Can PS Elements use image stacking and blending ?

[enam96796730]

I want to choose between an upgrade to my old PS Elements or a change to Photoshop CC. Main reason for upgrading is to be able to use stacked images and blending according to focus or luminosity (instead of HDR) or to improve resolution/noise ratio and possibly other things I cannot remember now. Question is: can this be done in the newest Elements, or only in Photoshop CC ?

[Akash Sharma]

Hi enam,

Could you please take a look at this discussion https://better-photography.com/photo-stacking-in-photoshop-elements/ ​and let us know if that helps?

Thanks,

Akash

[enam96796730]

Your article is interesting, but refers to stacking in the organizer / browser while my question was  about image stacking while editing. To increase depth-of-field of focus Photoshop would  stack images of the same subject, but each focused at a different distance. Then the software will find the sharp parts of each image and combine them to try and produce a merged image that is sharp everywhere. Or for luminosity stacking several images taken with different stepped exposures gets stacked and the best exposed part of each combined, to maximize the dynamic range in the photo. These are examples of what PhotoshopCC can do, and I am very eager to know if the newest  Elements can do the same or not.

[MichelBParis · Accepted solution]

Focus stacking is not available in recent versions of Elements, but you can add back that feature (and a ton of other Photoshop features) with a very affordable external add-on, Elements+.

You can use an option of the Photomerge (Photomerge exposure) available in Guided edit mode for merging different exposures.

[enam96796730]

Thank you MichelBParis. Very helpful indeed.