Focus Stacking as a Tool for Enhancing the Detail of Jewelry Items

Galstyan Lilit

Citation: Galstyan Lilit, "Focus Stacking as a Tool for Enhancing the Detail of Jewelry Items", Universal Library of Innovative Research and Studies, Volume 02, Issue 03.

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The article discusses the application of the focus stacking method to improve the detail of jewelry items. The purpose of this research is to analyze the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of focus stacking technology as a means of overcoming the physical limitation of depth of field in macro photography of complex-shaped items, which enables maintaining high informative value in visual materials and reducing return rates in e-commerce. This justifies the raging demand for high-quality content by content manufacturers who create valid justification for this study to enhance customer trust and boost conversion. This paper carries out an analytical review based on 13 sources, including algorithmic studies covering both stages: sharp pixel selection and PSNR assessment, and a comparison between commercial and open-source stacking software packages. This work is novel in its attempt to systematize focus stacking criteria, particularly in justifying the selection of focus step and aperture values that can ensure maximum sensor micro-contrast without diffraction loss, while also providing practical recommendations for forward equipment and lighting choices under modern macro cameras and lenses. The primary results show that using the method, with software merging the sharpest areas of each frame, can create final images having PSNR above 68 dB. This minimizes artifacts such as halos and stepped borders. Strict adherence to shooting and depth map retouching parameters ensures a stable and predictable production process. This article will be helpful for professional photographers, optical engineers, jewelry manufacturing technologists, and e-commerce specialists.


Keywords: Focus Stacking, Macro Photography, Depth of Field, Jewelry Photography, Micro-Contrast.

Download doi https://doi.org/10.70315/uloap.ulirs.2025.0203004