#HELICON FOCUS VS PHOTOSHOP HOW TO#
#HELICON FOCUS VS PHOTOSHOP MANUAL#

A few to note are Photoshop, Helicon, and Zerene Stacker. When looking into a focus stacking software you will find a few main options that people use. What is the best focus stacking software? I recommend starting near the edges with your focusing, then work your way across the frame. Overlap areas of focus slightly to ensure that nothing gets missed. For your next shot, move your focus point so it falls on a different area. Start with one area in focus and click the shutter. I recommend using live view on the back of your camera rather than looking through the eyepiece for a larger view of what’s in focus. Allow room to crop those rough edges out. There will be some overlapping on the edges after the images are stacked. Leave room on the edgesĬompose wide with extra room on the sides for cropping. You are also going to want to manually focus for full control. Use the same camera settings for the entire series of images you take.

In focus stacking, our goal is to have the image as clear as possible and these settings will help achieve that. Lastly, you will want to shoot in high resolution and in raw for the best clarity of photos. It will be very helpful if you keep your tripod steady and try not to move your camera up or down as you change the focus points. You get to control your settings and any small change of movement or light your camera in auto mode will adjust things and we don’t want that for focus stacking.

#HELICON FOCUS VS PHOTOSHOP MANUAL#

Next you will want to shoot in manual mode so your settings don’t automatically change from image to image.

#HELICON FOCUS VS PHOTOSHOP HOW TO#

Read more: How to Shoot Still Life to Push your Creativity Shoot in manual mode You need to subject to be in the exact same position for a little while. It’s easier to practice this on a plant, or food rather than a child. Then choose a subject that is not moving.

How to set up a focus stacking photo Use a tripodįirst you are going to want to use a tripod so that each shot is in the same position. You will just be using a software program to put it all together. You still have to be creative and nail your shot and multiple focus’s. In order to achieve a greater depth of field, with sharp focus on all planes, there’s a little trick you can do in Photoshop called focus stacking.įocus stacking is a technique that is more of a tool not so much cheating. Read more: Aperture- The Basics Is focus stacking cheating?

Helicon focus vs photoshop