Mastering Sharp Focus in Landscape Photography: Hyperfocal Distance, Double Distance Method, and Focus Stacking Explained

Have you ever struggled to get your image from the foreground to the background in focus? As photographers, especially in the genre of landscapes, the ultimate goal is to achieve sharp focus from the foreground to infinity. Have you struggled with this in the past? You can use hyperfocal distance, double the distance method, and focus stacking techniques to achieve sharp focus from foreground to infinity. While a few of these methods can be challenging, with a little knowledge, they are more accessible than one might think.

What Is Hyperfocal Distance?

Hyperfocal distance is one of those techniques that can challenge any photographer, amateur or not. So, what is hyperfocal distance? In its simplest form, it's getting sharp focus from foreground to background in your image. Suppose you want to get technical about it. In that case, the distance between a camera lens and the closest object is in focus when the lens is focused at infinity or a mathematical equation of lens focal length, aperture or f-stop, and focus distance.

Will Hyper-Focal Distance Work for Every Photograph?

You may want to use this technique when you want the image to be in sharp focus from foreground to background. One must remember that not all photographs require the use of hyperfocal distance. It will only be useful if you have objects close to your lens. It's impossible for an object in the distance, like mountains, to be sharp and objects like flowers only a few inches from the lens. If you are trying to achieve this effect, specialized lenses will be required, like a tilt-shift lens or focus stacking technique, which I will discuss later in the article.

How Do You Calculate Hyperfocal Distance?

There are a few ways you can calculate your distance: the use of a mathematical equation, hyperfocal distance charts, or an app on your smartphone like PhotoPills. Now, this formula is one of many ways to calculate your distance. Some photographers use this formula as their go-to method. Me, not so much. You must remember that hyperfocal distance combines aperture, focal length, and circle of confusion. What is the circle of confusion? It's a term used in photography to describe the blurriness of a point of light that's captured by a camera's lens. You will also need to consider your camera's sensor size.

Hyperfocal Distance Charts and Apps  

Due to mathematics (based on aperture, focal length, and COC), you can find charts online that you can reference to help you calculate your hyperfocal distance. When looking online for a chart to reference, make sure you consider your camera’s sensor size. These charts will help you find your “sweet spot.”

I prefer to use apps on my smartphone because I think it is the easiest way to calculate the hyperfocal distance. You already have your phone with you, so for me, it's a no-brainer. I prefer to use the Photo Pills App because it works for more than just hyperfocal distance charts. There are depth-of-field charts, calculators for time lapses, exposure, and more!

Did hyperfocal distance boggle your mind? We barely broke the surface, but the method of doubling the distance is easier and quicker to follow!

What Is Double the Distance Method?

It is another way to maximize a photo's depth of field, like hyperfocal distance. This technique is much easier and quicker to apply in the field.

First, you must find the object closest to the scene from your camera's focal plane. Then, you can judge the distance to the nearest object, and once the distance has been established, double that distance.

Example: A rock is the nearest object in the scene, and it is 4 feet away. Double your distance, which is 8 feet, and focus on an object.

The distance can be an estimate and doesn't have to be exact. You can use feet, meters, or other standard measurements.

What Is Focus Stacking?

Blending or stacking multiple images together is a technique used to achieve a deep depth of field. Each image is focused on a different spot. Once the images are combined, you achieve one image that is in focus, from foreground to background!

When Should You Focus Stack? 

Focus stacking should be utilized when you need to achieve a considerable depth of field in an image when you cannot achieve the depth of field required in one shot. Remember that your depth of field is affected by the aperture, focal length, and distance to the subject. For a more in-depth article on these three factors, you can read it here. Here are a few other reasons why you may want to focus stack:

1. Diffraction: You may want more depth of field in an image, so you choose an aperture of f/8 to f/11. By choosing a larger aperture (smaller opening), you start to introduce the element of diffraction, resulting in an image that is not as sharp. What is diffraction? The more you stop down your aperture, making it smaller and smaller, the more light waves start to interfere with each other, causing an image that is less sharp.

2. Ultra-Close Macro Images: The closer you are to your subject, the less depth of field you will have. Focus stacking will help you achieve the needed depth of field for your image.

Cons to Focus Stacking

Focus stacking will not always work, and here are a few reasons why:

1. Moving Subjects: Subjects that are moving will be complex to capture. If you have focused on a wildflower in a meadow and the wind picks up, the flower will be blowing around, and you will see it going in and out of focus.

2. Time: This technique will also take up a little more time, as you will have to take several images at varying distances of the image.

3. Software: You will need software like Luminar Neo, ON1, or Photoshop. With so many photographers using ON1 or Photoshop these days, this is not as huge an issue as it was in the past.

Focus Stacking Gear

Overall, the specialized gear that you need to purchase to get started is focus stacking. Here are a few pieces of gear that you already own. 

• Tripod: The tripod is a necessary piece of gear. This is due to the fact that you will not want the camera to move. It is impossible to hand-hold the camera and make focus stacking work.
• Camera with Manual Mode: This is a no-brainer; we all have a mirrorless or DSLR. You will want to use manual exposure, as we do not want the exposure to change from image to image. Once stacked, you will see the inconsistency of the exposures. 
• Focus Stacking Software: We covered a few earlier in the article, but you will need software to stack the images. 

How to Focus Stack 

1. Choose Your Subject, Composition, and Exposure.

Once your subject is chosen, compose your image. You will want to keep your composition the same after it has been set, as the images will not blend well. Next, choose manual mode on your camera and use your light meter and histogram to guide you to the correct exposure. After your exposure has been set, manually set your white balance, as you will not want this to change from image to image.

2. Switch Your Lens to Manual Focus.

At this point, you can manually focus on the object nearest to your camera. You can use autofocus if you wish, as well. There is no right or wrong answer to how you choose to focus.

3. Take the Remaining Images.

You will want to take the remaining photos then. To do this, you will want to shift your focus point away from the foreground and gradually move it till you reach the background. You may be wondering how many photos you will need to take overall; it just depends. Most scenes typically require about three to five images. Usually, one image is of the foreground, middle ground, and background. If you are doing an extreme macro shot, it could be upwards of twenty. I suggest playing around with different scenarios, and you will start to find out how many images you will need!

4. Blend Your Images.

This may sound like a difficult task, but with today's software, stacking the images is usually an automated process. I recommend Photoshop for this process because if you already have the Adobe photography subscription plan, you can access Photoshop.

n the end, these are just a few of the techniques that you can use to achieve an image that is in focus from foreground to background. We only scratched the surface of hyperfocal distance, but now you are aware of the technique if you were not before. We all know there are many ways to do the same thing in photography, and it is no different when it comes to achieving that deep focus in your image. Double the distance method or focus stacking is the way I prefer to do it. Comment below with your preferred method, or let us know if you have tried hyperfocal distance or the other techniques.