The Enthusiast's Guide to Multi-Shot Techniques: 49 Photographic Principles You Need to Know

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DOUBLE EXPOSURE

CHAPTER 1

Double exposure is a photographic technique where you combine two images to create a single image. This technique usually involves just two images, hence the term double exposure, but many digital cameras allow you to blend three or more images into a multiple exposure. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to use the term double exposure throughout this chapter, even though you could combine more than two individual frames.

When using a film camera to create a double exposure, you take two photos on the same piece of film to create a single unique image. With digital technology it is possible to create the same effect with two different images by blending them together in-camera or in post-production with photo-editing software like Adobe Photoshop.

In this chapter I begin by explaining how to create double exposures in the camera, and then I move on to describing how to combine images in post-production using Adobe Photoshop. One of my favorite techniques for creating double exposures is using a flash to illuminate the same subject more than once in the same frame. It’s easy and lots of fun to play with. This chapter also covers double exposure techniques for action photos and portraits.

1. DOUBLE EXPOSURE BASICS

WHEN USING FILM to create double exposures, you take the first shot, and then without winding the film forward you take a second shot, exposing the same frame of film to more light and creating two exposures in the same image. When I was first learning the art of photography, I did this on a regular basis, many times by mistake. The first cameras I used were manually operated and you had to remember to wind the film forward after each shot; sometimes I just forgot. After I shot an entire roll, I would to go into the darkroom and develop the film to see what I had captured, and sometimes I’d be surprised by a double exposure when I really wasn’t expecting it. As cameras got smarter, or at least more advanced, I had to purposely rewind the film back a frame to shoot a double exposure. I still took quite a few double exposures because it was a quick and easy way to create a new and unique image.

When you shoot a double exposure with a film camera, the two exposures are overlaid, one on top of the other, and they are added together. This means the amount of light reaching the film increases when you take the second image. If you shoot the exact same image with the same exposure settings twice and overlay the two exposures, the resulting shot will be a full stop lighter because you are doubling the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor. Figure 1.1 shows a single exposure of a flower. I then shot the image again to create an in-camera double exposure, which you can see in Figure 1.2. Notice that the second image is one stop brighter.

You can control how much of the second image is seen by working with the light and dark areas of the first image. In the lighter areas of the first image, less of the second image will be seen, while in the darker areas of the first image, more of the second image will be seen.

If the first image has any areas that are pure white, it means that these areas were exposed to so much light that they won’t be able to react when they are exposed to more light during the second exposure. The second exposure will not be visible in these areas. The areas in the first exposure that are dark can still be exposed to light, and these areas will show more of the second exposure. In the image of my dog Maggie on page 18, the first frame (the dog) had a pure white background, which meant none of the second frame (the tree against the sky) can be seen outside of Maggie’s profile in the combined image. This type of image can easily be created in Photoshop or another image-editing software, but there is something really fun about creating the image in-camera.

1.1 A single-frame exposure of a flower.

1.2 A double exposure of the same flower that is shown in Figure 1.1. This image is a full stop lighter.

2. CREATING IN-CAMERA DOUBLE EXPOSURES WITH A DIGITAL CAMERA

NOT ALL DIGITAL cameras allow you to create double exposures in-camera, so before trying these techniques out, check the user’s manual for your camera to see if this is possible. If your camera doesn’t allow for in-camera double exposures and you really want to try this method out, I suggest borrowing a camera from a friend or renting one from an online camera rental service or your local camera store. Keep in mind that even if you can’t create double exposures in-camera, you can still use some of the other techniques discussed in this chapter, so I suggest reading this section anyway to get an idea of how the double exposure technique works. The same basic ideas can be used in the next section, but instead of combining the shots in-camera, you will combine them on the computer using image-editing software.

Before you create a double exposure in the camera, you need to know what two scenes you want to combine. Ideally your subjects should be close to one another because you won’t have a lot of time between the two exposures. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that many cameras turn off automatically after a set amount of time has passed, and if the camera turns off and then back on in between the exposures, it can cancel out the double exposure setting. The second reason is that you usually can’t preview the first image before you take the second one, so you need to have a clear memory of the first image to compose the second one properly.

Some cameras have a multiple exposure mode that allows you to combine two (or more) successive images into a single file. When you use this mode, you shoot two (or more) images and the camera automatically combines them and saves them as one file. This is the technique that is covered here. Other cameras allow you to combine any two photos on the memory card in the camera, but this is much more like creating a double exposure in post-production than in-camera.

Creating an in-camera double exposure with a digital camera is very similar to creating one with film, but instead of recording the information on the same piece of film, the camera stores the first frame on the memory card and then blends the photo information from the second frame with that of the first. Each camera does this in a slightly different way, so it pays to experiment with your camera and figure out which settings you need to adjust in the multiple exposure mode. For example, on my Nikon D750 I can pick how many images I want to blend together—either two or three—and decide whether the camera should apply auto gain to the images or not. Auto gain attempts to automatically adjust the exposure for each frame so that the final combined image is properly exposed. I usually use two exposures and turn the auto gain on because this gives me the best results in most situations (Figure 2.1). If you’re shooting two frames with dark backgrounds, try turning the auto gain off.

Once you’ve selected the multiple exposure mode in your camera and adjusted the appropriate settings, you need to take the two photos. While this isn’t difficult to do, sometimes it can be challenging to get the results you want. It’s best to have an idea in mind before taking the images so that they can work together to create the double exposure. As I mentioned previously, I like to photograph two things that are close together. For example, in Figure 2.2 I combined a portrait of my wife, Nadra, in the yard with a shot of the surrounding trees. First I photographed Nadra against the sky, overexposing the photo so that the background was pure white. Then I changed the exposure and photographed the tree and sky to create the double exposure.

2.1 The Nikon D750 multiple exposure menu showing that the camera will use two frames to create the double exposure.

2.2 An in-camera double exposure created by photographing the subject against the sky and then photographing a nearby tree and blending the two exposures together.

When you first start to experiment with double exposures, it’s a great idea to photograph one subject and then just add texture from another. For example, to create the image shown in Figure 2.3 I combined a photograph of my dog against the sky with a wooden tiki head we have in our yard. When the images are blended together, you can see the outline of the dog and the texture of the tiki head. The silhouette of the dog and the placement of the eyes from the tiki created a really interesting image. You can see the tiki head in Figure 2.4.

I created each double exposure I’ve shared so far by shooting the first exposure in a very bright area so that the second image is visible only in the darker areas of the first image. You can also create great double exposures by using images with dark areas, as seen in Figure 2.5.

The downside of creating a double exposure in the camera is that you have very little control over the final image. The two images are combined in the camera and cannot be separated.

2.3 Is it a dog or a tiki head, or both?

2.4 The tiki head without the dog outline isn’t nearly as interesting as the double exposure.