Can I use focus stacking to make both a portrait subject and the background sharp?
Asked 4/25/2019
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I want to shoot a portrait with a 50mm lens and have both the person and the background appear sharp. Instead of switching to a wider lens or stopping down the aperture, could I do this with focus stacking? For example: take one shot focused on the subject from a tripod, have the subject step out, take another shot focused on the background, then merge them in software. Is there an automatic way to do that, rather than manually masking everything in post?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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Adobe had a good blog which shows how to do this in Photoshop here.
Basically:
- take multiple photos with different areas in focus
- import photos as layers to one image
- auto align layers
- auto blend layers
- adjust masks, tone, color, etc to your liking.
Originally by user31874. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user31874
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is essentially a focus-stacking workflow, and software can automate much of it if the camera position stays fixed. The general process is:
- Take multiple photos with different focus points.
- Import them as layers in one document.
- Auto-align the layers.
- Auto-blend the layers so the sharp areas from each frame are combined.
- Fine-tune masks, tone, and color if needed.
Photoshop supports this approach with Auto-Align Layers and Auto-Blend Layers. In practice, it works best when nothing moves between frames. For a portrait, movement from the subject, hair, clothing, or changing light can make the blend less perfect, so some manual cleanup may still be needed.
If your subject fully leaves the frame for the background shot, the software may not always produce the exact result you want automatically, but the aligned-layer and blending approach is the standard starting point.
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