---
title: "Focus stacking: meaning and marketplace rules | Herofab"
description: "A technique that merges several photos of one product, each focused at a different distance, into one image that is sharp from front to back."
url: https://herofab.app/glossary/focus-stacking
language: en
updated: 2026-10-18
---

# Focus stacking

A technique that merges several photos of one product, each focused at a different distance, into one image that is sharp from front to back.

Also called **focus bracketing** · **z-stacking** · **focus merge**

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![Black-dial watch with a mesh strap on white, three-quarter view](https://herofab.app/img/ex/watch-packshot-1100.webp)

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At close range the sharp zone of a single photo can be thinner than a ring, a watch or a perfume bottle seen at an angle, and closing the aperture further softens the whole image. Stacking takes a series instead: the first frame is focused on the nearest edge, each following one a little further back, until the far edge is sharp. Software keeps the sharpest part of each frame and blends them. Many cameras and some phone apps can step the focus automatically.

Between frames nothing may change except the focus. The camera stands on a tripod, the product is not touched, and the light stays constant, which rules out a window on a day of passing clouds. Changing focus also changes the framing slightly, and the software aligns the frames for that. The sharp zones of neighbouring frames must overlap; where one step is too large, a soft band runs across the finished product.

Stacking has its own faults. A sharp front edge over a blurred background can leave a halo along the outline. Glass, gemstones, chains that cross themselves and loose fibres that moved between frames confuse the blending and come out smeared or doubled. The merged image is checked at full size along every edge, because a doubled chain link shows a product that does not exist. The plain background is still cleaned or cut out afterwards.

## Focus stacking, answered.

**Do I need focus stacking for jewellery photos?**

Only when one photo cannot hold the whole piece sharp at the size it will be viewed. A flat pendant seen from the front often fits inside one frame's sharp zone; a ring at an angle, a watch with a deep case or a bracelet curving towards the camera usually does not. A test shot checked at full size along its nearest and farthest edges shows whether a stack is needed.

**How many photos does a focus stack need?**

As many as it takes for the sharp zones of neighbouring frames to overlap from the front edge to the back. A shallow product at a moderate distance may need a handful; a deep product shot very close can need dozens, because the sharp zone shrinks as the camera moves in. Too few frames leave soft bands, while extra frames only cost time.

## What marketplaces say about it.

Updated 25 September 2026

- **Tokopedia:** Stickers or watermarks placed in front of the product; blurred or pixelated parts; images that are not in colour [Official page](https://seller-id.tokopedia.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7065663894374161)

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