Multiple Exposure Photography

By Geoff Harris

A multiple exposure is the combination of two or more exposures to make a single image.

A multiple exposure can consist of several different exposures of the same subject, or several exposures of different subjects. In fact the only limit to using this technique is your imagination!

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This work by Ammgramm is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.flickr.com/photos/ammgramm. You may want to take two exposures of the same subject, one in focus and one out of focus, to create a dreamy effect.

Or perhaps take several different exposures, moving the camera just slightly between each shot. You can also photograph two completely different subjects and combine them together, for a really creative effect.

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Double exposure // Val // Royal Pavilion, Brighton                            Double exposure // MIND OVER MATTER

by Dan Mountford. In some situations you might put your camera on a tripod and take a series of shots of a moving subject – flowing water perhaps, or the moon rising.

These separate exposures could then be combined into a single image. In film days, this was a tricky technique, as you had to disengage the film advance in order to take two or more shots on the same piece of film.

Digitally, this can be done much more easily by combining the images in Photoshop (or similar software). Some digital cameras also offer the option to create multiple exposures in-camera. If your camera does have this option, you will need to dial in the number of exposures you want to use for an image, and the camera will adjust the exposure accordingly.

For instance, if you want to take two exposures, the camera will underexpose each shot by one stop in order to correctly expose the final, combined image. However, if you're taking several non-overlapping images against a black background, the exposure for each shot will need to be the normal, correct exposure.

By  Andrew Stawarz
By Chris Devers

by Chris Devers If you combine the images on the computer, you have a lot more flexibility.

This means that you have absolute control over the relative dominance of each photo in the final image – you could choose to use them in equal amounts, or to have one photo predominant with just a hint of another creeping in. To do this you’ll need to put each of the photographs on a separate layer, and then choose the blend mode and the opacity of each layer. You don’t even have to shoot the images specially – you can look back through your files and find photos that will blend well together. Then you can reduce the opacity as necessary when you blend them together in Photoshop. Maybe a good project for a rainy winter day!

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Geoff Harris

I am a journalist and photographer and currently work as the Deputy Editor of Amateur Photographer (AP) - http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk the oldest weekly photographic magazine in the world. Before that I served as the editor of Digital Camera, Britain's best-selling photography magazine, for five years. During my time as editor it became the UK's top selling photo monthly and won Print Publication of the Year at the 2013 British Media Awards. As well as being lucky enough to get paid to write about photography, I've been fortunate to interview some of the greatest photographers in the world, including Elliott Erwitt, Don McCullin, Martin Parr, Terry O'Neill and Steve McCurry. This has been a wonderful learning experience and very influential on my photography. Beyond writing, I am a professional portrait, travel and documentary photographer, and reached the finals of the 2016 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition. I am a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and hope to take my Associateship whenever I can find the time. In addition I write about well being/personal development and antiques collecting for a range of other titles, including BlueWings, the in-flight magazine of Finn Air.

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