A series of focus stacked Lily images, taken with a Sigma f/2.8, 150mm macro lens with a Canon 1.4x teleconverter. With the Canon 1.4x Teleconverter my maximum aperture was f/4 and 210mm focal length. The featured image was a closer view, so I shot 9 focus-stacked images taken with the Sigma 150mm macro @ f/4 with a 1.4x Canon Teleconverter. I wanted to shoot a series of focus stacked images at 2 different apertures to show the difference in the number of images needed for acceptable sharpness across the main subject. So it is a matter of deciding what effect you want in your image before you start photographing.

1st Image set – Lily, @ f/4, 10 image focus stack, Sigma 150mm macro, 1.4x teleconverter

For comparison the wider open you choose for your aperture, the more images you need in your series of focus stacked images. These were handheld, so the f/8 series was a little farther away, but you can get the idea of what I am trying to show. The more you stop down your f/stop, the less images you will need for a focus stacked image. But the more you stop down, the “busier” your backgrounds become.

2nd image set – Lily @ f/8 – 3 image focus stack, 150mm macro, 1.4x Teleconverter