Focus Stacking Independent Project

The Focus Stacking Independent Project Gallery is a series of images of fruit and vegetables that were captured using the focus stacking technique. This was a yearlong project in my Biomedical Photography I class.

Focus stacking is when several photographs are taken of a single subject, and the narrow plane of focus moves along the subject between each image. The images are then analyzed in software, in which just the areas that are in focus are selected and then composited into a single image. When done correctly, the entire subject will appear in focus, which would have been impossible to achieve in a single image.

For this series of image, I had to research the concept of focus stacking, and develop a method to achieve it on my own. I problem solved difficulties such as lighting, vibrations, incremental focus adjustment, and different software to produce these images. Though I encountered many setbacks in the process of learning, these images represent the success I found in this very useful technique.

Also included are the depth maps for each subject. Depth maps are generated by focus stacking software, and give viewers a sense of the depth (Z-axis) of a subject.

To view the "Image Flow" gallery, click here.