A Complete Guide to Focus Stacking

Orchid Bee in flight

Over the last several years I have talked a lot about focus stacking. Hardly surprising, as it is one of the core skills any serious macro photographer must master eventually. But as with everything, the technology has not been idle and much has changed in our approach to stacking, the equipment we use, and in the techniques we choose from. This all for the good, but it can leave some of us feeling a little overwhelmed and confused. I see this affecting my students in a variety of ways, but most commonly, when a student becomes overwhelmed by the endless barrage of choices and alternatives, they will disconnect from the process and settle for the set of principles that they are most familiar with - which are often times the same set of principles that were not working and caused them to seek guidance in the first place. This may be further influenced by the fact that we are surrounded by a community that is brimming with legitimate experts in this and many other fields. This can mean that the new student is sometimes intimidated or overwhelmed by the amount of advice offered by well-meaning colleagues and friends, each with their own variations and refinements, but who all want to support the struggling photographer.

Parasitic wasp - a portrait

My awareness of this phenomenon is not new and one of the measures I have been thinking about for years was to structure a course, actually several courses, covering this and a host of other topics, wherein I would lay out the fundamentals of, say, focus stacking in a way that the student could follow easily, while also providing them with a basis from which to evaluate new ideas, techniques, or gear as it became available. In other words, a practical blend of theory and practice. Enough of the former to really understand the latter. This would be a course that I would sell and that students could refer to  whenever they needed a concise but thorough review of the topic in question. It would also have the added benefit of generating some revenue for the channel, to help me pay the bills. I began writing the lesson plans, generating written support content and structuring the material into individual video sections. In fact I made quite a bit of progress over the last two years and have accumulated a significant collection of material for a dozen or so courses. Of course, the courses never materialized, because of one critical resource that has been chronically in short supply since the beginning. And that of course, is time.

A damsel fly

Producing the content - recording, editing, marketing, selling, and supporting - takes time and it takes money, and my business model, such as it was, did not give me any flexibility in terms of time (and as proof of what a good business model it was, it also did not result in my making any money!). I have always believed that the content I make should be free to anyone who wants to take advantage of it. I cringe at the thought of charging someone for a for a service that I have not yet provided. I thought (and still think) this way because I also believed that those who benefited from the content and valued my work and feel moved to contribute something to the channel in return. And this was, in fact, what happened, though to a considerably lesser degree than I had hoped. I have never changed the business model because I still think this is the right way to do it. The result of this approach is that my first priority, from day one until today, is to produce the content that you find on my channel, at a level that is consistent and at a frequency that meets the expectations of my audience. But when I have that as my priority, there is no time left to do anything else. With an average of four events every week of the year, and given the amount of time it takes to write, research, generate support materials, and publish each block of content, there is barely enough time run the business, meet with students, and chip away at my mountain of correspondence before it is time to start all over again.

The best focus stacking hardware made

A word about my loyal band of Patreon Supporters… these folks are the reason the channel is still here after 7 years. Without them I would have had to pack it in a long time ago. I am deeply grateful for their support and encouragement and humbled by their kindness through the years. And it is because of the relationships that I have made with these individuals that I am unwilling to cut back on the volume of content I produce, which is something I would clearly have to do if I were to try to bring my courses to market. I would not feel right in doing that and would not expect them to continue supporting me if I did.

Tarsus of tiger beetle

What then should I do with this course content? I put a lot of work into it and I think it is about as close to a definitive treatment of the topic that I could come up with - so it seems wasteful not to use it. I won’t be around for ever and every week that rushes by is one less week in which I can put it to good use. I am never going to sell this courses material, and it is of no use to anyone while it sits stacked up on my shelf. That is why I will be releasing this first block of material over the next four livestreams. In the next two weeks, over four consecutive livestreams, I will give you everything I know about focus stacking… everything. There is no navel-gazing or philosophical meandering, just updated practical content, packed with recommendations for best practices, and actual, usable answer to questions like “what is the best step distance at 5X?”, or “where do I stick the pin?”, “what is the best tube lens for my objective?”, and “where does the diffusion material go, exactly?”. Each livestream will contain all the content from the planned course, though the delivery has been modified to suit the live format. Each stream will become a YouTube Video, accessible through my YouTube page, for the rest of time, so you can go back and rewatch any of the content at your leisure. I will put the videos in a special playlist so they are easy to find. And they will be free!*

So with all that out of the way let’s get down to business… The series is called “Focus Stacking”, Chapters I through IV and the first hour-long episode is the Tuesday at 8pm (11.11.25) - the link is here - https://youtube.com/live/tCFKWb8qT8I?feature=share.  The stream covers the fundamentals of stacking with a look at the problem of tiny depth of field with rising magnification, the concept of stacking, ways to move the focal plane, manual vs. automated focal change, the core limitations and common pitfalls of stacking, and how to choose the right equipment for your particular needs.

On Thursday we tackle Chapter II, “The Shoot”, in Macro Talk Too, at 2PM central time. In this jam packed hour we will cover the foundations of lighting, light modification and control, setting up the subject and the scene, choosing the correct stacking method for your use case, finding the right step length, camera and stacking hardware settings, the shooting workflow, and finishing up with data and file management. This is going to be the densest of the streams, but also the most important. Your link is here - https://youtube.com/live/fWEUvvSEna8?feature=share

A week from Monday, at the usual time, we will dig into Chapter III - “The Stack” where we will talk about stacking software options and consider the benefits and drawbacks of each. Then we cover preparing and exporting the stack, software settings, camera settings, the output options and what they mean, the mysteries of retouching, exporting the final image, and retrieving it in Lightroom. We will talk about the options settings in Zerene Stacker, before briefly touching on retouching and artifact correction tips. I will include a live stacking workflow demonstration  to bring it a together. Join the stream by clicking here - https://youtube.com/live/D0Q7JgqGXa8?feature=share

On the following Macro Talk Too, Thursday the 20th of November, we will wrap up the series with Chapter IV. In this chapter we will consider the process of turning a retouched focus stacking output into an actual photograph. This will include a recap on the importance of good retouching and the absolute necessity  of establishing a post processing workflow. We will look at sharpening and finishing the image and discuss the options for exporting. Finally I will discuss the importance of critical evaluation of the final images and how this process is the key to ongoing improvement in focus stacking. The link is here - https://youtube.com/live/bt2z78SrkWQ?feature=share

* I should clarify - my terrible business model has not changed, so if you find that the content presented in the next four livestreams is helpful in some way, and you decide that it is even worth coughing up a couple of bucks, you can always toss some change in the hat (https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/donations is one way to do it - there are others in the show notes), or better yet, consider joining Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/allanwallsphotography). But you don’t have to - free means free.

But that is not all that we have for you this week! On Friday we have episode 5 of Crystal Art with  Harold Hall. I am particularly excited about this meeting because I have something very interesting to discuss with my viewers. It concerns an experiment that I have been working on for the last couple of weeks, detailing the influence of modal acoustic vibration patterns on the birefringent properties of crystals exposed to these frequencies during formation and propagation. In order to establish and maintain the correct conditions under which these altered properties could be observed, I had to design and build a test platform that turned out to be much more involved than anticipated. On Friday I will introduce this device to the group and share my plans and drawings with anyone interested in following me down this fascinating rabbit hole. The idea of being able to “dial in” a predictable crystal structure at will is quite exciting. Remember that participation in this growing group is free and you do not have to have any experience at all in crystal photography to attend. We meet at 2pm central time on the second Friday of the month. Our meetings run to about 90 minutes and are recorded for posting on YouTube shortly thereafter. Your invitation to Crystal Art 5 is here:

Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Allan Walls’ Crystal Art with Harold Hall

Time: Nov 14, 2025 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=86587466328

Meeting ID: 691 680 2815

Passcode: 678122

Join instructions

https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/86587466328/invitations?signature=7CsHiyLKFMCXSd7QvhsqIXlD_LsCUwl51eVK3O6AwhY

As if that was not already a busy week, we will also be hosting AfterStack35 with Bud Perrott, on Saturday 11.15.25 from 10:00 until 11:30AM. This week we are not setting a specific topic for discussion and instead are asking you to bring at least one of your own images, preferably one that you are having trouble post-processing to your satisfaction, for the group to discuss and for which to explore alternative editing options. It is a fun group and very often produces a lot of fresh and useful ideas for post-processing improvement. Please join us for this free live discussion on Saturday. Your invitation is here…

Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Allan Walls’ AfterStack 35 with Bud Perrott

Time: Nov 15, 2025 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=81814455645

Meeting ID: 691 680 2815

Passcode: 678122

Join instructions

https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/81814455645/invitations?signature=gZmiYwshVtxhaiqLOR8qRK9qhmVWPA_1m5qbimTAg14

I look forward to seeing you at one of these upcoming shindigs - we have a lot to talk about!

Insect gymnastics

And one last thing - I know that many of you are advanced experts in the area of focus stacking and may be less than enthusiastic about spending an hour listening to me prattle on about it, but I would urge you to reconsider. It is true that this material was written for the new student, it does not stay at the beginner level for long. This is a comprehensive treatment of the subject and covers some advanced and even controversial ground. It is written for students who are interested in progressing fast and motivated to return to topics that they may have missed on the first attempt. I think even the experienced macro photographer will find this group of discussions to be a useful review that may even offer some fresh insights to consider. And one other thing… you can help me answer questions from those who are laboring behind you on the road - and for that I would be most grateful!

Competition Time!

Greetings everyone - I hope your week is off to a good start. I have been a busy chap and thought I would use the blog post this week to give you an update on stuff that is currently in the pipeline. This is the July 4th week, with the holiday (in the US) on Friday. While this may lead to  a number of sunburns and about the same number of hangovers, it will have exactly no effect on this week’a programming - in fact, I have several extra activities to be taking care of at the end of this week. One of these is my rescheduled interview with Kelly Boesch. We had to cancel the planned meeting on Thursday but have it on the book for July 3rd. I am going to give you a couple of additional links to my favorite Kelly Boesch releases from the last few weeks. Be sure to send over any questions you would like me to ask her during the interview. I was planning to take a minute to explain what an artist like Kelly does and why it is so difficult to attain the skills she has in such abundance, but on further reflection I decided that this is exactly why I invited her to share her story with us in the first place - to educate us on how she makes this amazing art. So that is what I am going to do - let her tell you herself.

But in the meantime here is a piece she did on aging… https://youtu.be/28z0mAxIDQw?si=yeIhBlmyrTPduOyO.    It is absolutely beautiful and, having tried my hand at some of this stuff over the years, absolutely impossible. It is a real mystery to me how Kelly is able to give her imaginary characters such powerfully emotive expressions while still feeling authentically human. Well, I plan to find that out on Thursday!

Another of her videos to watch is “Kids with AI Monsters” https://youtu.be/K8CY3OXaQ-w?si=CQxXndPUdfpVw4fp - brilliantly imagined and beautifully realized                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

I thought it was about time I worked on some content for our newer friends and decided that thisTuesday in Macro Talk I would do a section on the nuts and bolts of successful focus stacking. It will be basic but extensive, with a lot of useful information for seasoned stackers as well. I will do the whole thing as a start to finish demo. That is Tuesday, July 1, at 8pm. Here is your link … https://youtube.com/live/ur5Hxkq7iVY?feature=share

Thursday will be an unusual competition results program, during which I will go through all the images submitted to the June wild card macro competition. What makes it a big deal is that Cindi, my AI assistant, will also be judging this contest but I will not look at her results before we both see them during the program on Thursday. The aim is to find out how well she learned from studying the video recordings of all our prior contests. Now, my results are the only ones that will count for the official scoring, but we will take a close look at how Cindi arrived her scores and rankings. I will also give a brief report on how the process was completed and any problems that I might have run into. Here is your link for the program …https://youtube.com/live/FHtVil6KNRg?feature=share

And while we are at it, here is the competition theme for the month of July, 2025 - “Reptiles & Amphibians” - back to our usual handicapping rule - only one entry allowed from previous winners, two from everyone else. Your subject may be shot in the wild, or in captivity. The subject’s overall size is not an issue as long as your photograph is at 1:2 (one half life-size) or more - so on a full frame sensor you could get the entire animal in the frame if it is about 2.5 inches long. But most reptiles and amphibians are longer/larger than that as adults, so for a larger subject you will need to choose the body part you want to make the subject of your image (a snake’s head, the back of a tree frog, the tail of a spotted salamander).

A word of caution - if you are not very familiar with the snake species in your area, do not try to handle snakes. The vast majority of venomous species in the US are pit vipers, named for the large sensory cell-packed , pit-like depression in front of the eye and used for thermal imaging. These include several species of rattlesnakes (eastern diamondback, timber or canebrake, and various pygmy species), cottonmouths, and copperheads, For completeness I should also mention that the coral snake, a very venomous reptile, can rarely be found in the Deep South, and should not be handled by a non-professional). All snakes will, potentially, bite when handled but most are very tolerant of humans that don’t frighten them with sudden moves.

Your best bet is do not pick up any snake that you cannot readily and accurately identify as a venomous species And if you are not absolutely certain the snake you have found is safe to be bitten by, leave it along. If you aren’t comfortable around these lovely creatures, take a longer lens, 200-300mm and take your pictures from a respectable distance. If you want to see just how much fun “herping” can be, check out this YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@NKFherping - it may help you find a cool subject, or just inspire you to give it a shot, either way, he is a lot of fun to watch and the channel is full of reliable information about reptiles and amphibians across North America. Highly recommended viewing!

Pzoom is on Saturday at 10am and it will be a full morning, with introductions, updates, and lots of other stuff to talk about.

Your link and invitation is over on Patreon, in my latest post (should be out within 24 hours). I also have an exciting announcement for my Patreon supporters. Hope you can make it on Saturday.

I try not to talk about this unless it is absolutely necessary, but the channel is having a lean spell, with a few folks leaving Patreon and my affiliate payments dropping sharply. I don’t know if this is because they have reduced the fees or because fewer purchases are being made, but either way, income is down, expenses are up, and there is nothing in reserve. I have been planning to sell some merchandise through my website, but it appears that the costs of doing this (like getting a company to stock and mail the shirts and other items) would actually be higher than any profit I might have made. I really want to do this, even if it costs me, but right now I don’t have what it would cost to get the shirts made. Without going into all the gory details, I could sure use your help. The best way you can help is by joining Patreon and supporting my work through that platform. If that doesn’t work, you can always make a donation through the web site (https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/donations), or via PayPal - Every little bit helps and would be hugely appreciated! Thank you!

the size of a quarter, a newly minted slider

Lester Lefkowitz will be joining us on September 13th, in our Pzoom meeting to talk about his Lightroom organization strategy - something I don’t need to miss.

That’s it for this week! Hope to see out there!

PS… I don’t think that anyone got the riddle from last week’s post - the pictures were of a canine testes and the appendage of a bumble bee - or the “Dog’s Bol*ocks” and “Bees Knees”, both slang terms for a person, place, or thing that is clearly of above average quality. Another slang term with the same meaning might be “the cat’s pyjamas”. an example of where any of these three might be used would be… “Did you see that English macro guy’s livestream on Tuesday!? It was the bees knees!”.

Now you know…