How to create images that are in focus from the foreground through the background

 

 

When you are capturing landscape images, it is common to have a foreground element in your frame. However, it is often simultaneously the case that you want the background to be sharp. For example, suppose you are shooting an image of a mountain with a field of flowers in your foreground. You want the flowers and mountain to be sharp. How can you do this in a single frame? You can stop your lens down all the way, but even that might not be enough and you will have to deal with diffraction. Alternatively, you can focus stack two or more images captured with different focal distances.

In the video below, Thomas Heaton discusses how he focus stacked three images to capture a single final photograph which has a sharp foreground and background. It is a powerful technique and it is actually quite easy to do. All you need is a tripod and capable photo-editing software. There are multiple ways to achieve the same end result, as is often the case with photo editing, but Heaton's method is a good one.

If you're interested in learning more about focus stacking, I wrote a Caffeine Priority article last year about this very topic, so go check that out. To see more from Thomas Heaton, visit his YouTube channel.

(Via Thomas Heaton)