Focus Stacking in Macro Photography – Beginner Tutorial

MICAEL's OLYMPUS MACRO KIT
💥 Flash: Godox v350o
🔎 Closeup lens: Raynox DCR-250

MICAEL's SONY MACRO KIT

HOW I MAKE MY VIDEOS

For my indoor Youtube videos I currently use these tools that I feel give excellent results and a very simple workflow.
💻 Editing: Macbook Pro M2 with Final Cut Pro

For outdoor filming I prefer a small and simple setup that makes filming myself very easy and fast.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00 Why do focus stacking?
03:36 How to take the photos
05:24 Focus slider / focus rail
07:25 Handheld stacking
11:00 Automated in-camera stacking
12:58 Picking photos for a stack
14:29 Preparing the photos in Lightroom
18:18 Stacking the photos in Helicon Focus
20:04 Retouching in Helicon Focus

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Thank you for watching my videos. 🥰

[MicaelWidell]

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[claudiocrespo]

Super super 🎉. Finally the video that I was looking for.. Thanks!

[tiktokfavorite]

Great video like always. 2 or 3 years agoI learned macro photogroahy watching your videos, and continue watching all your video. I dont have instagram or other social media platform, so i dont post my pictures anywhere. When i feel lazy to shoot macro, i go back and watch one of your video and it motivates me to go out and take pictures.. I am a lorry/truck driver and drive across united states and when ever i stop at a rest area for my break, i try to go out and take pictures. You could have also included how to focus stalk in photoshop, so beginners dont have to buy an extra software 😊

[jonathanashton]

Thank you Micael, it had not occurred to me that cropping and positioning the subject in the frame prior to stacking was such a good idea.

[toto_extreme]

Perfect timing for this video! The garden is buzzing with opportunity! Thanks for the helpful tips, Micael!

[bittertruth]

As usual, very comprehensive covering all aspects of focus stacking photography. Excellent tutorial. Thanks.

[Beunzi_H]

Thank you @micaelWidell i have to admit that I the Tiff tip is very useful .. I just tried it, despite the retouching task, i am pretty happy with the result... cannot wait to try new subjects...

[xinqiwang]

Thorough tutorial! Intuitive & easy to follow. The rear part out of focus is totally natural. Love it!

[gombau]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
This is the BEST beginners tutorial about macro photography!

[eubertrenz]

there's a lot of video out there but for me, this video is very helpful specially to the begginers in macro photography like me. you watch every important details you need to know in macro.
thanks to you sir.

[DavidBrown-ifvn]

I'm glad you put this out there.
I haven't done stacking, so it was good to run through the entire process, even though I know all the steps, so this acts as a checklist.
Thanks!

[annbiswas]

So helpful and informative, Micael! Thanks again for posting such a excellent, clear video!

[kbezao]

Great video! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[EolicoJM]

OM System (and olympus lastest mid/pro cameras) can do focus bracketing (in-body focus stacking) generating a simple picture in jpeg,
Canon Rf mount has "depth composite" which generates a bracketing as well in a picture.

Panasonic Lumix could do it with "post focus" but they changed the processor and newer cameras only do focus stacking

Other brands only do focus stacking like the video

[robin_arianson]

I have purchased a macro lens and flash from Meike MK320. I was inspired by you about the world of macro photography. For me, it was really fun to learn something new that I often do, namely portrait photos with human subjects.

[Trish]

Great information Micael! I use Helicon Focus to stack, but I had no idea that the program could retouch like that, thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[queensferry]

Thanks for this great explanations!! The flash works also with Nikon´s automated focus stacking... (11:26)

[cesurkarakus]

I need your advice. I'm using my Smartphone + macro lens to take Macro photos. I have two options:

1-Taking RAW pictures: The phone doesn't let me use burst mode, so I have to wait 3-4 seconds between each shot. And 95 out of 100 photos end up blurry.

2-Using the stock camera: The phone allows me to take 30 burst photos in 1-2 seconds. I move my camera while shooting bursts, so capturing the best shot is much easier, but the output is JPEG.

[MBroam]

Thank you Micael, this should help me get a lot better results!

[katherinemarymeier]

Thank you for creating these great videos on macro photography & insect photography. I belong to a local camera club, and one of our upcoming contests is Insects and/or Spiders. Your videos inspire me to try these really cool techniques. Thank you!