Photoshop Tutorial: Enhance Landscape Photos with Focus Stacking

Have you ever struggled to achieve sharpness throughout your entire landscape photo, from the nearest wildflower to the farthest mountain peak? This is. a common challenge when trying to maintain clarity across various distances within a single frame. Thankfully, Adobe Photoshop offers a powerful solution called focus stacking, allowing you to combine multiple images into one perfectly sharp photograph.

Here's a friendly, step-by-step photoshop tutorial to master focus stacking in Photoshop and elevating your landscape photography.

Taken in the mountains of Colorado, flowers and cacti require many more images to get sharp focus from front to back.

1. Capturing Images in the Field

First you must have the images to focus stack, here's two ways you can capture them in the field depending on what camera your using.

• Use a tripod to ensure stability.

• Switch your camera to manual focus and exposure settings.

• Use an aperture of f/8 to f/16 to get maximum depth of field without sacrificing quality.

• Take multiple shots, focusing progressively from foreground to background. Typically, 3-7 photos are sufficient.

• Scenes that are more complex (i.e. wildflower fields, cholla gardens) require more images to stack.

OPTIONAL: Using In-Camera Focus Bracketing (Focus Shift Shooting)

Some modern cameras offer a built-in focus bracketing feature, often called "focus shift shooting" or "focus bracketing." This function automatically captures a series of images with incremental changes in focus distance. Here's how to use it:

• Set your camera on a tripod and compose your shot.

• Make sure to dial in your aperture, white balance, shutter speed and ISO all manually prior to entering the focus bracketing menu.

• Your camera has to be in automatic focus for this, and you always want to focus on the point closest to the camera to start. This means if you re-shoot the sequence remember to refocus closest to the lens.

• Navigate to your camera's focus bracketing or focus shift shooting menu (check your camera's manual, as terminology varies).

• Adjust the number of shots to 999, don't worry the camera will stop once it reaches infinity focus, and this insure you don't take too little shots.

• Set the step width to 2-3, for scenes that need less shots 3 will suffice, for more complex shots set it to 2, this will result in more shots overall, but will make sure you have all the shots you need.

• If your camera asks for shooting start time or time in between shots, set the start time to 2" and set the in between shot time to the minimum amount.

• Start the shooting sequence, and your camera will automatically capture multiple images at different focus points.

2. Load the Images into Photoshop

I like to do some globals adjustments prior to this, but these can also be completely raw images as well.

• Open Photoshop.

• Go to File → Scripts → Load Files into Stack…

• Select your images by clicking Browse, then click OK.

• Photoshop will load your images as separate layers in a single document.

3. Align your Images

• Select all layers in the layers panel by clicking the first layer, then Shift-clicking the last one.

• Navigate to Edit → Auto-Align Layers.

• Choose Auto mode and click OK. This compensates for slight shifts between shots.

4. Blend the Images

• With layers still selected, go to Edit → Auto-Blend Layers.

• Choose Stack Images and check Seamless Tones and Colors.

• Click OK and watch Photoshop blend your layers together seamlessly.

5. Refining the Results

• Review your image carefully. Sometimes Photoshop might miss a spot.

• If needed, manually refine areas using layer masks and the Brush Tool to reveal or hide details from specific layers.

• f you want to show part of a layer paint with white on that layer's mask.

• If you want to hide something on a specific layer paint with black on that layer's mask.

6. Final Touches

• Once happy with the sharpness throughout, merge the layers (Layer → Flatten Image).

• Continue your usual post-processing workflow (adjusting brightness, contrast, colors, etc.) in Photoshop or Lightroom.

6. Saving your Image

• I like to save my files in two separate ways, the first is what we call a "working file" this is saved as a .PSB (Large Document Format) with all layers in tact. this way if i need to re-edit something I have all the layers to do so.

• Then I create a "share" or "print" file, this is a flattened images saved as wither a jpg or tiff, if sharing electronically or on social save the file as a JPG.

  
  

Pro Tips for Optimal Results

• Stable Tripod: A sturdy tripod ensures consistency and sharpness across your images.

• Overlap Your Focus: Slightly overlap your focus points between shots to create smoother transitions.

• Shoot in Calm Weather: Movement from wind can create blending issues. Aim for still conditions for best results.

Photoshop’s focus stacking feature is a powerful ally for landscape photographers seeking to capture fully sharp images with depth and detail. With a bit of practice, you’ll soon find yourself confidently capturing sharper, more compelling landscape images than ever before.

If you're ready to level up your focus stacked images, check out our blog on how to focus stack in Helicon Focus.