How-to: Quick focus stacking for food and drinks images

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Once you’re taking pictures close-ups or macro you typically end up at f/16 and nonetheless not getting sufficient depth of discipline. In order that’s when focus stacking could be a actually great tool. It sounds difficult and there are many in-depth tutorials telling you that you just want x,y and z particular gear to make it work.
Nevertheless it really doesn’t need to be that difficult, notably for those who simply need to get the entire of a glass in focus for instance. On this video, Joanie Simon from The Chunk Shot exhibits you find out how to focus-stack drinks in a quite simple approach.

Joanie explains that she likes to {photograph} drinks from a 3/4 standpoint in an effort to see the highest of the drink and in addition the facet as effectively. It makes the ice and garnish actually stand out. This can be a ‘focus stacking made straightforward’ tutorial, nevertheless, there are nonetheless just a few issues that you just completely must-have for this method to work.
Firstly, you want an honest tripod. That ensures that the entire photographs shall be similar. Keep in mind that it’s only the purpose of focus that we’re transferring, every part else should keep the identical. Equally, a distant shutter launch will even assist to keep away from any tiny actions of your digicam if you press the button. The much less you contact the digicam, the higher.
To start you need to set your give attention to the entrance of the glass, that would be the level closest to you that you really want in focus. Some cameras even have a spotlight stacking mode that may assist with this – the Nikon Z7 has a ‘Focus Shift Mode’, and equally the Canon R5 and R6 each have focus bracketing modes.
The variety of photographs it’s essential to take will depend on the topic, how shut you’re, and the aperture that you just’re taking pictures with. Joanie suggests round 20 on this occasion, as she has chosen an aperture of f/3.5 and desires the entire high of the glass to be in focus however nothing else. The opposite factor that she modifies is the time between every shot. She likes to get the photographs taken as shortly as doable due to the character of taking pictures meals and drinks. If there may be actual ice within the glass, for instance, that may begin to soften, meals will begin to look much less appetising and garnish will wilt. However, there’s one caveat: she is taking pictures with a strobe and so the recycle time does need to be taken into consideration.
For those who don’t have a elaborate digicam that may robotically do focus stacking, there are two different choices: utilizing software program like Helicon Focus and Helicon Distant, or simply doing it manually, which isn’t as difficult because it sounds. For those who’re transferring the main target manually then simply be actually cautious to not bump the digicam.
Once more begin with the give attention to the entrance fringe of the glass and take a shot. Step by step transfer the main target level again in the direction of the furthest fringe of the glass taking a shot every time. The smaller the increment the higher.
Now for the post-processing. Joanie brings all her photographs into Lightroom, and does a primary edit, maintaining all the pictures synced collectively. Then she brings the pictures into Photoshop, ensuring to carry them in as layers. She recommends utilizing auto-align to make it possible for all the pictures are lined up in addition to doable in case one thing shifted in digicam. After that, return to the edit menu and choose ‘auto mix layers’ after which choose the ‘stack photographs’ choice.
That’s your entire course of, straightforward, and never a spotlight rail in sight!
 

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