Master Focus Stacking for Sharper Landscape Photography

Ever since the days of Ansel Adams, landscape photographs have featured sharp focus throughout the entire image frame. This is something I call "Deep Focus," and in the past, photographers mostly relied on something called hyperfocal distance focusing to maximize depth of field (the zone of apparent sharp focus) in the image frame. While that technique is still useful, these days landscape photographers typically use a technique called focus stacking which is easy to use and offers overall greater image sharpness.

If you master this simple technique, then you can achieve razor-sharp focus from near to far most of your landscape images. To learn more, watch the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mf85gvV30w

If you have any trouble watching the video above, you can also watch it here. 

What Is Focus Stacking?

Focus stacking is a photographic technique where multiple images of the same composition are captured at different focus distances and then blended together on the computer. You can use Photoshop to do your focus blending, but I recommend using a dedicated focus stack program instead. These programs are designed to automatically analyze each image and combine only the sharpest parts into a single composite. Stacking in Photoshop is more complicated and often less effective compared to using a dedicated focus stacker.

If you’re using a wide-angle lens, you’ll need two or three images for this process. Each image should focus on a different part of your scene. In most cases, this should be the foreground, middle ground, and background. Four or five images may be necessary for scenes where you have an extreme juxtaposition between a close foreground (less than one foot away) and distant background.

Macro photography requires a different approach. Because depth of field becomes razor thin at high magnifications, macro focus stacks may require dozens or even hundreds of images. For the average macro photo, though, you may need 10-30 photos.

When Should You Use Focus Stacking?

Focus stacking is most useful when your scene contains a close foreground subject combined with a distant background (near-far compositions, as I like to call them). You should consider focus stacking when:

• foreground elements are very close to the lens, as pictured above.

• a single frame can’t keep everything sharp at f/8 or f/11.

• you want to avoid diffraction (which reduces overall sharpness) from very small apertures like f/16 or f/22.

It goes without saying that focus stacking is not necessary for every landscape photo. If your foreground isn’t extremely close, shooting normally and stopping down to f/8 or f/11 may provide enough sharpness in a single frame.

Precision & The Best Aperture for Focus Stacking 

Focus stacking heavily depends on precision. As you’ll see in the video, even slight movement between exposures can create “ghosting” artifacts during blending. Even with a tripod, you need to pay attention to uncontrollable elements like changing weather and motion. Use manual exposure and avoid changing your composition (even slightly) between shots. If there’s too much movement going on, you’ll need to wait for calmer conditions. 

Also, a common misconception I’ve noticed is that focus stacking allows photographers to shoot wide open at very shallow apertures. In reality, using an aperture like f/8 or f/11 will reduce the number of images required for the stack because each frame already contains a reasonable amount of depth of field (and this will minimize the chances that you accidentally miss sharp focus on part of the scene). Additionally, most wide-angle lenses reach their optimal sharpness across the entire image frame when stopped down to f/8 or f/11; at wider apertures, the center might be sharp but edges and corners will probably look soft.

Extremely small apertures like f/16 or f/22 often introduce diffraction, so try to avoid them when you can. 

How Focus Stacking Works

The process itself is very straightforward. All you need to do is capture a sequence of identical compositions while changing only the focus point between each frame. Then, import your photos into a focus stacking software, and it will align the frames and blend together the sharpest parts from each exposure.

My preferred focus stacking software is Helicon Focus, which is designed specifically for focus blending. It also includes a retouching tool that allows you to manually correct blending artifacts caused by moving objects (such as wind-blown clouds or flowers).

Conclusion

Focus stacking is one of the most valuable techniques available to landscape photographers who want maximum image sharpness. In the right conditions, this technique will produce image quality that is often impossible to achieve in a single exposure. 

Do you have any questions about focus stacking? Let me know in the comments!