MendipBlue

Thanks for your reply. I'd heard that using a focus rail makes it more difficult for the software as when you move the camera you are changing the perspective and angle of view slightly. When you change the focus while leaving the camera still all of the optical parameters are the same between shots. I think it should be easier for the software to layer the photos when the camera is not moving as when photographing using a focus rail requires move corrections in the software It's good to hear that you have been using a focus rail successfully as this seems to be an easier workflow

I know that there are 2 ways of producing the input files for a macro focus stack i) a small refocus between images ii) using a focus rail to move the camera between photos. From what I understand refocusing between photos is much easier for the stacking software to deal with but a focus rail gives more control. From the forum and the tutorials I couldn't see whether the new feature can merge a stack created using a focus rail. Has anyone tried this?

There are a number of things that can have an effect. I think the opacity setting on the brush can have quite a significant impact

I'll definitely have a go at doing a conversion to a line drawn style.

I've been really impressed with AP in the couple of weeks I've been using it. I'm a keen amateur photographer and for the price the functionality is really impressive. In particular the inpaint tool is simply astonishing. How it guesses details that are not in original photo I've no idea. I've used Elements and Picasa up to now and starting out with AP and the helpful tutorials has inspired me to revisit and clean up images that I'd been a bit disappointed with.

This was the thing I was getting wrong all of the time with the inpaint, dodge and burn tools. It was really frustrating trying to apply subtle changes and thinking I was trying to be too subtle only to realise I didn't have the background layer selected. I'm getting it right most of the time now, but I'm still getting it wrong occasionally.

I have a Synology NAS too but I've never edited files directly from it. I've built a workflow where I copy files that I'm going to edit from the NAS, edit them locally and when I've finished an editing session, I copy the modified working files and exported files that I've created back to the NAS. Editing files on network storage, is always going to have more risky of corruptions than editing files locally.

The number and variety of tutorial available for AP has really impressed me. Before I'd bought AP I'd only seen a couple of the tutorials but since buying I've been working my way through what's out there on the various video sharing sites and it's really helped me to understand and then apply some techniques that I would otherwise have missed, in particular the technique of adding a high-pass filter layer and doing sharpening on that layer.

Have you tried the inpaint tool? Treating the bright spot as if it were an object in front of the head.

I've watched them and thought they were a great introduction to the product and an enjoyable watch. I'm looking forward to some more in depth tutorials to follow on from these ones.

I took a very quick look in the shop and I didn't look like it was worth buying the magazine just for that article.

I'm constantly using the cmd-z keyboard shortcut when I realise that what I've tried to apply to the image didn't have an expected effect. Cmd-z was one of the first parts of the product I became proficient at using :)

Picking a tool, finding that it doesn't work and then realising I have an adjustment layer selected has been the thing that has taken me the most time to get my head around since starting out with AP about a week ago. I'm getting much better now at remembering to check the layer selected before I start applying tools like inpaint, dodge and burn. BTW, I'm still blown away by what inpaint is able to do in extrapolating the scene behind the object being removed.