Double Exposure Photography

by Photography Reference
Double exposure photography person

Double exposure photography, in the real sense, is where one photo taken with a camera is exposed onto another photo to create an artistic concept. This is all done in-camera, not in the post-processing world of Adobe Photoshop.

It is a creative genre of photography where the favoured method of creating double exposure photographs these days is by using Adobe Photoshop. By using simple overlay techniques, a two-exposure image can be created in minutes. However, this is not true double exposure photography.

Traditionally a double exposure was created using film cameras. A photo would be taken, then the film rewound, and a second photo taken atop the first one.

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Digital double exposure

Some digital cameras have double-exposure settings. Once the double exposure setting has been selected the method with a digital camera is to select the base image from the camera roll. You then take the second exposure as an overlay shot. The camera will combine the two photographs into a true double exposure in-camera.

This type of photography differs from multiple exposure photography in that there are usually only two exposures. It is created in-camera. Multiple exposure photography can be two or more photographs that are usually stacked in software such as Adobe Photoshop.

Double exposing two photographs with a related or the same subject works well to show a relationship and link between the subjects or concept.

Examples

Some examples are a double exposure of businesspersons shaking hands in an industrial scene which designed to show the relationship of beneficial business partnerships in industry. Another example is a double expose of the same subject – a person curled up on a rock, signifying the cold reality of living with emotional distress and abandonment.

Software

The advent of Adobe Photoshop and other similar software has made the art of in-camera double exposures almost obsolete as it is relatively simple to create one using this software. However, it is still a relevant and creative outlet for any photographer to attempt.

Double exposure photography, in the real sense, is where one photo taken with a camera is exposed onto another photo to create an artistic concept.
Photography Reference

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