Macro - Depth Of Field
When shooting close-up using a macro lens, the depth of field for focus is limited. Using a Sigma 105mm macro lens the first image shows the focus with the aperture set at f3.5
Shallow depth of field at f3.5
As can be seen, the focus depth is limited with only the first peg in focus. Next I set the aperture to f29 (the highest aperture available on this setup.
Extended depth of field at f29, but still shallow.
While there is more depth to the in-focus part of the image, it is still restrictive, with only the first two pegs being in focus, the remaining pegs while clearer are still out of focus. For both images the focus point was the first peg.
One way around the limited depth of field is to use image stacking, taking a series of image each time altering the focus point. Here I have taken seven images, with the focus on each peg in turn. First the images were 'photo merged' in photoshop, without blend. Next 'Auto Blend Images' was used and 'Stack Images' was selected. The resulting image below, show the focus of the pegs going right through from front to back.
7 Image photo stacked in Photoshop
The video, shows the progression of focus from f3.5 to f29
