A method for customizing corneal corrections includes superposing an imaginary reference field (grid) on the anterior surface of the cornea of an eye to divide the corneal surface into reference areas. Also, a diagnostically determined refractive power map for the cornea is created. An incising laser beam is then directed through an individual reference area to a focal spot. Next, movement of the focal spot along the laser beam path is selectively accomplished to photoalter a predetermined volume of stromal tissue. Subsequently, based on the refractive power map, the predetermined volume of stromal tissue that is to be photoaltered is identified for each specific reference area. Accordingly, the steps of directing the beam and moving the focal spot are then repeated using selected reference areas until the required corneal correction is achieved.