Image stacking is a software technique that combines multiple images of a subject, each focused at a different point, into one image. This is necessary when you can't get all of your subject in focus at the same time. The image of the caddis fly larva posted on this forum under Images to Share is a stack of 7 shots. There are two primary sources for stacking software - Zerene Stacker, and Helicaon Focus. They aren't free. I use Zerene Stacker.
You also need a photo editing tool - something like Adobe Photoshop - I use GIMP, which is a free open-source editor. There is a learning curve to this kind of tool but worth the effort. Typically, I will rotate, crop, adjust white balance, sharpen and resize an image. Resizing is necessary to post on forums such as this which limit file upload sizes to 256k. Below are a before-and-after example of an Athericidae (water snipe fly) larva, with ruptured gut. This is a single image, no stacking. The Wild can provide significant depth-of-focus.
- EOS M200_4550b.JPG (130.55 KiB) Viewed 283 times
- EOS M200_4550aa.JPG (77.28 KiB) Viewed 283 times