Focus stacking is taking multiple photos, at different focal points, of a subject and combining them to create a greater depth of field. The photo above is one of 250 photos taken for tonight’s photo. Though in this case it might had not be necessary for that many, I wanted to play with the process. So each shot was taken at f3.2, a very shallow depth of field starting with the first black key on the left in focus. Then with the camera on a tripod in a fixed spot, 249 more shots were taken moving the focus point slightly each time. Using a software called HeliconFocus I ‘stacked’ or merged them to one shot, shown below. Why below and not above? Well the plan was for the dailypic to be the 250 stacked shot. It took 7 minutes to take all the photos, another 20 to let them get processed, when it was done, I did not like the photo. To me it is boring, it does not tell me anything. But the one I chose above, number 202 in the series, seems more like me, i love how it leads you right to that key. Below are also a handful of single shots from the 250 to give you a sense of how tight each shot was that made the full image. It is a cool process, I tend to use it with macro toys shots (think the Hot Wheel cars from last week) more than anything, usually only 10-20 shots is all I need.

tr/trp