes I know, that even in photography laboratories there were manipulations possible during the exposure and development process, but that is by far not comparable to what can be done (and is done) at the computer. Because of that I don't use RAW, but do all my pictures in jpg, since for me it is absolutely no fun to "develop" a picture at the computer. Luckily I found a camera, which is very good in calibrating its jpg-output (you can compare that with selecting the correct film in the old days) and can produce outstanding quality that way (Olympus Pen-F). I do not judge people who create pictures at the computer at all, the results can be truly stunning, it's just not my understanding of photography. And yes, I know that I'm old and somewhat outdated.
Focus stacking is good for macro. But once again preference. Also I like the challenge of non focus stacking handheld macro. When you get the shot it’s very rewarding.
Focus stacking. I’m still looking for the on/off switch. All I want to do is take a darn landscape photo. Oh, got Luminar AI. Love it but keeps crashing. 😞
Directing the eye is the point of composition. This is the way we see in life - we won’t see the whole scene in equal focus. Focus stacking is giving the viewer a buffet to graze on. Also, I can’t be arsed to do the work.
I was working on a sky replacement in Photoshop last week for a couple of hours. Finally, I used Luminar as a plug-in, replaced the sky in a few seconds and it was 10X better than anything I had done the previous 2 hours. It really has some incredible AI features. I hope your allergies get better soon, James.
Gave it try there this evening and it's very good and not slowing the machine like lightroom does. Goodbye Adobe, Hello Luminar. Cheers for the Offer Code, they took it on top of offers they already had too, so happy days. Have a good one. Kind regards, BG
Great content friend. I learn alot from your channel. I also don't photostack. I also rarely if ever use Photoshop. Mainly I use Lightroom. I'm all new to youtube and landscape Photography and you are one of my favorite RUclipsrs. Now that I think about it ...I also make some of my photography look like paintings which isn't the norm either. It's fun to find your own style.
I’m of the same opinion as you regarding focus points in landscape images. Luminar does look impressive. It’s mental how advanced digital editing is really. Excited about getting the new book too, thanks for putting it together for us 👍🏻
great video as always. yep focus stacking has its place. i have used it many times for product photography and extreme macro photography but other than that never really use it normally
Great video. My normal approach would be if there is a composition that requires focus stacking to get everything in focus at midrange apertures.... take the necessary images anyway. That way you have the choice after the fact to focus stack or just pull the relevant "bokeh frame" out from the group of images. I always like to give myself choices afterwards because otherwise there would come a point where I make the wrong decision and regret it
ever used the 2 image focus stack Nigel Danson demonstrated in his 5 things he does in PS ? I tried it on a couple I had and it works pretty well... he didn't, but I did an align images before doing the gradient step...
I have downloaded luminar 4 and to be honest, it is incredible, that sky replacement is out of this world. However I am troubled. As someone who has watched a lot of your videos, you often say the difference between good photographers and great photographers is patience. It’s going to the same location day after day, month after month just to get the right light, right conditions, right composition, it’s what I love and what I hate about photography. How does it sit with you, when with a simple click you can completely change the sky? Now there is a storm or lighting, or now you are there and the Milky Way just popped out. As someone who makes a living from photography how do you feel about it, because my terrible photos from today just look amazing now and I feel guilty!
I've used Luminar from it's beginning, and love it! I refuse to layer, so that rules out the way too complicated Photoshop. Yuk! I get the results I want with Luminar... and Topaz... and Photoscape... and Aurora. lol! I've preordered the new version of Luminar scheduled to come out in around December - complete AI! WOW! I can hardly wait. BTW, I love your videos. You are one of my favorite RUclips photographers. Your humor and teaching are first rate!
I agree James. It's good to guide the person thru the image and look at what you want, but at the same time I use focus-stacking sometimes. I did that on a clock (as you gave as example). I think it's good for product shots etc. where you need to see the whole thing, but artistic, I think have some blur and direct the audience thru the image is good. I will try to remember to do that in my next photo. Make the forground blurry like on 7:32. it looks great! :-) When you are talking about Luminar, I like to make my pictures completely in-camera and I edit the colors, sharpnes, contrast etc. but I don't like to manipulate the image. Sky replacement looks really cool, but Idon't want to show a "fake" version of my images if I was on let's say a trip to the mountain. If the sky did not look like how I saw it, I think it's a bit weird to replace the sky. But for other things and if the client want another sky, I totaly respect that and if you are making art and the sky can help support that, but generally I don't manipulate my images. How about you James? But it's incredible how you can change a sky that simply.
I’ve lost count of the number of landscape images that I shoot at f/1.4 or f/1.8. Allows me to shoot handheld and isolates the subject matter of the photo. I couldn’t agree more and the day I focus stack will be a dark day indeed. 😉👍🏼
Thanks for the video. I love your train of thought re focus stacking, best used in particular situations. I already have Luminar and really like it for quick adjustments
Thank you James, I really enjoy watching your videos and love how you keep it real! BTW - highly recommend Claritin for your hay fever - I’m having same issues here in Toronto. Not sure I’m up for learning another photo editing program but will take a look!
I can't wait for your next book to arrive. That last one made it to New Zealand way faster than I expected. Actually I've had letters posted from across town arrive days slower lol. I get bad hayfever too. Flixonase nasal spray started a couple of weeks before hayfever season starts sorts it out quick smart. No more stuffed up head and sinuses and sneezing continually. On really windy days I still occasionally get allergic conjunctivitis from the pollen blowing in my eyes but eye drops sort that too.
Thanks for the video James, to be honest the main reason I dont focus stack is because I'm too lazy to learn how to do it properly 🤷♂️ Looking forward to your book arriving soon 👍
I only use focus stacking for macro photography. On all other cases should I wish for a huge depth of field, I do that either with a wide angle lens or small aperture.
If you have a composition that has a point of interest that you want to draw the interest to then having a composition that has hyper detail from all-to-wall the whole thing is just to buzy.
It’s ironic that I came across this video today. I focus stacked for the first time just yesterday, and my results are great. In my case, I’ve taken macro shots into a carbon bike frame to show the quality of the layup. F/30 wouldn’t get it all in focus. With about 20 stacked shots at f/8, the results are fantastic - and the background is still fully blurred. I could never achieve this without stacking. But I only plan to do this for macro shots. My rule of thumb would be to only use it to get the object of interest in focus. If there are 2+ objects, let the secondary items blur.
Great point around 5:00 about the brain of the viewer not wanting to figure out what you're trying to say in your photos. The brain of the person viewing your photos relies on you to clearly express what you're trying to communicate, giving it a shortcut if you can, so it gets the message sooner. Basically, we should be able to tell straight away whether a photo is good or not -- if we have to sit there thinking about what the hell it is you're trying to say with a photo then it's probably not a very good one
Many landscape photographers seem to place far too much emphasis on front-to-back sharpness when in reality it is completely unnatural. Our eyes certainly don't see things sharp front-to-back and we only see things sharp where our eyes are actually focused with everything else soft in our peripheral and distant vision. I find some landscapes just don't look 'right' when distant objects are too sharp or crisp. I've never focus stacked landscapes and I'm perfectly happy to let the distance background sharpness fall off a little if I have foreground interest.
Thanks James, we forget what we did before digital. I often think images I have seen taken with UW lens and photostacked are too clinically perfect as well as not knowing the point of interest. As you say added benefit of larger aperture, faster shutter = no tripod. I am encouraged to work more on getting this effect. This has really been useful.
James, I like your photography and I like your videos. Having said that, I do disagree with your statement focus stacking is not necessary. BTW - I like what you say about Bokeh, sometimes I have the feeling, that people want to photograph Bokeh and nothing sharp anymore. But I recently started to use focus stacking because of what you say towards the end: There is nothing worse than a bit out of focus. I use MFT, and you have to deal with that problem a bit more. I photograph nature, and I try to be as close as possible to the animals or flowers, and if there are two side by side, you want to have them both sharp and the background not - and you do not want to close your aperture... There focus stacking can help a lot, using tiny steps and limited number of shots. This is where I use focus stacking, and I am using it a lot...
my biggest issues with focus stacking nature shots, wind. i still like grabbing some images to focus stack when I want to have fun playing around with it, but TBH, its so much of a headache trying to edit anything thats "ghosting" due to any sort of movement.
Excellent explanation of when NOT to use focus stacking! However, there ARE instances where it is a boon! The latest in-camera focus stacking is a boon to macro photography. It eliminates all those clunky and expensive focus rails; either manual or computerized; rendering them obsolete. A circuit board is one area where ALL of the subject needs to be in focus. With Helicon Focus there is no need for all that fiddling like you are doing in Adobe. Just pick the first frame in a set and click render!
THAT FIRST PHOTO IS LITERALLY MY PC WALLPAPER (but the whole group of mountain peaks with the little village at the base and it goes all the way to the right at the lake or sea or whatever body of water it is). Noice.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Competition winners will be announced in a video in 2 weeks time!
Meanwhile, the books start shipping tomorrow - thanks so much for the support!
www.jamespopsys.com/store/2019-book
James Popsys Dang, I could use something like Luminar. Just don’t know if my Dinausor 2012 Mac Mini will handle it.
I was here to comment about the books, but no need after all. Excited to receive it
Pumped for a copy of the book
That's great news, almost running out of toilet paper😉
Submitted my photos.... I have Luminar and been using it along Lightroom for a few months. Soooooo.... Your book would be lovely.... (hint, hint) 😂😂
I thought you were going to say you don't use focus stacking because you don't like tripods! ;-)
And that! :)
No it’s obviously due to the hassle of making each individual sheep in focus...yea you try that 25 times!
Yesterday I managed to take a 20-exposure-picture of a blowball, free hand 😀 It took me two attempts, some luck and a camera with a fast burst (Olympus PEN-F)
I do hand held focus stacking and panos all the time in the right light. only an issue in really long exposure situations.
Focus stacking is for macro, and I'm happy my Canon R6 has this feature - it produces fantastic results.
2:19 So what I heard you say is that you use focus stacking so your picture of a shower cap on top of a building would look realistic. I think we define that word differently.
"Avoid Distractions", this has been my motto in photography. "What is not in a picture is as important as what's in it". Sure enough a totally focus photo can lessen the way the viewer will enter the image unless it has a composition with strong leading lines.
I focus stack macro photos because of the thin depth of field. The biggest problem I have is focus breathing and my software not being able to scale the layers well enough to avoid ghosting. This leads to long sessions of panning over the photo cloning out the ghosted outlines.
I'm sure you know about these, but in case you don't, macro rails could be very helpful! I use one and I get much better results than when I was changing my focus from the focus ring. Even when I used the automated focus system in the PhaseOne XF body, I still couldn't get as good of results as I could using the macro rail
The Nikon D850 has stacking built-in and it works swimmingly.
Try a parafocal lens
@@noregretsyet do you need particular lens for focus stacking? I wanted to buy Canon camera but on the website its mentioned that focus stacking works only with few lenses.
@@paulinap-k8409 focus stacking is a technique and not specific to a brand. The Nikon D850 just makes it easier as it is built into the software.
In my opinion replacing the sky in a photograph removes the right to call it a photograph. It's "only" a composite. Why should you travel to distant places and countries when you could simply download some stock images, put them together and call that a photograph?
Absolutely. No satisfaction and no challenge.
My take is that people enjoy music regardless of whether it was made by a live band or a computer. Nice stuff is nice, regardless of where it came from, in my opinion :)
@@JamesPopsysPhoto maybe so, the viewer of the image will not bother how it was made, but imho it takes away the pleasure for the photographer of 'creating' that great photograph. Why bother going outdoors if you can 'fix' an image on the computer, and mark my words: soon will come the days that all popular 'landscape themes' will also be in a software library, so you only have to combine a nice landscape with an even nicer sky, and the software will match the light conditions in the landscape according to the sky chosen. I rather prefer being out there, making images, enjoying my time and with any luck, make an image I am pleased with from time to time ... but of course, I would also like Luminar or any other brand to sponsor my channel ;-)
Yeah because if you can replace the background, you might as well photoshop everything. If it's made clear it's edited than that's fine. But when you get people entering photo contests claiming it's legit when they just replaced the background. Then nobody will be inspired to compose a great shot naturally.
Isn’t that like telling Rembrandt he can’t paint a moody sky (which is his style) because it’s a bright sunny day? Masterpieces have been painted (OFTEN) because the artists haven’t had to wait for a “Photographically” perfect day s/he envisions for a specific composition s/he wishes to depict. The finished image the Photographer-Artist is exactly the same concept. Image in Camera + Image clean-up/Image changing (from cropping to further altering) as the P-A envisions is EXACTLY same thing … but in a few minutes, not a few months or years. isn’t it?
Until recently I have followed your view on simplicity in photography but I have recently discovered Gavin Hardcastle's videos featuring his landscapes on Vancouver Island (where I also live) and other locations. His philosophy is to avoid boring negative spaces and in my opinion he makes it work specatularly. He has inspired me to try some focus stacking and panoramas. In summary both philosophies can produce excellent photos. Focus stacking and panoramas involve extra post production work though.
Thank you for such a clear explanation of how you consider, compose and create your photographs
I was looking for focus stacking tutorials in luminar for the last two days! good timing, mate!
...aaaand now I don't wanna FS more :-D
Pritty much nailed it! Not using this technic makes you think of what exactly is the thing you want to show.
Recently found your channel...really appreciate your content. You've helped out a lot with learning how to best utilize my Lumix G9! Thank you
Absolutely spot on. Having things in extreme foreground as sharp as something 4 kilometres or more away isn't natural. When you are stood in the landscape looking at a scene, if you are looking at a distant mountain, your eyes blur the rock in front of you - so focus stacking is not a natural thing experienced in real life. Having said that it can sometimes make an image more pleasing having sharpness throughout, but I think it is overplayed by many photographers.
I really loved this explanation because it also explained why I like (some) focused stacked images and dislike others.
I thought I was in for an oppositional moment when first viewing the video title but I must acknowledge you got it perfectly right in camera without any need for post processing. Simply, isolate and eliminate!
I have the same aesthetics as you in that I like to blur what I don't want to be the primary interest. I mostly paint, but even there I'll blur the background by running a wet cloth across the background in a watercolour image and it makes what is not the subject less busy thus leading the eye to the real intended composition.
Good luck with your contest, don't actually need the software, book or to win again, at least for another week or so.
I think the #1 characteristic that produces a photo most loved by the audience is SYMMETRY. It seems that you can take a picture of anything and as long as there is symmetry in the photo, many people will like it. Its the reason we want our haircut to look neat, our clothes to be tucked in, our belt to be centered, our faces to be absent of any markings or debris, our beds to be made well and our floor tiles to line up perfectly, etc. The human brain loves symmetry.
100K subs so close now James, you might not focus stack but you're stacking up those subs!!!
haha, cheers mate! :)
I like your line of reasoning. The "everything in focus" trap is an easy one to fall into as a landscape photographer. Your examples are a nice reminder that sometimes out of focus elements enhance an image. Plus no need for a tripod.
Thanks for this video James. Looking at other RUclipsrs videos they seems obsessed with focus stacking landscape scenes. I agree with you not stacking leads to something more atmospheric, less distracting, easy to view. Cheers
I always respect the fact that you talk about how YOU like to do things... and not telling people what’s right and what’s wrong like so many RUclips “experts” tend to do :-)
Cheers 🍻
I always look forward to your videos! And especially now since I'm kinda stuck here at the house most of the time, seeing your videos are really highlights of the week. Thanks James!
Gotta say James, im impressed...the shelves are still holding up. Oh and the sky replacement and structure tools seem pretty cool.
I totally agree. Even in my macro photography I love shallow depth of field. Shallow depth of field creates mystery.
Btw James, I suffered with nasal problems for 20 years. In Canada, we cant see the doctor when we want to, for we are putting on lengthy waiting lists. So, we have to often fix our own medical issues. Anyways, the best allergy treatment is to use a Neti Pot type of device, fill it with just under 1% salt in distilled water and rinse your nasal passages every 2 days. It does wonders for your allergies. Also helps with keeping colds to a shorter duration.
Dear James, your opinion on focus stacking has some good points! Next time I take a photo, I will incorporate the idea of when and when not to focus stack in order to tell a story in my composition! All the best!
As a wedding photographer, I find using bokeh to highlight the subject incredibly useful! It's the same principle - telling the viewer where to look.
I agree with you. I ike focusstacking sometimes if the foreground is really close. However If it's further away it's also nice to see some blurry parts if done right.
I love sky replacement so much!! Luminar simply kicks ass imo. I am not that much of a Fan of using Skies of other Photographers but i simply shoot pictures of the sky with may camera or drone when i have the feeling that this kind of sky is awesome. And when i travel or i do a shoot the actual sky does not matter as much. That makes everything so much faster, and better.
I now use a GFX camera James and occasionally I focus back but only very occasionally. I actually like the mountains in the background to be slightly soft and yes with GFX you're shooting at F1 16 anyway, so you get most of it in focus anyway and if you use the hyper focal method you get pretty much everything you need in focus you just need to be mindful of what you've got in the foreground and your focus Point stacking is a pain in the arse. It really is for the benefit is minimal. Yes, those images and you see in those galleries sometimes look amazing, but I almost think they look a little bit AI to be honest with the mountains in the background, Pin sharp, because that is not how the human eye sees itr, because that is not how the human eye sees it
Just subscribed to your channel a few days ago and I am loving it. I have been watching your channel for a few months now and decided I needed to subscribe after watching this video. The reason being is that I find myself agreeing with your style and approach to shooting more than other RUclips photogs. And I completely agree with much of what you say in this video. I've been shooting for many years and I am now retired and can now dedicate more of my time to this passion. So one point I would like to make regarding this video is your comment about making sure that when you choose to have something out focus make sure it is truly out of focus and not just a soft focus. Unfortunately, the state of being "out of focus" is a matter of degrees. In an image with great depth using an out of focus technique there will surely be content that is fully out of focus graduating to a soft focus, then to sharpness. This is especially true for landscapes. Any 2D representation of reality should mimic what the human eye and brain can achieve. This is my argument against focus stacking. Of course as an art form photography should not necessarily represent reality but should interpret it according to the artist's vision. My own vision requires something much closer to reality than a focused stacked image.
Fantastic reminder to be mindful of focusing your viewer’s attention. Brilliant explanation. Thank you!
Welcome to the Luminar world! I just started any type of editing in January and found L4 to be very intuitive.... plus there are tons of tutorials. Love it!! -Elaine
i might be alone in this but my philosophy on photography is make as little edits as possible. for me, its about taking the "perfect" single shot. the edits i usually make is just exposure and lighting correction. i almost never even adjust the colors
I love the way you simplify your compositions. It’s one of the distinguishing characteristics of your work. I also really appreciate the way in which you simplify the photography process. Thanks for sharing your tips.
Thanks so much :)
Thank you for this video! I’ve never really tried focus stacking in the field! And your video has explained it simply why we don’t need too! I will continue to just focus on the main subject and use the out of focus parts to frame the main part 👍🏼
I used to tell people that I didn't get allergies, then I spent isolation in the UK with the Hay...
Haha, we're in this together buddy! And I'll follow you around the world every may from now on...
Talking of DoF, I remember years ago reading about a bloke who took a lens out of a TV camera (about 4mm or something) and built it into a lens body for a 35mm camera - focus from about 1cm to infinity!
Thanks for bringing up the sharpest f-stop point on a lens and shooting at that and focus stacking for best overall sharpness. Few people take the time to really sort out their lenses to find that f-stop or 2 where it performs best. Shooting there will bring up image sharpness quite a bit overall even if stacking isn't the process. I never shoot one of my lenses at f16, 22 or 32 - it's always at f8 or f-14 - nowhere else - things just drop off noticeably. I learned this doing focus stacking about 7 years ago... good video and thoughts.
I enjoyed this one. All of your various thoughts were good food for thought.
Use the right tool for the job. Use your own skies so it is your own art. Well done!
I've always wanted to try out Luminar and with lockdown, this is perfect timing, nice one James!
Perfect. I thought I was a bit weird not liking focus stacking :) Photo depth and focus on the object is great!
One place where focus stacking comes to be a real asset is in macro and close up photography. The shallow depth of field in these instances almost necessitates the use of focus stacking... Also, been using Luminar since Luminar 2018. Now of course I'm on Luminar 4...
excellent counter agrument to the fetsh of stacking.....well said sir!!
I've been trying to process an image that I focus stacked. I've tried stacking it in Photoshop, Helicon and Zerene Stacker. None of these methods work, at least not without serious editing skills which I've yet to develop. The problems associated with this are several. Firstly I thought because I had a sharp f1.8 lens I could shoot fairly wide open. I shot a landscape with 30 or so images at f2.8. Despite not getting any movement I cannot stack it because the software cannot cope when there's something very close like criss crossing twigs and branches but with a mountain at infinity behind. I just get blurred edges all around the twigs. To try to correct this would likely be extremely difficult. I even shot the same scene at f8 yet I still cannot get it to stack. Perhaps I should have shot the foreground at f16 and the background at f5.6 using maybe 100th of a second for the f16 and the ff5.6 at around 1/6th of a second. BUT I was shooting at iso 64 so couldn't work out the exposure difference in my head at the time (isn't that awkward with Nikon). Some might suggest I shoot the scene at f18, but then I'd wonder why on earth I bought a fast lens if I'm going to be shooting with so much diffraction. Saying all this having watched the video I'm now going to have a try at processing it with the foreground out of focus. You images with the van and the white flowers that were OOF looked good. It'll be a shame if I can't get my image to look good, I flew 11,000km to take it.
I find your explanation and demonstration very good.
The examples you show are lifestyle images which benefit from foreground blur. Landscape photos generally benefit from front to back sharpness for the exact issue you talk about: you don't want slightly unsharp rocks and grasses in the foreground. I think its not so much a personal preference thing so much as types of images needing different technique. You might say that a photographer that selectively uses focus stacking, or narrow depth of field has better versatility.
And who gets to decide which types of images require which technique?
I'm not using focus stacking but I can see the need if you are using an ultra-wide angle and filling the foreground with a motive. I had problem with this when using a 20mm/4 lens during mountain shots. Must be difficult in forest due to wind movement of twigs. I will try it with a short tele lens.
I'm using Perspective control Lenses for sharp foreground
I do focus stack when warranted but I totally get why one wouldn't. Sometimes when I shoot macros of flowers, I stack the bloom but leave the background de-focused.
Not into sky replacement, largely because I've seen so many bad uses of it I'm just turned off. I might try this though just for spits and giggles and a chance at free stuff.
Thank you...i feel every time i watch a youtube on photography you have to focus stack, i cant anyway as i dont have a laptop, so this was a great reminder thats an individual decision, not a rule...cheers
Another informative video! I don't usually do this, but you have inspired me to be competetive, and I would love a copy of your book :-) So here goes.....! (Sound of me grabbing my camera and thinking of an idea for a sky enhancing shot)
I feel for you. I used to get the worst hayfever in the UK and... I've been away for nearly 20 years now and haven't had a summer of pain since I left. It appears I am only allergic to pollen in England. :-)
Always enjoy your videos, looking forward to your take on Luminar 4. I am in two minds about buying it myself.
Recently watched a video by vox, if i remember correctly. They explained how the intensity of pollen is the result of the reforestation of only male trees in the past centuries due to missunderstood controll over biology.
That might be the reason this is a local phenomenon for you too.
Have a nice weekend.
Ahh, I'm radiating jealousy, and snot! :)
Thinking fast and slow, so good man!
I never have done focus stacking mainly because of the reasons you stated. Thanks for video.
Just recently found your channel and I've already ordered both of your books. Really like the content, the style of the videos, and it's given me new ways to look at photography. Keep up the good work, and cheers from Sweden!
Thanks Mikael, great to hear! Books will be on their way this week :)
A great example of using experience instead of rigid rules. Good job.
I'm an old school photographer. My approach to photography is to create the picture the moment I press the trigger, not to use captured digital information to create a picture out of that at the computer. For me the latter is some form of digital design, not photography. Yes I know, that even in photography laboratories there were manipulations possible during the exposure and development process, but that is by far not comparable to what can be done (and is done) at the computer. Because of that I don't use RAW, but do all my pictures in jpg, since for me it is absolutely no fun to "develop" a picture at the computer. Luckily I found a camera, which is very good in calibrating its jpg-output (you can compare that with selecting the correct film in the old days) and can produce outstanding quality that way (Olympus Pen-F).
I do not judge people who create pictures at the computer at all, the results can be truly stunning, it's just not my understanding of photography. And yes, I know that I'm old and somewhat outdated.
Old and outdated ? No. Absolutely right. Photography should be photography. Not distortion of reality. Anyone can do that.
Everyone has their own processes which is great :)
Focus stacking is good for macro. But once again preference. Also I like the challenge of non focus stacking handheld macro. When you get the shot it’s very rewarding.
Focus stacking. I’m still looking for the on/off switch. All I want to do is take a darn landscape photo. Oh, got Luminar AI. Love it but keeps crashing. 😞
Directing the eye is the point of composition. This is the way we see in life - we won’t see the whole scene in equal focus. Focus stacking is giving the viewer a buffet to graze on. Also, I can’t be arsed to do the work.
I was working on a sky replacement in Photoshop last week for a couple of hours. Finally, I used Luminar as a plug-in, replaced the sky in a few seconds and it was 10X better than anything I had done the previous 2 hours. It really has some incredible AI features. I hope your allergies get better soon, James.
Cheers Stephen! And yes, imagine all the box sets we could've watched rather than wasting time in photoshop :)
@@JamesPopsysPhoto So true...
Done and done! With some practice, I could see some benefit, but this could be a little addictive. Especially with so much time at home.
Gave it try there this evening and it's very good and not slowing the machine like lightroom does. Goodbye Adobe, Hello Luminar. Cheers for the Offer Code, they took it on top of offers they already had too, so happy days. Have a good one. Kind regards, BG
Great content friend. I learn alot from your channel. I also don't photostack. I also rarely if ever use Photoshop. Mainly I use Lightroom.
I'm all new to youtube and landscape Photography and you are one of my favorite RUclipsrs.
Now that I think about it ...I also make some of my photography look like paintings which isn't the norm either.
It's fun to find your own style.
Thanks mate! :)
I’m of the same opinion as you regarding focus points in landscape images. Luminar does look impressive. It’s mental how advanced digital editing is really. Excited about getting the new book too, thanks for putting it together for us 👍🏻
great video as always. yep focus stacking has its place. i have used it many times for product photography and extreme macro photography but other than that never really use it normally
Stuart James Photography agree, I use it in macro sometimes
Great video. My normal approach would be if there is a composition that requires focus stacking to get everything in focus at midrange apertures.... take the necessary images anyway. That way you have the choice after the fact to focus stack or just pull the relevant "bokeh frame" out from the group of images. I always like to give myself choices afterwards because otherwise there would come a point where I make the wrong decision and regret it
Me too a lot of the time, cheers David :)
ever used the 2 image focus stack Nigel Danson demonstrated in his 5 things he does in PS ? I tried it on a couple I had and it works pretty well... he didn't, but I did an align images before doing the gradient step...
I have downloaded luminar 4 and to be honest, it is incredible, that sky replacement is out of this world. However I am troubled. As someone who has watched a lot of your videos, you often say the difference between good photographers and great photographers is patience. It’s going to the same location day after day, month after month just to get the right light, right conditions, right composition, it’s what I love and what I hate about photography. How does it sit with you, when with a simple click you can completely change the sky? Now there is a storm or lighting, or now you are there and the Milky Way just popped out. As someone who makes a living from photography how do you feel about it, because my terrible photos from today just look amazing now and I feel guilty!
I've used Luminar from it's beginning, and love it! I refuse to layer, so that rules out the way too complicated Photoshop. Yuk! I get the results I want with Luminar... and Topaz... and Photoscape... and Aurora. lol! I've preordered the new version of Luminar scheduled to come out in around December - complete AI! WOW! I can hardly wait.
BTW, I love your videos. You are one of my favorite RUclips photographers. Your humor and teaching are first rate!
I’ve been using Luminar for a few years now and Luminar 4 just blows me away. A great plugin to Lightroom..
I agree James. It's good to guide the person thru the image and look at what you want, but at the same time I use focus-stacking sometimes. I did that on a clock (as you gave as example). I think it's good for product shots etc. where you need to see the whole thing, but artistic, I think have some blur and direct the audience thru the image is good. I will try to remember to do that in my next photo. Make the forground blurry like on 7:32. it looks great! :-)
When you are talking about Luminar, I like to make my pictures completely in-camera and I edit the colors, sharpnes, contrast etc. but I don't like to manipulate the image. Sky replacement looks really cool, but Idon't want to show a "fake" version of my images if I was on let's say a trip to the mountain. If the sky did not look like how I saw it, I think it's a bit weird to replace the sky. But for other things and if the client want another sky, I totaly respect that and if you are making art and the sky can help support that, but generally I don't manipulate my images. How about you James? But it's incredible how you can change a sky that simply.
I’ve lost count of the number of landscape images that I shoot at f/1.4 or f/1.8. Allows me to shoot handheld and isolates the subject matter of the photo. I couldn’t agree more and the day I focus stack will be a dark day indeed. 😉👍🏼
Thanks for the video. I love your train of thought re focus stacking, best used in particular situations. I already have Luminar and really like it for quick adjustments
Thank you James, I really enjoy watching your videos and love how you keep it real! BTW - highly recommend Claritin for your hay fever - I’m having same issues here in Toronto. Not sure I’m up for learning another photo editing program but will take a look!
I totally agree with your non-focus stacking ideology. Simplicity is key. Though it does have its moments, though rare they may be.
Focus stacking is great when you print big images and you want to view them at close distance.
Wow! That sky was so cool, loved it. it amazes me what you can achieve in post processing. Thanks James for another good video 🙂
Luminar: Mind. Blown.
Very impressive AI on all areas. Portraits, landscapes, it's going to help me a lot in optimizing my workflow.
I can't wait for your next book to arrive. That last one made it to New Zealand way faster than I expected. Actually I've had letters posted from across town arrive days slower lol.
I get bad hayfever too. Flixonase nasal spray started a couple of weeks before hayfever season starts sorts it out quick smart. No more stuffed up head and sinuses and sneezing continually. On really windy days I still occasionally get allergic conjunctivitis from the pollen blowing in my eyes but eye drops sort that too.
Thanks for the support, it'll be on its way soon and thanks for the tip! NZ pollen is some of the most brutal I've experienced! :)
Thanks for the video James, to be honest the main reason I dont focus stack is because I'm too lazy to learn how to do it properly 🤷♂️
Looking forward to your book arriving soon 👍
Awesome 😎. Super hyped to catch your video as soon as you published. Love your tips
Thanks mate :)
James Popsys My pleasure. Enjoyed the video. I’ll try to hopefully catch you live.
I only use focus stacking for macro photography. On all other cases should I wish for a huge depth of field, I do that either with a wide angle lens or small aperture.
If you have a composition that has a point of interest that you want to draw the interest to then having a composition that has hyper detail from all-to-wall the whole thing is just to buzy.
I finally found a reasonable elucidation about this issue. Thank you, James. 👏🙏
#simplicity
It’s ironic that I came across this video today. I focus stacked for the first time just yesterday, and my results are great. In my case, I’ve taken macro shots into a carbon bike frame to show the quality of the layup. F/30 wouldn’t get it all in focus. With about 20 stacked shots at f/8, the results are fantastic - and the background is still fully blurred. I could never achieve this without stacking.
But I only plan to do this for macro shots. My rule of thumb would be to only use it to get the object of interest in focus. If there are 2+ objects, let the secondary items blur.
Excellent insights! Thank you.
Totally agree. I usually don't want everything to be in focus, just the subject.
Great point around 5:00 about the brain of the viewer not wanting to figure out what you're trying to say in your photos. The brain of the person viewing your photos relies on you to clearly express what you're trying to communicate, giving it a shortcut if you can, so it gets the message sooner. Basically, we should be able to tell straight away whether a photo is good or not -- if we have to sit there thinking about what the hell it is you're trying to say with a photo then it's probably not a very good one
Many landscape photographers seem to place far too much emphasis on front-to-back sharpness when in reality it is completely unnatural. Our eyes certainly don't see things sharp front-to-back and we only see things sharp where our eyes are actually focused with everything else soft in our peripheral and distant vision. I find some landscapes just don't look 'right' when distant objects are too sharp or crisp. I've never focus stacked landscapes and I'm perfectly happy to let the distance background sharpness fall off a little if I have foreground interest.
Thanks James, we forget what we did before digital. I often think images I have seen taken with UW lens and photostacked are too clinically perfect as well as not knowing the point of interest. As you say added benefit of larger aperture, faster shutter = no tripod. I am encouraged to work more on getting this effect. This has really been useful.
So, when I'm using Luuuuuuminar sky replacement tool I can upload a sample and win... Luuuuuuminar? Was that the point? 🤔
You can use the 7-day trial and win a full license.
Or his book if you already own the program
James, I like your photography and I like your videos. Having said that, I do disagree with your statement focus stacking is not necessary. BTW - I like what you say about Bokeh, sometimes I have the feeling, that people want to photograph Bokeh and nothing sharp anymore. But I recently started to use focus stacking because of what you say towards the end: There is nothing worse than a bit out of focus. I use MFT, and you have to deal with that problem a bit more. I photograph nature, and I try to be as close as possible to the animals or flowers, and if there are two side by side, you want to have them both sharp and the background not - and you do not want to close your aperture... There focus stacking can help a lot, using tiny steps and limited number of shots. This is where I use focus stacking, and I am using it a lot...
No focus stacking, no full frame, no tripod.... I love you! 💕😘
my biggest issues with focus stacking nature shots, wind. i still like grabbing some images to focus stack when I want to have fun playing around with it, but TBH, its so much of a headache trying to edit anything thats "ghosting" due to any sort of movement.
This is some good advice, I had never really given it much thought until now. Thanks for the insight
Got excited to try Luminar. But it keeps crashing before I can do anything. On MacBook Pro. Any ideas?
Excellent explanation of when NOT to use focus stacking! However, there ARE instances where it is a boon! The latest in-camera focus stacking is a boon to macro photography. It eliminates all those clunky and expensive focus rails; either manual or computerized; rendering them obsolete. A circuit board is one area where ALL of the subject needs to be in focus. With Helicon Focus there is no need for all that fiddling like you are doing in Adobe. Just pick the first frame in a set and click render!
THAT FIRST PHOTO IS LITERALLY MY PC WALLPAPER (but the whole group of mountain peaks with the little village at the base and it goes all the way to the right at the lake or sea or whatever body of water it is). Noice.