Storage shed

[ragman]

Playing around with staking two images:

[chauncey]

The lighting isn't doing you any favors...shed doesn't seem to be in a easy-access location...

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[ragman]

It wasn't. Reaching with a 70mm from way off. A rather grey/ hazy day. I am trying to stack two photos with P/P corrections of each to achieve a better exposure. The learning tutorials I am watching buzz through it at high speed while I try to pic up on the method. Not easy for a beginner.

[ragman]

Thanks John.

[Geoff F]

Ron, I have never been able to follow any tutorial which is a video. I must have a printed version in front of me so I can keep going back over the items which are confusing me until, eventually, 'the penny drops' and things begin to make sense.

With this scene, I wonder about reducing the amount of water slightly, and a balancing amount from the left side?

Otherwise, some tricky conditions have been well handled.

[pnodrog]

It wasn't. Reaching with a 70mm from way off. A rather grey/ hazy day. I am trying to stack two photos with P/P corrections of each to achieve a better exposure. The learning tutorials I am watching buzz through it at high speed while I try to pic up on the method. Not easy for a beginner.

Usually on grey hazy days the scene is well within the dynamic range of the camera so stacking images for tone adjustment is of very limited value. It is a good technique to practice and be aware of but more applicable for a scene where the dynamic range exceeds that of the camera. For this photograph I would start by using levels and adjust both black point and white point followed by setting mid point. After that you may want to do a fine adjustment using curves and also up the saturation etc.

[ragman]

Ron, I have never been able to follow any tutorial which is a video. I must have a printed version in front of me so I can keep going back over the items which are confusing me until, eventually, 'the penny drops' and things begin to make sense.

With this scene, I wonder about reducing the amount of water slightly, and a balancing amount from the left side?
Geoff,
I was taking notes along the way, but I would need shorthand to keep up. I agree trimming the left side would improve balance. Thanks for the comments.

[ragman]

Paul, that is how I would correct the dynamic range, and I agree this would have been easier and better in this pic, but today I was " practicing" stacking and still not sure it worked. I should limit my practice to my eyes only until I am sure it is working. My goal is to be able to focus stack macro images. I don't have a focus rack so I am trying this method of several focus points. Anyway, I appreciate your comments.

[DanK]

Paul, that is how I would correct the dynamic range, and I agree this would have been easier and better in this pic, but today I was " practicing" stacking and still not sure it worked. I should limit my practice to my eyes only until I am sure it is working. My goal is to be able to focus stack macro images. I don't have a focus rack so I am trying this method of several focus points. Anyway, I appreciate your comments.

Ron,

I think there was some confusion here. I think folks responded with the assumption that you were trying to increase dynamic range However, focus stacking macro images is to get increased depth of field, not dynamic range.

I do a great deal of stacking of macro images. I have a few general suggestions.

First, as I have posted here numerous times, you don't need a focus rail unless you are going to work at very high magnifications. Even though I have a rail, I have literally NEVER used it to achieve the focus points I need. When I use it at all--most of my stacked shots were done without it--I use it only to allow me to make changes in the position of the camera before I start. You can do what you need by simply changing the focus manually. The only hard part is learning, by trial and error or by watching someone else, how much to change the focus between shots. Always err on the side of too small an adjustment so that you don't have areas out of focus. Start at the closest point, then work back until you have enough shots to have everything in focus that you want.

Since the hard part of this is learning how small the adjustments have to be, practicing on a scene like the one you tried--where the depth of field will be vastly larger than in macro work--is frankly not a useful way to learn. You would be better off practicing with something like a cut flower.

One decision is what software you want to use for stacking. I have used several things, but at this point, I do all of my stacking with Zerene stacker, which offers tools and options that photoshop lacks. It's really a matter of personal taste. You need to create the same stack of images regardless of which software you decide to use.

Dan

[pnodrog]

Dan no confusion at all about stacking. However the claim was that he was stacking to get a better exposure so it was not an assumption Ron was wanting to modify or adjust the dynamic range or tonal relationships. It was an obvious conclusion. I agree practicing techniques and working out an approach that suits is part of progressing as a photographer. In this particular photograph stacking for either DOF or exposure is not required. However more would be gained by practicing stacking for any reason at all on an image that will benefit from the technique.

Regardless Ron seems to know what he is up to and good on him.

[ragman]

Hi Dan, sorry for any confusion I may have caused by using that picture to attempt stacking two separate pictures. Each was P/P for best light and then dark exposure and then stacked. The reason I did this was only to practice the stacking procedure. If it happened to help the dynamic range, that was OK too. This picture was definitely a bad example in that any improvement to the DR would be very hard to see but again my goal was only the stacking process I was concerned about. I am glad to hear it is unnecessary to have a focus rail and that stacking focal points is an acceptable practice.
Paul, thanks for your comments as well.

[rpcrowe]

Ron, I have never been able to follow any tutorial which is a video. I must have a printed version in front of me so I can keep going back over the items which are confusing me until, eventually, 'the penny drops' and things begin to make sense.

Since I got my Chromebook, I use that to play instructional videos on Photoshop subjects while I follow along with Photoshop on my desktop computer...

[Shadowman]

Since I got my Chromebook, I use that to play instructional videos on Photoshop subjects while I follow along with Photoshop on my desktop computer...

Both methods work for me, the printed method seems formulaic however it is more fast paced. The video tutorials requires a lot of replaying.