How to Use Exposure Bracketing and Focus Stacking for Better Landscape Photos

Landscape photography often demands extreme levels of dynamic range and depth of field — frequently more than your camera or lens can deliver. When that happens, exposure bracketing and focus stacking are your best friend, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how they are done.

Coming to you from Gary McIntyre Photographer, this fantastic video tutorial will show you how to use exposure bracketing and focus stacking for better landscape photos. The need for these arises from the extreme dynamic range of many landscape scenes and the deep depth of field that photographers often desire for them. While some modern cameras offer impressive dynamic range that can capture more scenes in one exposure than older models, the depth of field issue is a limit of physics. There are a couple of compromises you can try if you do not want to take on the extra post-processing, such as using the hyperfocal distance, but if you have an important foreground element or if you want the best levels of sharpness, then focus stacking is the way to go. Check out the video above for the full rundown from McIntyre. 

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi." 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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