first attempts at macro stacking, let's see some stuff. (beginners only please)

Sort by date Sort by votes
#41
Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )

Famateur said:
Off Topic:

Jura said:
Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.
Click to expand...

Hard to believe one's respect for life is genuine when it stops short of humans. ???

On Topic:

These "beginner" shots are simply amazing. Makes me want to pick up a macro lens and take a stab at it myself.

By the way, I didn't know LR/Enfuse could do focus stacking (never thought about it as I use it strictly for blending exposures). I'll have to check it out...
Click to expand...

Not sure about Enfuse but LR doesn't do focus stacking - I use photoshop for stacking.
 
Upvote 0
#42
Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )

eml58 said:
Jura said:
I know one photographer who puts his insects in the fridge just long enough for their metabolism to slow down to a point where they are almost asleep - and then shoots them.
[/quote
Then you should kick them squarely in the nuts and give their macro lens to a charity shop. It is extremely poor practice to harm your subject in this way. it amounts to nothing more than animal cruelty.
Click to expand...

I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.

On the other side, your resolution was sort of humorous as well, Kicking People in the Nuts & stealing their Gear is clearly seen as no biggy, while freezing an Ant to slow it down before taking it's Photograph, is Nut Kickable :o, also very Funny, Love CR in the morning.

But I do like your defence of Insects & all things small, should be more of it, perhaps without the Nut Kicking though ;).

Some nice Images here, I do a lot of Macro Underwater Imaging, but generally not Focus stacked, this thread has me thinking to try it next time underwater, no chance of semi freezing the subjects as well so my Nuts should be safe ;D
Click to expand...

Thanks eml58 - perhaps I should have added that the said photographer did not harm any insects - they were only sleepy for a little while.
 
Upvote 0
#43
Northstar said:
Menace said:
lion rock said:
I built a focus rail and shot about 20 frames but the result that came out processed with PS CS5 was incorrect. PS chose all the OOF frames and thus what I got was a 100% blurry photo.

My question to the experts here, when you use a rail to select a focus plane, will the image in front of the selected plane be slightly larger because the camera/lens is closer and the image behind the selected plane be smaller, so as you change positions during the process, what would happen to the stacked end product photo?
Conversely, if the camera/lens is held stationary, and the focus is selected by adjusting the lens focusing mechanism, what will be the result?

My setup: 5D3 with remote flash mounted on hot shoe, 100 mm_f/2.8 with Kenko extension ring, and the camera is controlled with CamRanger all mounted with a screw operated rail.

Thanks for the advice.
-r
Click to expand...

Personally, when focus stacking, I never change the frame i.e. camera never moves. Here is my very basic MO

1. Fix camera on tripod
2. Frame your subject - use live view.
3. Manually focus and shoot a bunch of images - each focusing on a different plane of your subject. Use remote etc.
4. Process in PS.

Hope this helps

Menace
Click to expand...

i've never done focus stacking...so pardon my noobness:

step #3...so for example...i'm shooting a flower at a 45 degree angle....i aim the first shot at the furthest petal, the next shot at a petal slightly closer, and so on and so on and so on until i've shot 8-12 images.

is this the basic strategy? (for step #3)
Click to expand...

Correct. Your framing has not changed however you now have 8-12 images each with a slightly different plane (in each photo) in sharp focus that can be stacked in PS.
 
Upvote 0
#44
Here some examples of mine:
i__m_hungry____by_xwauforceflow-d3itj5v.jpg

Stack of 6 images
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/400 second
Aperture F/2.8
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 100
Date Taken Jun 13, 2011, 2:56:54 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS4

Apple_in_the_Rain_by_XWAUForceflow.jpg

~15 images also with the 7D but I think it might have been my old 50mm macro, not sure.

burning_candle_by_christophmaier-d5q10zp.jpg

Again 6 shots
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/5 second
Aperture F/5.6
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 100
Date Taken Jan 1, 2013, 5:26:41 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS6

bee_macro_ii_by_christophmaier-d595jki.jpg

Sadly not sure how many images, possibly something around 10. The bee proved to be very cooperative, it was alive and I did not freeze or cool it in any way. The day itself was rather cold and it was apparently warming up in the sun when I found the little bugger :)
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 7D
Shutter Speed 1/250 second
Aperture F/16.0
Focal Length 300 mm (Sigma 150mm macro with 2x adapter)
ISO Speed 200
Date Taken Jul 29, 2012, 12:45:13 PM
Software Adobe Photoshop CS6
 
Upvote 0
#46
mackguyver said:
Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:
Alfred_B_Maclay_Gardens_20130714_1130M_ID-L.jpg
Click to expand...
Awesome! The flower explodes out of the image.
 
Upvote 0
#49
CTJohn said:
mackguyver said:
Not my favorite technique as I don't have the tools (proper focus rails), software (I use PS, Helicon and others made me crazy), or patience, but here's one of my more successful attempts that was necessary - it's a Maypop flower - really odd to me, but apparently an extremely common flower/weed 180mm macro @f/8, 1/800s, ISO 800:
Alfred_B_Maclay_Gardens_20130714_1130M_ID-L.jpg
Click to expand...
Awesome! The flower explodes out of the image.
Click to expand...
CTJohn and chrysoberyl - thanks! The funny thing about this is that I had never seen one of these before and thought I had found some really rare flower. I later discovered it's an extremely common flower in the Southern United States...oh well, I like the photo, which was taken with the 180L macro.

Also, tolusina, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your comment before - this was actually my first attempt at focus stacking, so for this technique, I'm a total beginner. My only other attempt was with the 7-200 f/2.8 IS II and it's about as un-parfocal as they come so the framing changed a whole lot (way more than your very cool GIF) and I didn't even try to stack it.

CTJohn, that's a great example of how to do it right - beautiful shot!

Forceflow and Menace - I love your shots as well! This is a really cool thread.
 
Upvote 0
#51
Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )

eml58 said:
I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.
Click to expand...

Being a Brit I noticed it straight away too.

Many types of live insect bait are kept in the fridge, when you take them out and they warm up they seem OK.
Not saying that they enjoy it though. I guess they'll see it as a snap frost or something

Cheers Brian
 
Upvote 0
#52
tolusina said:
Notice how the frames march closer as focus gets closer as though the lens zoomed.
I actually think it did zoom but I'm clueless how and/or why.
Click to expand...

As you change the focus in a macro lens, the magnification changes.

You can see it if you turn off AF, prefocus at the "further" range, move in manually until the object is in focus, then repeat closer in. The object will become larger in the viewfinder.

The magnification ratios are different, and that is printed on the focus scale (1.5:1, 1.2:1,1:1- or however they are laid out).

I believe the technical term is focus breathing- could be wrong.

The only way to keep the magnification the same and change the focus point is to preset your focus, turn off AF and move the camera in/out to focus the desired point. Best way to move the camera is with a set of gear driven (manual or motorized) focus rails. Any precision or repeatability without a gear driven system is damn near impossible.

I have a set of rails and have messed with an MPE-65, and I can see the focus change as the setup is moved on the rails. It doesn't take much movement. Apparent magnification (object size) does not change. Moving the tripod in and out proved to be useless.

I found it quite interesting, but it is very time consuming.

I suspect that the apps using focus stacking vs rail movement are stretching/shrinking the sharp parts of the image to blend it together for the final result with assumed quality loss (small image is expanded and large final image is shrunk). I would assume it picks somewhere in the middle as a starting point for final image size/scale.

There is a lot of skill in a good focus stacked image.
 
Upvote 0
#54
url]

My first attempt.i went ambitious

This was a 27 shot stack of a wasp using a demo I downloaded of helicon focus.

The wasp wasn't dead so as I was taking this my heart was pounding and I was terrified as his feelers kept twitching. There is a bit of movement in the stitch but I'm pleased with my first effort.

As daft as it sounds, I'm always amazed these creatures have faces.

Canon60d, 100mm macro, full set of kenko extension tubes, raynox 250 10x dioptre.
canon580exii with lastolite softbox



https://www.flickr.com/photos/58384486@N07/7992894960/in/photolist-dbiFcN-aH1wWx-aQ9zJ2-dngFic
 
Upvote 0
#56
Chapman Baxter said:
Hesbehindyou said:
These two were swinging about next to the TV so I grabbed a few shots (hand held with external flash) and combined 3 in Zerene Stacker. Woodlouse was already very dead but the spider was nice enough to stay still. I've never worked out how to shoot these spiders from a flattering angle - anyone managed it?

Spiderwoodlousesharpened_zpsaa153f83.jpg
Click to expand...

As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a flattering angle for any spider! :o ;)
Click to expand...

Maybe a shot a bit more from the side to emphasize the breasts? ;D
 
Upvote 0
#57
Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )

eml58 said:
I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.
Click to expand...

If I am to be shot, please omit the pre-freezing! I will hold still.

Aussies, Kiwis, and some US-ians at least ::) (Spider breasts, anyone? ...see my previous post.)
 
Upvote 0
#58
Re: first attempt at stacking macro shots :: )

Larry said:
eml58 said:
I sort of noticed the funny side of Menace's comment, you know the bit where someone freezes the subject to the point they are slow to move, then shoots them ?? shoots them ?? see the funny side at all ?? No ? must be an Aussie Kiwi thing.
Click to expand...

If I am to be shot, please omit the pre-freezing! I will hold still.

Aussies, Kiwis, and some US-ians at least ::) (Spider breasts, anyone? ...see my previous post.)
Click to expand...

Thanks Larry for the heads up - I'll keep that in mind when you visit new zealand ;)
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Home
Forums
Media
Menu