This is my first post here in Flora and my first ever attempt at focus stacking. I therefore started indoors with a vase of tulips. I hope to take this technique outdoors in the future.
Specific Feedback Requested
I’d simply like to know what you think and if you have any suggestions to improve my processing and/or to make the image more appealing.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: Yes
Nikon Z5, Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 lens at 42 mm, ISO 100, 1/3 sec at f4, tripod.
5 shot focus stacked image blended in PS. Tonal adjustments and capture sharpening in LR. Natural light. Struggled a bit with the sharpening - although I don’t see any strange artefacts in the original file in LR there seem to be quite noticeable halos in the JPEG file.
Bill: Welcome to NPN and to Flora. This is a fine still life with good color. The stack looks good to me although I don’t stack myself and will hope that those more familiar with the technique will chime in on that score. Stacking is certainly a very useful tool and I commend your foray into it. My suggestions would be regarding comp and presentation but are merely artistic preferences. I would bring up the brightness of the BG especially and crop a bit tighter. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more of your work. >=))>
Lovely, and smart to start indoors. A slight zephyr of air movement will ruin a stack. Slight camera movements can sometimes be corrected, but the stability to give pin-registered frames are best.
I don’t see halos, and think @Bill_Fach 's edit brings it up a notch.
If you want to pursue stacking you’ll find PS does not handle overlaps well with shallow DOF giving significant blurry edges in some of the frames. I love Zerene Stacker for its ability to handle this difficult issue and to correct for slight camera movement (as opposed to subject movement).
@Bill_Fach - thanks for the comments and rework. I had a choice between a squint vase and a squint table and your crop makes the squint table less noticeable.
@Diane_Miller - thanks for your stacking tips - slowly slowly I’ll be experimenting with this technique.
Welcome Bill to Flora. I know nothing about focus stacking but for me your arrangement and focus looks perfectly normal even at large magnification. There are many compositional options here and all are personal preference. A beautiful lace table cloth would be nice (my “if only” wish). I also tried a closeup of the tulips with very little of the vase in the frame and that works well.
