First Stacking Attempt

[jeffashman]

Nice shot. I just might have to give focus stacking a try myself.

Thanks!

 

[jeffashman]

One last perspective. Different angle and lighting. f/4.5 1/10 ISO 125. 55 stack. If you look closely, you can see a little birds head in each flower.

mar20202402 by Jeff Ashman, on Flickr

 

[ClintLloyd]

I don't think Lightroom Classic does focus stacking, except by editing in Photoshop. In other words, it is done in PS.

I've been stacking my RAW files in LR Classic for donkey's years now (about two years)...

 

[ClintLloyd]

Great to see you're having fun with it Jeff!

 

[jeffashman]

I've been stacking my RAW files in LR Classic for donkey's years now (about two years)...

The choices are greyed out for me. Maybe it doesn't stack dng files? Do they have to be jpg?

 

[ClintLloyd]

The choices are greyed out for me. Maybe it doesn't stack dng files? Do they have to be jpg?

Not sure. I always just drag and drop my RAW files there from a folder. Only ever shot in RAW so I know nothing about JPEG. My RAW DXO Deepprime images are turned into a DNG which automatically transfers to LR no problems too, so I don't have the answer here my friend.

 

[Thiophilos]

I've been stacking my RAW files in LR Classic for donkey's years now (about two years)...

Sure, but it uses Photoshop to do that.

"... the post-processing involves steps in both Lightroom and Photoshop."

Focus Stacking (Step by Step Guide for Beginners)

Unlock the Power of Focus Stacking! In this step-by-step guide, I'll show you how to use focus stacking to capture every detail, from macros to landscapes, and make your images truly unforgettable!

www.lightroompresets.com

 

[ClintLloyd]

Sure, but it uses Photoshop to do that.

"... the post-processing involves steps in both Lightroom and Photoshop."

As I said, I just use LR. No PS.

I select the images in LR then I select stack images. Doesn't get any simpler than that...

 

[Thiophilos]

As I said, I just use LR. No PS.

I select the images in LR then I select stack images. Doesn't get any simpler than that...

LR Classic? Where in the menu system do you find stack images?

 

[ClintLloyd]

LR Classic? Where in the menu system do you find stack images?

LR Classic. As you import your images for the stack, highlight all at the bottom of the screen. Right mouse click on one of the highlighted images, I'm not at my computer but you can go down about 3/4 down the pop up and it will say something about stacking images. Ridiculously easy... ️

 

[Thiophilos]

LR Classic. As you import your images for the stack, highlight all at the bottom of the screen. Right mouse click on one of the highlighted images, I'm not at my computer but you can go down about 3/4 down the pop up and it will say something about stacking images. Ridiculously easy... ️

On my laptop I have LR classic (but not Photoshop). When I do as you say, I see Stacking and under it, Group into Stack. Clicking on the latter causes the images into be collected into a stack but does not do a focus stack. More info needed.

 

[smoke665]

Okay, I deleted a previous comment, because it was misleading. The latest version of LR will combine images for HDR, but does not have the ability to "Auto Blend", focus stacks. Per Adobe:

"You can create stacks to group a set of visually similar photos together, making them easy to manage. Stacks are useful for keeping multiple photos of the same subject or a photo and its virtual copies in one place, and they reduce clutter in the Grid view and the Filmstrip."

When you stack a group in LR you are creating a stack of individual images one on top of the other, but there is no blending, all you see is the top image, unless you create an HDR file, but HDR combines differing exposures, no differing focal points. Here's the official link from Adobe scroll down in the page. How to focus stack in Lightroom in 5 steps | Adobe

 

[jeffashman]

Thanks everyone for the awesome input! I've changed my LR with 1TB subscription to Photography with 20GB subscription, and will practice the photo stacking with the Topaz Photo AI, LR, PS combination and see how that goes. Anyway, I need to stop being lazy and go learn PS. Thanks for the valuable input and critique on my first stacking attempt!

 

[ClintLloyd]

Okay, I deleted a previous comment, because it was misleading. The latest version of LR will combine images for HDR, but does not have the ability to "Auto Blend", focus stacks. Per Adobe:

"You can create stacks to group a set of visually similar photos together, making them easy to manage. Stacks are useful for keeping multiple photos of the same subject or a photo and its virtual copies in one place, and they reduce clutter in the Grid view and the Filmstrip."

When you stack a group in LR you are creating a stack of individual images one on top of the other, but there is no blending, all you see is the top image, unless you create an HDR file, but HDR combines differing exposures, no differing focal points. Here's the official link from Adobe scroll down in the page. How to focus stack in Lightroom in 5 steps | Adobe

*Sighs...

What I've written is literally how I've done about 1000 images till this point. The top image will always be the first image which will have the immediate foreground in focus and the background out of focus. The last image has the foreground completely out of focus and the background in.

I must be a bloody magician... ️

 

[ClintLloyd]

Thanks everyone for the awesome input! I've changed my LR with 1TB subscription to Photography with 20GB subscription, and will practice the photo stacking with the Topaz Photo AI, LR, PS combination and see how that goes. Anyway, I need to stop being lazy and go learn PS. Thanks for the valuable input and critique on my first stacking attempt!

Well done Jeff.