Technique / Discuss

Rafael Peñaloza says:

Now, here I go.

I took this picture with a long exposition time, changing the elements I wanted in it, and lighting.
As the elements are small, and I didn't want too much light in this shot, I used a "poor man's flash": a fire lighter.
Posted 98 months ago. (permalink)

Philgarlic says:

- edit -

(somewhat OT, sorry)
Posted 98 months ago. (permalink)

Peter de Krom says:

It works best with a 'no reflecting' black background. At least if you don't want the look thru the subject. Otherwise it can give a cool ghost effect, like on your picture!

I tried this kind of thing out with my canon 580 speedlite flash. Using the strobo function.

Unfortunatly the black background (the back of my chair :) reflected the flash.


Posted 96 months ago. (permalink)

herval says:

Using a coloured flash:


Posted 96 months ago. (permalink)

eduardo_m says:

Cant i make multi exposures without getting ghosts?
Posted 96 months ago. (permalink)

Peter de Krom says:

Kepper, you can if you use a black and non reflecting background. Outside is best i gues.. Also be shure to use a good lightsource. Like a flash with the multiple exposure function.
2 flashes in 3 seconds can give you the right effect. But you can do as many as you like offcorse. Just be shure to have a good background with each flash.

Example 5 seconds and 4 flashes;
This one only contains the ghost effect in some parts (I jumped to slow :).

Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

Peter de Krom says:

Btw, the use of a flashlight and your imagination can also be fun :)

Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

JanneM says:

Using multiple exposures to separate one individual from a moving crowd:


Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

mclgreenville / memorymotel says:

So, what is the basic technique behind a multi-exposure shot for a digital shooter?
Example from RAM!
www.flickr.com/photos/ramfotografia/35644130/
Any simple instruction would be great.
mm
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

RS_Photography [deleted] says:

I think that technique is actually discussed in this thread:
www.flickr.com/groups/technique/discuss/7369/
As I understand it has a lot to do with the use of PS and multi images. Please, correct me if I'm wrong...anybody?
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

mclgreenville / memorymotel says:

So, its just a matter of layering one image over the other? Ok, that's simply enough.

Any help would be great. Thanks Urban...
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

mclgreenville / memorymotel says:

Weak first attempt. 2 images. created layer in photoshot. added second image on top of the background image. Used the erase tool to erase the top image to expose the background so you see 2 people. all kinds of sharpness and color problems though. The light coming in the windows changed the the white vs. dark shirt threw the color balance off.

Anyway, I learned something.
Originally posted 94 months ago. (permalink)
mclgreenville / memorymotel edited this topic 94 months ago.

RS_Photography [deleted] says:

For a (quick) first try I think it's as good as anybody could do it. You also point out the possible problems out yourself and given time I'm sure you will find a way to resolve those. I am definitely not an expert on this subject, I just remembered seeing this kind of technique while browsing the threads. I learn every single day by reading through them and I still have such a long way to go.
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

mclgreenville / memorymotel says:

ya, I think the layer technique is the easiest to master. Now, if you want to do 5 - 7 different shots it might get complicated and would take some setup time. Seems to be a reasonable way to get decent results.
Posted 94 months ago. (permalink)

RS_Photography [deleted] says:

I finally found some time to try this technique out myself. Perhaps not enough time to get a perfect result but I guess it's okay for a first try


Posted 93 months ago. (permalink)

kuriakonz says:

here goes mine:


Originally posted 93 months ago. (permalink)
kuriakonz edited this topic 93 months ago.

TLA8 says:

i was pleasantly surprised that i captured this one as planned.
Posted 92 months ago. (permalink)

TLA8 says:

here's another, double exposure- first exposure in focus and the second exposure thrown out of focus.
Posted 92 months ago. (permalink)

pfv. says:

an example of multple exposure made with the light of a lantern.
Posted 83 months ago. (permalink)

Sebastian-Lewis says:

Take a Holga. Point it out of the car window & fire the shutter a few times until you think you have probably exposed the film enough to give a decent exposure.

Fuji Reala. 100 ASA. Chaoyang, Beijing.


Originally posted 83 months ago. (permalink)
Sebastian-Lewis edited this topic 83 months ago.

Chris Wolters Photography says:

Here's one that I did. The room was completely dark with the exception of the candle. I manually opened the shutter the girl in the front was just looking at the candle the entire time. Then I had the girl behind pose, fired a speelite, she posed again, fired the speedlite again and then closed the shutter. This one was completely digital.

End Result:



Originally posted 82 months ago. (permalink)
Chris Wolters Photography edited this topic 82 months ago.

argusfoto says:

What exactly do you mean by multiple exposure? With 35mm it meant that there were multiple exposures on one frame of film. This is an example.

I can do the same thing with a lot less trouble with a digital camera like this.

And any panorama that is stitched is, technically, a multiple exposure.
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

The Procrastinating Philosopher says:

Chrisjw, I like your idea. Here's a variation on it: You could open your shutter on bulb mode, then use your hand or a piece of black paper like a shutter in front of the lens, all the while keeping the real shutter open until you have taken as many exposures as you want.
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Chris Wolters Photography says:

Procrast Philosopher: Thats a pretty good idea too.. I used the speedlite instead of just having a well lit room and a piece of black paper. On canon's film cameras, you can turn them to multiple exposure for a single piece of film and it will just keep exposing the same one repeatedly. Unfortunately, my canon digital doesn't do that so I had to "improvise". Thanks for the suggestion!

argusphoto: I believe what most people are talking to is exposing the CCD of a digital or the same frame of film multiple times, not post processing of multiple images into a single image (although I do like your bottle idea).
Originally posted 82 months ago. (permalink)
Chris Wolters Photography edited this topic 82 months ago.

Noé Ismet [deleted] says:

Any man's dream?
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

snb#1 says:

Still working on this techinque:)
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Chris Wolters Photography says:

snbagley: Very nice... did you use a film camera that has the "mutli exposure" setting for a single frame of film or did you use a digital camera? If digital, would you mind telling me how you did it?
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

lost_focus says:

Hi chrisjw, I am not sure if it is the same technique that snbagley used in his last picture but something very similar to that was explained in the
Making time-panoramas discussion.
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

dingadingdang says:

Accidental double exposure on a Seagull TLR


Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

snb#1 says:

Thanks Chrisjw. I use a Canon D20 and used the Continuous shooting mode. It shoots 5 shots per sec. In ps, I cut and pasted three seperate shots into the background layer.
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Chris Wolters Photography says:

Ahh!!! Good Idea!!! Never thought of that. Put the camera on a tripod and just fire "burst mode" while the action is going on and then they'll photoshop together very easily!

Thanks!
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Ozone71 says:

I had my partner shoot this sequence of me. Burst mode on a D70.


If you try this at home, remember to leave in the shadows.
Originally posted 82 months ago. (permalink)
Ozone71 edited this topic 82 months ago.

Noé Ismet [deleted] says:

Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Chris Wolters Photography says:

Thanks for the tips! I gave it a shot by setting up my Canon 350D on a tripod and taking a picture of my daughter performing gymnastics in the front yard. I started with just a few of the captured frames and it didn't turn out half bad using the technique learned here! Thanks everyone!!!


Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

snb#1 says:

Great Job:)
Posted 82 months ago. (permalink)

Haiku Garry says:

aloha!
in this shot i think i took 5 exposures using a tripod and used corels high dynamic range feature to overlay the images. you don't get a lot of control over things this way but sometimes i am happily suprised.


Originally posted 82 months ago. (permalink)
Haiku Garry edited this topic 82 months ago.

recyclethis says:

Here is a multiple exposure. I threw the second expusre out of focus to create the glow effect. The further out of focus you can throw it, the more effect you get. Using an f1.8 lens at close/infinity focus certainly magnafied the effect in this photo.


Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

RussTheAerialist says:

Here is my attempt:



It doesn't look very good in the small view, but look at the large view.
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

foryoutoknowtice says:

those are the few ive done so far. i just make each picture a layer then erase around each subject.
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

sushant.photoexhibit says:

wud like to ask a simple question from those who actually take multiple shots on th same frame shooting on film... now, if you go for two exposures, the subject is in two positions and hence correctly exposed both times, but what about th bg ? wont it be overexposed?
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

DannyPack [deleted] says:

> Perhaps light the subject and background individually e.g. ambient light for the background, flash for the subject. That way you can expose for half the background in each shot, yet light the subject completely in each. Just so long as you control light spill this should work fine.
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

sushant.photoexhibit says:

thnx silentmotion..
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

Fallout75 says:

I did this one quite a few years back:


Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

oladios says:

Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

marcusrg says:

Hi! Is there any tutorial for doing this multiple exposure effects? Thanks.
Posted 70 months ago. (permalink)

Neil Cowley says:

Posted 69 months ago. (permalink)

The Capturer says:

most of these are not multi exposures they're just cloning. the mall shot was a nice use of this technique though.
Originally posted 69 months ago. (permalink)
The Capturer edited this topic 69 months ago.

Metalbits aka Dean says:

hi people can u help i want multiple exposure on 1 frame with out using layers ? im using a d2xs using 5 exposure but the images are coming out very ghosted the back ground comes out fine im looking to take some action shots of some snowboarding ? picture below
Originally posted 50 months ago. (permalink)
Metalbits aka Dean edited this topic 50 months ago.

Metalbits aka Dean says:

picture for metalbits ???
Posted 50 months ago. (permalink)

greenvelvet says:

My first multiple shot taken with my D200 ... way back in 2006 !! [jpeg]
Originally posted 50 months ago. (permalink)
greenvelvet edited this topic 50 months ago.

A. De Sonnaville [deleted] says:

The first two I have done..

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/adesonnaville/3575020784/]

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/adesonnaville/3574328338/sizes/l/]
Posted 49 months ago. (permalink)

Lomo-Cam says:

I love double exposures!





This is one of the first double exposures I took with my LC-A+RL. First roll on a night out. It's a light bulb with a cage around it and a security door at a club called the Mohawk. I started realizing the possibilities of doubling and multiplying shots.

I had tried it with my Holga, before but I just couldn't seem to get a solid double image. I later found out that I should have been shooting on 400iso not 100iso.






I have found that several cameras I use do very well with double exposures. Any camera that has a shutter cock separate from the film advance is a natural. Other cameras, you have to trick them by teasing the rewind and tricking the camera into another shot.

I love double exposures. It is 75% of the type of pictures I take. It was the thing that fascinated me the most about Lomography. There is something to be said for taking the mundane or normal aesthetic and mixing it with something it may never meet. It opens up a wider avenue for creativity in photography.

I'm going to talk about the cameras I use for multiple exposures. Then, I'll touch on what I look for to make a good double. We'll go over the different types of multiple exposures you can do. In the end, I hope you can walk away with a new fire in your eye that needs double the quenching.

Here are the cameras I like doing doubles with:
Favorite- LC-A+RL :


Fuji MS 100/1000 multi-iso Cross Processed
This was a shot at Penn Station in Baltimore, MD. I was getting out of a taxi and trying to catch a train. I saw the statue across the street and ran over to snag 2-3 shots. If I see something I really like I take about 3 shots. One to double over something I might have already saved, one as a single image and then another to save and double over the next thing I see. It's like shot insurance. So as soon as I ran inside the train station, I see this amazing stained glass above me. Without thinking I set focus raised my camera and shot as central as I could. The two shots lined up great even though I forgot about the statue being on there already.


Smena 8M


Kodak Ektachrome 100iso Cross Processed
I took the first shot of the neon sign, inside Sun Studios in Memphis, TN. We were taking the tour and the old neon sign was on display behind some blinds. I grabbed the shot with the Smena and forgot about it. Later, on the drive out of Memphis, there was a gorgeous sunset and I had to get a shot.

Note: a friend later pointed out that the sunset really looks like a beach cove with trees in it. I totally see this and am in awe of the secondary vision. This taught me to let people see what they want, first. They can interpret the images in such new and wild ways.

Smena 35:



This is a good example of using darkness to your advantage in doubles. I was in a bbq place and saw this pig neon as part of a beer sign. I got up close with no flash and snagged a shot. After that, I was taking a walk down the street and saw some lovely foliage coverage. Thought it would fill in the dark spots well.

Remember, Anything that is black or very dark will always be dominated by the next shot, if it is at all brighter.

Holga 120N:



Here I did a simple double exposure trick. Inversion. Take your shot and then flip the camera. You get images that look like reflections, if you shoot it this way, or you can have them crossing each other and forming new images and patterns.

Canon EOS Rebel 2000 SLR:


Fuji MS 100/1000 Multi-ISO Cross Process
Apparently, a lot of film SLRs have the ability to multiple expose, built in. I wonder why I haven't seen more of this from SLR users. This shot was at the Texas State Memorial Cemetery. I found a dark grave marker with white engraved letters. So they stayed visible on the second shot with the statue.

What I think makes a good double:
I love multiple exposures but what really ruins them for me is when they are too busy.




Or when they lack a specific focus-




I always think about whether or not something is a good texture or pattern to pair with something else. Just try and keep it from being a messy shot crowd shots mixed with pipes, a table with plates and dishes on it mixed with a leaf pile, ect.

I don't always think about what I just shot or will shoot, but I try to keep a steady idea of whether it was a busy or simple shot. There is a benefit to remembering your shots and to forgetting them. You'll see. The accidents almost mean more than the planned.

Methods to Multiply:

-Film Speed Settings-

So, there are several ways to approach double exposures. First, you have to realize you are giving the shot 2x the light it normally gets. You have options. You can leave the ISO setting to match the film speed and hope the shots aren't blown out. Sometimes this works.
LC-A+RL


In this case, it was dark enough that I didn't blow out the shot. Over at Lambert's Fancy BBQ I got their big neon sign and a shot from directly below a pendant lamp.

You can set the ISO a stop down. So if the film is 100 iso you set your camera at 200. Better for daytime or flash shots.
LC-A+RL - Agfa Precisa CT 100, Cross Processed


Here I shot the sky first and the neon sign/building second. Because it was daylight outside, I cranked it down a step.

Next you can crank your shot down two steps for textures you don't want to dominate your central image. So you have 100 iso film, you take a shot at 400 for a texture and then 100 for the central focus of your picture.
LC-A+RL - Kodak EBX 100 Cross Processed


This was a white wall with pealing paint. I knew it was going to bounce back a lot of light so I compensated. In the end, I realized that this was the best way to add subtle textures to my double exposures.

-Ways to Double a Shot-

You can shoot through a roll and then rewind it to shoot through it again. This is ideal for those who can't trick their camera into letting them do multiple exposures.

It also allows for creative mixing of themes. As much as doubling on the fly is fun, sometimes doing a whole roll and re-shooting gives you the ability to bring two vastly different elements together that you couldn't achieve in the moment.

Here are a few shots from a roll I shot under water and reloaded for dry land doubles.
LC-A+RL -











There is a roll currently in my LC-A+RL that has a full set of exposures on it of a wall made up of Boardgames. I couldn't double those with other elements outside of the restaurant, without this technique.

Second technique is more on the fly. Cameras with built in multiple exposure control allow you to be more creative in the moment. My LC-A+RL's multiple exposure switch is well worn after 8 months of use.




Doubling when you're in the moment is great. You can do so many things. Combining elements from the same environment is like creating a collage of memories. Here are some examples of taking what would have been a normal picture more fun by throwing one or more shots together.
LC-A+RL - Fuji Superia 200 iso


Everyone has a shot of the Lincoln Memorial that looks like some variation of the other. It's hard to take something fresh. I was messing around and took several shots combining elements of the structure with the statue. Some worked well, but this one used the copper disc in the floor as a secondary image. The words above Lincoln's head were well lit so the second exposure of the copper disc didn't blow them out (having the statue and words in white helped a lot, too). I liked this shot a lot and the DCist had it as their photo of the day about a week after I got back and uploaded the shot.

LC-A+RL


Maps are boring on their own. At least this one was. No offense, map lovers. I used a yellow flash on the map and went outside and did an out of focus shot of a tree. I didn't want the tree to be the focal point of the shot, so I made sure it wasn't a sharp image. I'd be lying if I said I thought this out too much, though. This was early days of doubles.

LC-A+RL - Lomography Redscale 100 iso


An antler chandelier is kinda interesting, but trying to get the lighting right and a good angle to make it look nice enough to hold its own in a shot is too difficult for me. I took this shot inside and on the way out to my car I doubled it with the parking stripes in the lot. Dark, moody, and more interesting.

What if you want to expose more than once? You can crank the iso down once for every shot but be aware of strangling your photo of light. 100 iso film shot 3 times at 400 might present a lot more ghostly images and less solid structure. You may like this?

LC-A+RL


A triple shot on 100iso film cranked to 400iso. See how nothing really stays solid. It's all a little softer and whiter. Brick, plant, and parking stripes.

Don't crank it down and keep it a stop below the films rating.


Here it was darker out, so I could shoot the Washington Monument twice and sake a third shot for a background. Notice the inside of the subway station fills in the background because it was all black before and the white of the monument doesn't allow the subway ceiling to come through. This was another thoughtless multi-exposure. I hadn't advanced the film from the monument flip shot. I forget things.

-Altering Colors-
I use a colorsplash flash.

It lets me change the mood of a shot and alter my environments. Sometimes I use the same color to meld the images together.
LC-A+RL


I had already taken the shot of the fence with nothing behind it so I only had the chain links reflecting light. The Bear-suited gentleman was standing on the street corner right after I took the shot. So, acting by instinct, I slid the "MX" switch on the LC-A+ and snapped a shot of the bear beast. So now it looks like the bear is in a cage, where he belongs.

You can also use it to differentiate your subject:
LC-A+RL


Here I took a shot of the bamboo, at night, with a blue flash. Then a shot of my face in orange. Because there was nothing immediately behind me, except for the night, the bamboo image stays solid and doesn't overlap.

You can also use a "Splitzer". This is a card or other flat object you use to divide the lens into segments. I cut a Holga lens cap in half to make one for it, & they make a custom one for the LC-A+.

In this case, you aren't always doubling the image over the other. You're segmenting and adding where you please. Here are a few examples:













Here's one where the colors, from the two flashes, blend in the middle and form a yellow.




Doubling People
Now I've
blogged about this before so I won't go into how to accomplish this. Doubling people can be done two ways.

Ghosting-




Or Solid Doubling-




Multiple Exposures for Texture:
Sometimes you shoot textures to add a new feel to your normal pictures.
















Inversions:
Flipping the Camera to create odd new images from the familiar.

You can Mirror the image-




Or Cause the image to fold in on itself-




You can also shift angles on the subject matter without inverting the shot-










Posted 41 months ago. (permalink)

Kevin Baird says:

I stacked these 2 in Photoshop, using the screen transfer mode to prevent overexposure of either layer. The beauty of it was that during the sunset the sky was light and the land was dark, almost black, and the 10" time exposure the light was vice versa, so neither layer affected the other very much at all. Literally win-win.


Posted 41 months ago. (permalink)

GinaDiaz photos says:

My first attempt @ multiple exposure.

Hangar 24, Redlands CA

tanieldran says:

im new to multiple exposure shots but when you guys take it is it 2 pictures put together ?
Posted 36 months ago. (permalink)

B Unis says:

A lot of these examples are from film, and involved two exposures to the same frame of physical film. That's sort of the classic and literal definition of "double exposure"

Digital allows one to do a lot of similar images, with a wide range of options, mainly done in post-processing. But most of that is probably more accurately described as a form of photo-manipulation.
Posted 35 months ago. (permalink)

lole_adole says:

Nikon D3100 says:

wow... so perfect group, wonderful members
Posted 33 months ago. (permalink)

400daysbeforeafrica says:

sophiacity says:

I've been curious to try the movement one with one person clearly in several places, and I've been looking for a good CS5 tutorial on that, but I've done a couple just layering shots otherwise

ron_ciervo says:

Back "in the day", in camera double-exposure was THE way to go (although not always easy depending on the camera). This shot was captured 39 years ago using a Canon FTb. Anyone familiar with this camera realizes what a chore it was to reset the shutter without advancing the film. That "chore" was performed about a dozen times to capture this image.

For me, the shot captured the glitter and excitement of Hong Kong which was a stark contrast to the jungles of Viet Nam that I'd left only days before...

Posted 20 months ago. (permalink)

D A V I D . S says:

Here's one i did a couple years back

rajnishjaiswal says: