The Low Light Photography Field Guide

Frame Selection and Layer Blending

Shooting extra frames to guarantee sharpness is good practice when the lighting conditions are pushing the limits on camera shake, motion blur and accurate focusing (see pages 64–69).

What then usually happens is that the sequence is examined carefully and at magnification to find the best shot—technically and creatively. The choice may be obvious, but sometimes you may find that two or three frames each have some advantage. The focus may be sharper in one but the composition better in another, or there may be unwanted subject motion blur in the sharpest version. In this case, there is another solution, though it may not appeal to everyone. This involves taking the best of one and adding to another.

The principle ...