Why focus stack macro photos? The answer is obvious: The difference between a single macro photo and a focus-stacked composite image is like night and day.
The first example is one of the better photos from a set of 13. It is the same photo that is featured in Hetaerina americana exuvia, my identification guide for American Rubyspot damselfly exuviae.
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (dorsal)
The last example is a composite image created using all 13 photos in the set.
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (dorsal)
You may not notice the difference in quality unless you look at the full-size version of both images. When you click on the images they open in a new tab automatically. Toggle back-and-forth between tabs and I think you will agree the composite image is clearly better than the single photo.
The Backstory
An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) nymph was collected by Bob Perkins on 06 August 2017 along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia USA. The nymph was reared in captivity, albeit briefly, until it emerged on 09 August 2017.
Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: American Rubyspot damselfly, Broad-winged Damselflies, emergence, exuvia, exuviae, Family Calopterygidae, focus stacking, gear talk, Hetaerina americana, nymph
walter sanford's photoblog 
April 17, 2018 at 9:14 am |
Nice! It is a very useful for detail shots. I have used it quite often on my dragonfly shots out in the field. That and multiple images for dragonfly panoramas! Again, nice work!
April 17, 2018 at 6:45 pm |
Thanks, Reed. I am interested in further refining my workflow to include the use of Smart Objects and Smart Filters. Do you have any experience using those features in Photoshop?