Macro focus stack and editing tutorial: Photoshop and Lightroom ideas and tips
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- I show how I use focus stacking in Photoshop to create a pin-sharp macro photo without using a tripod. I also show the editing ideas I use to create an eye-catching image in both Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as how to remove dirt from a shot and use color grading and the Orton effect to create the look you want.
Check out last week's video where I show how I took the image, including the lighting I used to create shadow and drama: • Macro in the forest: T...
#Macro #Photography #Tutorial
Like the video. In it, you mentioned removing some of the debris on the mushroom, but didn't want to damage it. Not long ago, I discovered a method that won't damage delicate life. You'll love this: SABLE HAIR MAKE-UP BRUSHES!! Yep, make-up and "blush" brushes made of sable hair. I discovered this by looking in my "grandpa's camera bag for something else when I saw the brushes. Perplexed by this revelation, I had to ask WHY the brushes. He told me. Now, I've told you. SHHH! don't tell him I revealed one of his Master Secrets!
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~Alexa
Good video. I wasn't sure about parts of this & it really worked out for you. And the Orton Effect was sooooo easy the way you did it.
When using the clone stamp, try doing it on a separate layer, so that you don't make the changes on the image it self, but isolate the changes on a layer by it self. Then flatten afterwards before Camera Raw.
Fantastic image and great edit!
Gills not fins, yes stem is correct. Thank you for the tutorial!
Rocking two different hairstyles in one video, I like it!!
There may have been a continuity issue at play here...
Thanks for a very clear explanation of the edits. I love the final image.
Thank you for all you share Andrew, I sincerely appreciate it. I created my first stack (3 photos) this morning utilizing your workflow. I'm looking forward to this season of macro spring/summer! :D
Excellent, original processing workflow. Many thanks
Learning macro, and cos I have autism it's hard for me to find people that keep me focus on them and video ,but I'm loving your videos dude
That was so informative & what a beautiful edit. Thank-you for taking us through the process of taking these photos as well.
Thank you so much for watching, and for your kind words!
Excellent! Your video was wonderfully concise and just what I was looking for. Thank you.
I like the raw look
Just discovered your videos last week and as a total beginner only picking up the camera this year i'm so happy to find your channel! I want to shoot everything i see but macro always have a special place in my heart. Thanks so much for your videos it inspires me to shoot more macro
Thanks so much for such a kind comment!
Photoshop mastershop! Lots to learn! Very well done.
You’re so helpful. Thank you!
Came across your website recently and have enjoyed all the videos I've watched. Your explanations are clear and detailed and I've learned something from each of them. Loved this one. Thank you. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks so much, Christine, that's really nice of you to say!
This was exactly what I needed to see. I learned a lot. Thank you.
Great video. I love photographs of Fungi. 2 things I keep I'm my bag are a small spray bottle of water and a bin liner to lay on the floor to keep my knees dry. A quick spray of water can transform a shot. Thanks for posting.
This is just amazing!!!
This was a great abd thorough tutorial! Finally feel like i understand what stacking is. And that camera raw as layers was amazing! Thank you! One thing I'm super interested in, is your export settings so that the image is nice in Instagram.
Really love this video well explained and definitely learned alot! Thanks
Very helpful to a long time macro photographer but incompetent LR-PS user. Really enjoyed both videos in this set.
Thanks so much, glad they were helpful!
Love what you're doing with your channel. Great content, great communication, knowledge and production. I'll gladly subscribe.
Thanks to you and your video I'm inspired to bring out my macro lens today for a walk in the forest.
Thanks Elias, that's really nice of you to say! I hope you got some great shots!
Really cool tutorial!
Awesome procedure 🤘🏻✌🏻
Just discovered your channel. I really like your calm and professional voice - no manic American 'Hey guys' BS. The best thing though is your practical subject matter. Please try not to change! Subbed
Hi Richard, thanks so much for your really kind words -- a pleasure to have you along!
This guy has class, that's why.
Thanks for the detailed instructions.
Thank you for watching, I'm glad it was helpful!
A cheap soft paint brush or make up brush will help gently remove the debris from the 🍄 :) Thank you for this tutorial!
Great video, always been abit nervous about photoshop as I've got use to lightroom seems alittle easier, but as you have shown its not that bad...practice thats what i need.
Great channel with interesting ideas, thanks.
Thank you for sharing your workflow Andrew - a terrific tutorial! Could you share your preference/recommendation for importing (or saving) the final image? Thank you!
Snap...just discovered your channel too and really impressed with the educational content of the video's. This channel will only grow as the word spreads.
Thanks so much, Nick!
Great video and great channel Andrew! You've got another subscriber. I've been really pulled into close-up & macro photography and you present so many great tips and ideas. Please keep it up. Focus stacking has been a game changer! I love close-ups with wide-open apertures. The contrast of a pin-sharp subject against a background that is just a wash of color with absolutely no detail is amazing. I have a question about file size though. I did a 7 image stack with 16 MB files (Canon R6 RAW) and the resulting stacked tiff file from Photoshop was 1.2 GB! That is quite a bit larger than the 112 MB sum of the 7 files. Is this your experience or I am doing something wrong to get a mammoth file?
First video I've seen that makes Photoshop look easy. Thank you for slowly going through each step of adding layers which have confused me forever. Especially like the manual focus staking. Would you consider a camera that has focus stacking built-in?
really nice, ty!
Thank you for watching!
Just saw this couple of videos and just subscribed. You have a calm voice, none of this UA-camr arrogance, and a lot of handy tips, thanks a lot for sharing!
One question though, as a graphic designer I wonder why you wouldn’t turn your cleaned up layer into a smart object and start applying camera raw filters dynamically so you can always go back on your work if ever needed (not to mention probably a gain in hard drive space).
Great video. Really enjoyed listening to your process. Btw, in the myco world the stem is referred to as the stipe.
Thanks, enjoyed watching that. Personally I preferred the more natural colours of the image before editing but it was interesting to see how you manipulated the image to get the final results. All depends on personal preference and what you are trying to achieve I suppose
Cool image and helpful tutorial. Will try presets adjustments in PS.👍 Use of Orton softening seems counterintuitive for focus stacked image where objective is to get more in focus.
Nice edit Andrew! Some of the debris on the hood of the mushroom, I did not mind at all. But I would have taken out the most disturbing bits out as well.
This is really good content…
Thanks John!
2:15 a mushroom stem or trunk is technically called the stipe (rhymes with hype)
6:04 the fins are called lamellae by mycologists and gills by some others
Thanks, I shall try and remember that!!
Hi Andrew. Wonderful blog really enjoyed both of them. One criticism please slow your panning down when shooting......! (The first blog) keep up the good work.
Thank you Andrew, I used to be very keen on macro & you have just re-ignited my enthusiasm.....2 questions if i may please, how you photo stack & do you sell your 'Presets' ????
About the removal of the debris - one should really know it's subject. Before you know it you remove something that really is an integral part of the subject's life (thinking of the white dots on an agaric).
BTW: very helpfull tutorial - thank you!
Thanks Simon, and great point! I defintiely wouldn't want to remove anything that SHOULD be there -- including other mushrooms in a scene that some photographers might 'Shop out in order to neaten the scene. But bits of leaves/dirt etc that's happened to fall on the subject I think is fair game to clean up, should you want to (and many wouldn't).
Hi Andrew! Great video, thanks for the explanation. Would you say this is more efficient way of focus stacking and editing rather than through Helicon focus and into Lr? .. Cleaning etc. is definitely better in Ps. I wonder whether Helicon focus is worth paying for. Thanks for your opinion!
M
Hey, great video. I have a question about Camera RAW Filter. When I create one to a separate layer, can I go back and change something? As in Lightroom?
Thanks very much Andrew. I actually prefer the mushroom with its detritus, its more interesting and authentic :o)
Thanks so much for watching! That's a very good point actually and not one I'd considered. I think maybe I could have kept some of the bits of dirt, but some of the bigger twigs and whatnot I'd still have wanted to remove as I feel they draw the eye a little too much. Maybe there's a happy medium I could have achieved with this edit that I'll keep in mind in the future!
@@AndrewLanxonPhotography You inspired me to try the focus shift on my Z7ii for the first time this weekend and I got some great slices. Now I just need to stack and stitch and will be using this video as a guide, as it is excellent and also covers how to remove the unwanted artefacts which is also new to me. I meant to commend you on not wanting to risk damaging the mushroom and rather using post to tidy it up. I agree with the points you mention in your reply and the final image is superb! I look forward to your next video. Thanks very much.
Try a camel hair brush I use a 40 year old lens brush luv your style
Good tip!
Excellent edit! Where can I find presets that you are using?
Just a thought, have u considered a can of compressed air to blow detritus away in the field? I've always got one in my photo bag for my camera & lenses. Might not be powerful enough to clear everything away but it would do less damage than brushing the detritus and may save u some time in editing. Anyway, cracking image mate 👍
I haven't considered compressed air actually, but it's definitely a good idea. I'm defintiely going to carry a small brush with me in the future as I can just slip that easily into a pocket.
In this tutorial you use presets are these presets you’ve created or are they downloaded from somewhere?
Andrew, aside from your image of the mushroom being stunning, I believe it to be the quintessential example for describing focus stacking as it is shot. I have struggled for weeks to understand the process BEFORE it goes to Photoshop or Lightroom ( I have no problem with that part, editing and managing the stack through completion). I don't understand how you captured the eight shots that you sent to Lightroom. Did you move your camera's focal point to each of those eight, out-of-focus places to shoot them or did you just move the focus ring or both perhaps? What, exactly, did you do to get those eight shots? This is where I am like John the Baptist Crying in the Wilderness! If you could help me with this I would be eternally grateful!! Many thanks, Andrew!
When you take these images to stack, are you taking multi-pul images and manually focusing each one on a tripod, or are you using a specific setting on your camera?
Great video with lots of info. I am going to subscribe. Only thing I didn’t like was the large twig behind the mushroom, but that’s not important in the context of the tutorial
Thanks Deborah, a pleasure to have you along! Agreed with the large twig, but I also feel that without it it would have lost a little of that woodland context. I definitely should try and do one with and without next time!
Hi Andrew…. My question today is, do you use a Mac or PC for this editing? If it is a Mac, I guess I need to get a mouse because I cannot do any of the things you are showing by using my pad on the laptop itself. :(. I took some pics today to try to follow you along and I cannot get the screens to come up so I am off to buy a mouse. Hahaha!
Hi there Tamara! I always use a mouse when editing on my desktop of laptop as it's much easier than using a trackpad. However, the software itself shouldn't function any differently, so in terms of "screens coming up" as you say, that isn't something that is likely to change by using a mouse instead of a pad. You might find that it actually does help, but at the very least I'm sure you'll find it more comfortable to edit with!
The bigger bodies on the hat looks natural imo and prevent the more sterile look when totally removed. In some cases such pieces are fragments of the initial veil surrounding the young mushroom. I don't know if this is the case for this species. I can't identify it from the image. Do you know the Latin name?
Thanks for the tutorial. Would you mind sharing the source of your presets?
Another one here asking for that :) Great tutorial btw, learned a lot ;)
Thanks for the comment! These are VSCO's desktop Lightroom presets which they used to sell on their website but I'm not sure they do anymore. I also use some of PHLEARN's presets as well as a bunch of my own that I've made (but don't sell).
When has Helicon Focus performed poorly, e.g., subject color, surface textures, exposure etc.?
Did you change any settings on the camera when you took all the original shots?
Hey Jackson! When I'm doing a focus stack image I don't change camera settings at all between images, only the focus point. That way, every focus point I'm blending will have the same exposure. Thanks for watching!
@@AndrewLanxonPhotography thank you
How come you don't use Zerene Stacker or Helicon focus when doing focus stacking? Both will give much much better results than photoshop, especially when doing deeper stacks like this image which probably needed 12-14 images for full focus.
Cardinal all over the place in Manchester.
I never successfully focus stacked in Photoshop. It always leave patches of blurry image on sharp areas and vice versa :(
Photoshop can be awkward sometimes. It often fails to do it properly if there isn't enough overlap between your focus points, so it simply doesn't have that 'in focus' data to use. But sometimes it also just screws it up, even if you shot loads of images. In that case, I use a piece of software called Helicon Focus, which is a pro-level focus stacking tool and that almost always does a much better job. It's great if you're focus stacking an images with 20 or more images. Hope that helps!
I’ve had similar issues with photoshop when stacking longer focal lengths but it seems to work better on wider angle scenes
It’s not a big deal. Like you said, the dirt wasn’t part of the mushroom. And I bet 99.9% of photographers would do the same.
Thanks! I'm sure they would, as well. I'm sure many would go further and add in other mushrooms or do other manipulations that I feel might be stretching the 'truth' a little bit which I'm always keen to avoid.
Mushrooms have gills, not fins
GILLS. Good knowledge there, thank you! I'll try and remember that in the future!
Yes taking to far . It was a good photo now it’s like your in a studio . It’s false