HandHeld Focus Stacking in Macro Photography 

If you liked this video check out my introduction to extreme macro photography: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Meq241phtQc.html

One year after, u taught me something, you're slow, patient, u teach well, u have a funny accent. You're the boss !

Hi Stewart, Thanks for another great video. I am currently doing a mentoring programme and I have chosen Macro for my main portfolio. I have found a lot of your videos a great help. Keep up the good work!

Brilliant as always Stewart. I had never even considered trying to focus stack manually but can’t wait to try it out now!

I hope you found this video useful, let me know if you want to see more handheld stacking in the field (I will have to buy a new camera)... Not a bad idea!

After watching your video I went outside and tried your methods. The results I got were stunning! Thanks

Love how you you broke things down I appreciate it, always wonder how you stack images this was goood!! thanks.

Fantastic video. Thank you!

Awesome tutorial, thanks!

Very well explained, thank you

The video i’ve been waiting for. Thanks mate!

Thank you. Learnt a lot in this video.

This is a truly excellent video. I went from having no effing clue how to even approach this to feeling like I've got a pretty good idea. Beautiful photos too!

Excellent video. It is the first I have seen where they explain how to correct defects.

Great video. Have tried focus stacking indoors but never thought of trying outside!! Will give it a go, thanks for the idea!!

Wow you made this so easy .Thank you for being real. Omg love the endings..

Thanks Stewart that was really helpful with the photoshop technique on moving antennas. Should be ready for the Summer!

I’m gonna try a new technique thanks to you 👍

Brilliant, thanks!

Thank you for showing your technique, I’m going to try it out 👍🏼

Tnx for all videos you make.. Love to watch them.. I learned a lot from you

Thank you so much friend.

Awesome video! Thanks.

So much good info, thank you for the tutorial. You are a great teacher

Excellent video. Very informative. Thanks. I will give it a try. I've seen a few of your videos and I really appreciate the way you explain so much more than in other macro videos.

Great video and love the outtakes

Ussted es todo un maestro, esta a otro nivel y sabe usar muy bien sus jueguetes, FELICITACIONES

Focus peaking helps SO much too!

The outtakes/bloopers are great, more folks should do this. Subscribed. Other opensource (free) software options are "align_image_stack" and enfuse. I use these for aligning and stacking (focus and exposure stacking) in Ubuntu Linux but I think they are available for other platforms.

Very helpful, especially for a person like me who shoots with the 80D and is looking to get my feet wet in macro photography

Thank you for the vid

Brilliant Stewart!! I have been waiting for this type of video for awhile now. Well done.

Brilliant love your tutorials keep them coming.

Wow, Stewart, you taught me something. I would have never thought to move slowly into the subject during a burst. I never do that!! My Fuji X-T3 easily does 11fps and my lens is stabilized so no problem there... now gotta go out to try this technique! To think...a handheld stack, wow!! I seem to settle for that "ok" image, most don't even notice or care about the focus if the eyes are in (but, boy we sure do!!!) Thx! Keep the good suff coming!

Wow thank for the video

absolutely brand new to the world of macro and just starting messing around with it. I have a nikon z7 so there is no z series dedicated macro lens yet - so Im using extension tubes. Your video was very helpful

I just love all those bloopers!

Very good information.

As always great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. By the way I always get a laugh out of the fails/bloopers.

Excellent and extraordinary, inspirational video and thank you for posting

Very good! I have wanted to Thankyou because I have seen a bit of you’re content and it’s helped me greatly 👍👍

A Great video Steward, I have focused stacked landscape, and macro images like flowers. Being a 7Dii owner with 10fps and a large buffer. This method of focus stacking insects will work a treat ! Many thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Good 1 & heh heh 4:30 ! Yes let's historically Recap and Remove that lens cap first! Enjoyed and hope to see more from you.

Awesome

Well done Stewart very informative!

Best video on the topic I've seen. Can't wait to get my 80D out there and try this! Thank you!

It is a very good video! I got the idea of Continuous shoot. I will just use a stable tripod with a macro rail and see the result. Thanks for sharing.

Prima das du auch die Fehlversuche zeigst 😂 einfach Klasse 👍👍👍👍👍

Excellent video. Loads of information, well presented with no waste.

Thanks for the video. Good job !

Great info Stewart. My 7D shoots 10 fps. Can't wait to give it a go with my new 100 f/2.8 Macro! Love that lens!

Thanks, great video

Brilliant Stewart. I love watching your videos. I would definitely like to see more on hand held macro. I find a tripod in the field far too cumbersome, especially for insects. They’ve usually flown or crawled away by the time you get it set up. I’m lucky to have focus stacking built into my camera (Panasonic) which does a fairly good job most of the time, but only produces an 8mp image. So i want to try your methods for higher res images.

Thank you!!!! You cleared so much. Regards :)

Hi Stewart, nice video and thanks for the awesome tips!

Hello Stewart!! it’s great to see you again. Thank you very much for all these tips. Just today I took some photos in my garden and I was about to throw them because I did not know how to fix them, they are from beetles on a plant, I made burst shots to test how the images were and after seeing your magnificent video tonight I'm going to try to fix it with Photoshop just like you did. I have been doing Macro but at an indoor work table and today I decided to start outdoors after watching your Macro Adventures videos. You are a teacher for me in the macro technique and I am watching all your videos, I hope one day to achieve images as beautiful as the ones you do and that is why I see your videos several times. I am taking my pictures with a Canon M50, Oshiro macro 60mm F2.8 2: 1 lens, Canon 35-80mm lens modified for Macro and extension tubes. This is for the moment my equipment. Thank you for your educational videos and for giving us your knowledge in this interesting part of photography. With my best regards!!!

EXCELLENT!!!!!! Stewart, just stumbled upon this how to and it fits with my shoot of yesterday, but of flowers - which tend to move in the breeze. I've never really tried focus stacking, because I'M DUMB!!! Why didn't I think of just moving forward in manual like you do!!!!???? LOL!!! Many thanks for these tips, I've subscribed!!!!!

great video actually learned something new thank you

Thank you for showing your technique. I would never have thought this to be working, because as you move in closer the subject will become larger in the frame. Guess photoshop takes care of that issue as well.

Well done!

Great, first time learning about this, I’m going to try it out 👍🏼

great vid Stewart, really enjoyed it, I do a little stacking so more videos would be great

Been waiting for this good job

great stuff -- looking forward to the macro video - driving me crazy lol

Thank you for this guide Stewart! Here in Ukraine macro photography really helps to keep my mood up amidst the war.

Very usefull vlog. Thnx

Really good Stewart! Learned a lot with this video. Ready to try with my new 80D :-)

Whooop lovin that Miami shirt! Im burning up in Miami right now, ill definitely give this a watch when i get back to my hotel. Thanks for putting up great content!

Great video! Moving the camera instead of using any kind of focusing aid (like in Olympus or Panasonic MFT cameras) sounds interesting. I'll try it!

hi Stewart, another really useful video. I tried to take some butterfly pictures the other evening on Butser Hill but it was pretty much a disaster. After watching your video and seeing how you use the multi-image burst to get lots of images i could of kicked myself, it never even crossed my mind to try that method. I will have to try again some other time and try the stacking method with them. Thanks again, regards Erich

Superb tips, Stewart! I'm more impressed by the amount of work it takes for you to create these photos and videos though. I laugh so hard everytime I watch the bloopers part. Love the swearing too. ;)

That's an excellent tutorial. I do wish you had shown the actual movement of going "in and/or out) while shooting. I do have an idea, which you can try if you deem it worthy of your time. That will require a focus rail on a tripod. You can manually move the camera on focus rails forward/backward, while keeping the shutter release pressed for continuous high speed shooting. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

Great vid buddy 😎👌🤙

This was the best explanation of photo stacking that I have found. Thank you! Have you upgraded to the 90D yet?

Super video I shall be giving this a try thank you

Классный монтаж

Great video! Any video on Focus stacking with Flashes as mostly flash power or f/s is the barrier

cool video, really helpful information :-)

awesome video and a concept I wouldn't have considered... you have a new subscriber. :)

brilliant :)

Great video despite the bloopers. Will bee following.

Been watching this again, great help. I have a Canon EOS M5 and can get some decent close-ups with it and a Raynox/Sigma combination. Could you let me know how i could perhaps use a flash in stacking, for that 'image freeze'? The problem is that flashes have to recycle i presume. So i cannot do the burst with a Speedlite on...580 EXII i got cheap as the diffuser was broken.

👍Ingenious technique well explained from shot to edit, Stewart! Will be certain to try it. Video on macro level sounds challenging. Here’s an idea: how about macro panoramas? Searched for tuts but came up w/only one (silent) vid. E.G., multiple critters on a twig that would encompass a wider field of macro view than you would normally have?

Excellent video. I have a fuji xt30 but no image stabilised lens for macro. Would it still work with higher SS and perhaps bumping iso up?

Excellent video. The post production is v useful. I have a canon 90d with focus bracketing. Any comments about it? What are the presets you are using at the end very useful

you can also hold your hand in front of the lens and take a picture (so its dark). This was you know where one stack ends/starts

Excellent tutorial! Is there a way we can get your presets?

What I'm trying to understand is when you focus and moving in closer to the subject while shooting, you're enlarging the images as well so how can you stack different sizes of images together.

Just purchased a Sigma 100 Macro 2.4 to go on my 80D cant wait to use it and this was really useful thankyou. Do you use extension tubes with your macro lens? and is it worth buying a set?

COOL explenation ! But for stacking I use affinity , far better than CS 6 ........... and no need for extra (dedicated) programmes as Zerene or the expensive Helicon Focus !

Hi Stewart, Thanks a ton for creating this fantastic video on focus stacking. I am glad that you listen to your viewers and keep up to our requests. I cannot just wait to experiment this technique. Thank you once again for sharing this awesome approach to macro photography! Cheers! Sarajit, India

Have you thought of getting a go-pro or equivalent to put on your flash shoe? that way you could show the actual way you are doing the technique :), Great Video.

Hello Stewart, Great bJob. I learned a lot. You mentioned your presets in the video. Are they available to us?

I followed your steps do make a stacked image, however when i click to stack it combines all the layers in a single one. how did you manage to keep de separated layers and the result of stacking process to be shown in another layer?

I have a Sony mirrorless that takes 11fps. I never thought of getting a stack the way you demonstrated. Clever!

Would it work too manual focus, while burst shooting? Then it would maby be less crop. Great totorial👍🏻

Very good tutorial ... Just a short question: Wouldn't it be better to twist the manual focus ring on the objective instead of moving the camrea towards the object? I would expect that this gives better resukts - but I didn't try this until now :)

Really good technique . But i have a little query about your lens which one you used for macro photography ?

😍😍👍

HI Stewart have you tried the focus bracketing with the 5D IV it works with firmware 4.1 it is also a new feature with mirrorless, if you have i'll be keen to hear your results V manual stacking regards peter