Double exposure is the superimposition of one photograph on top of another with the illusion of uniformity and registration. This effect was achieved by repeatedly photographing the same frame of film without rewinding.
Modern digital cameras are able to emulate (fake) double exposure using software processing. Photoshop gives us the opportunity to create such photographs as our imagination tells us.
In this lesson we will combine a photo of a girl with a landscape. The processing result can be seen in the preview of this article.
Source materials for the lesson:
1. Model.
2. Landscape with fog.
To further process the image, we will need to separate the model from the background. There is already such a lesson on the site, study it, because without these skills it is impossible to work in Photoshop.
Removing a background and placing a landscape in a document
So, open the photo with the model in the editor and remove the background.
1. Find a picture with a landscape and drag it into the Photoshop work area onto the document you are editing.
2. We need to ensure that the landscape is displayed only on the model. To do this, hold down the key ALT and click on the border between the layers. The cursor should change shape.
You will get the following:
As you can see, now the landscape follows the contours of the model. It is called "clipping mask".
The landscape picture can be moved, stretched or rotated if necessary.
3. Press the key combination CTRL+T and take the necessary actions.
Overlay a semi-transparent copy
The next steps will require a little care.
1. You need to go to the layer with the model and create a copy of it using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+J.
2. Then go to the bottom layer and drag it to the very top of the palette.
3. The blending mode for the top layer needs to be changed to "Screen".
Enhance Contrast
To enhance the contrast (bring out details), apply an adjustment layer "Levels" and darken the top layer a little.
In the layer settings window, you need to click on the snap button.
Then go to the layers palette, right-click on the layer "Levels" and select the item "Merge with previous".
Shaping the composition
Preparatory work has been completed. Now we will give shape to our composition.
1. First, let's create a mask for the top layer with the model.
2. Then take a brush.
The brush should be "soft round",
black color.
The size must be large enough.
3. With this brush, being on the mask, we paint over areas on the layer with the model, revealing the forest.
4. Go to the landscape layer and create a mask again. Using the same brush, we erase the border between the images on the girl’s neck, and also remove excess from the nose, eyes, chin, in general, from the face.
Background
It's time to set the background for the composition.
1. Create a new layer and move it to the very bottom of the palette.
2. Then press on the keyboard SHIFT+F5, thereby opening the fill settings window. Select from the drop-down list "Color" and click with the cursor, which has taken the shape of a pipette, on the lightest tone. Click OK.
We get a light background.
Transition Smoothing
As you can see, there is a sharp border at the very top of the image. Choosing a tool "Move",
go to the landscape layer and move it a little to the left, making the border disappear.
The basis of the composition is ready, all that remains is to tint it and give it overall completeness.
Toning
1. Create an adjustment layer "Gradient Map",
open the gradient palette and click on the icon in the upper right corner.
In the context menu, select the set "Photographic Toning",
we agree with the replacement.
For toning, I chose the gradient shown in the screenshot. It's called "Gold-sepia".
3. At the bottom of the hairstyle you can see an area that is too dark. Some details of the forest were lost in this shadow. Create another adjustment layer called "Curves".
We put a point on the curve and bend it to the left and up, achieving the appearance of details in the darkened area.
We will leave the effect only in the right places, so we do not pay attention to possible overexposure.
4. Once the settings are complete, go to the layers palette, activate the layer mask with curves and press the keyboard shortcut CTRL+I. The mask will turn black and the brightening effect will disappear.
5. Then take the same brush as before, but white. Set the opacity 25 – 30% .
Using a brush, we carefully go over the darkened areas, revealing the details.
6. The atmosphere of such compositions involves the use of muted, desaturated colors. Reduce the saturation of the image using an adjustment layer "Hue/Saturation".
In this short tutorial, we'll show you how to create a dreamlike, surreal portrait by faking a double exposure using Photoshop. We will combine photographs using the visual capabilities of blending modes.
Multiple exposures are a great way to combine two or more shots into one image.
Traditionally, a multiple exposure portrait is created when the same frame of film is exposed more than twice.
“Lightening” (Screen), a layer blending mode implemented in Photoshop, works on a similar principle. The lightness of the pixels on the top image layer is multiplied by the lightness of the underlying pixels on the bottom image layer.
The result may be an even lighter image. But it will never be darker than either of the two original images. And white pixels will remain white.
The method that we will show gives the portrait special expressiveness if an image-texture and an image with strict contours are combined. An example is the photo above. The texture of the tree crowns is limited by the contrasting outline created by the model's body against a uniform background.
Also, the possibility of free arrangement of images relative to each other remains.
- Find out more:
Step 1. Process the RAW file
Download the archive with the original images and unzip them. We suggest you practice with them.
Open Adobe Bridge (usually included with Photoshop). Find the multi01.dng file, right-click on it and select “Open in Camera Raw” from the context menu that appears.
Once the RAW file containing the portrait is loaded into the Camera Raw software module, perform tonal correction. Set the Exposure to +0.8, Contrast to +39, Highlights to +32, Shadows to +27, Blacks ) - -6.
Then go to the Color Grading (HSL) section. Select the Luminance tab. Set the Reds to -51, Oranges to -58, Yellows to -61, Purples to +100, Magentas to +100. Click the Open Image button in the Camera Raw window.
Step #2. Lighten the background
On your keyboard, press Ctrl + J (Cmd + J on Mac) to duplicate the image layer.
Select the Dodge tool located on the Tools panel. In the properties panel at the top, set the Range to Highlights and Exposure to 50%. Uncheck the box next to the Protect Tones option.
Set the brush hardness to low. To do this, right-click on the portrait photo and in the window that appears, set the Hardness parameter to a low value. Paint over the background to lighten it to pure white. Use the "[" and "]" keys to decrease and increase the brush size, respectively.
Step #3. Place the texture over the portrait
Open the multi02.jpg file in Photoshop. Then, in the Layers panel, right-click on the single layer called “Background”. In the context menu that appears, select the “Duplicate Layer” command.
In the dialog box that appears, select the file multi01.dng from the drop-down list of the “Destination” parameter and click the “OK” button. The texture image will appear as a new layer on top of the portrait image. Close the multi02.jpg file.
Rename the top layer containing the wood texture to "Trees".
Now let's start merging the layers by selecting the desired blending mode (Blend mode).
Step #4. Rotate and scale texture
Left-click on the Blend mode drop-down list located at the top of the Layers panel. Select the value “Lightening” (Screen). The wood texture and the portrait will “merge.” Press the key combination “Ctrl” + “T” (“Cmd” + “T”) to activate Free Transform mode. By moving the bounding box nodes, resize and rotate the texture image to create a pleasing composition and completely fill the portrait with texture. Once you are happy with the result, press the “Enter” key on your keyboard.
Step #5. Shade the image
Left-click on the “Create new adjustment layer” button icon located at the bottom of the “Layers” panel. Select the Gradient Map command from the list that appears.
In the Properties panel, left-click on the down arrow next to the gradient image. In the list of different shapes and colors of gradient fills that appears, left-click on the gear icon. From the menu that appears, select the “Photographic Toning” command. Click on the “Add” button in the dialog box that appears.
The list of shapes and colors of gradient fills will be expanded. Select the “Cobalt-Iron 2” option in it. The final image will be colored close to monochrome.
- Find out more: “Perfect landscape. Combining two pictures"
Step #6. Increase Contrast
Left-click again on the “Create a new adjustment layer” button icon and select the “Curves” command from the list that appears.
In the Properties panel, convert the tone line to an S-curve. To do this, click the left mouse button over the upper half of the line and, while holding the button, move the new point slightly to the left and up. The tonal line will take on a bend. In the same way, create a new point on the tonal curve in the lower half of the last one. Move the new point slightly to the right and down.
The more pronounced the S-shape of the curve, the higher the contrast of the final image.
Step #7. Add another texture
Open the file multi03.jpg. Right-click on the Background layer in the Layers panel and select Duplicate Layer. Select "Document: multi01" and click "OK".
Return to the collage. The new texture is placed on top of the image. The corresponding layer appears in the Layers panel. Set the blending mode for this layer to “Lightening” (Screen). Drag the new texture layer under the Curves adjustment layer and rename the first one to Colored Foliage.
Step #8. Transform the second texture
Just like with the first texture, resize the second, new texture and rotate it so that the final image looks beautiful. As before, press Ctrl + T on your keyboard (Cmd + T on Mac) to activate Free Transform mode. If you don't see the bounding box, press the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl" + "0" ("Cmd" + "0").
Try not to overlap the model's face too much. When finished, press the Enter key on your keyboard to save your changes.
Step #9. Finalizing the collage
Review your existing layers and change any settings if necessary.
We slightly reduced the brightness of the image by double-clicking the left mouse button on the “Curves” adjustment layer and moving the tonal curve to the right and down. We also reduced the Opacity to 90% for the adjustment layer containing the gradient fill. This way the skin tones showed up in the final image.
Many people are very fond of portraits with the double exposure effect, where when one image is superimposed on another, stunning pictures are created. This effect is widely used by photographers without the use of special programs, but only using knowledge of the photography process. In this tutorial we will create a double exposure photo effect in Photoshop.
Open the photo with the girl in Photoshop. Let's make a copy of the background. We will work with it further.
Remove the white background from the “Copy Background” layer with the girl. To do this, we will use the “Magic Wand” tool with a tolerance of 15. Click on the white background on the copy with the girl with the magic wand, press Delet on the keyboard - delete the background. (!!! The visibility of the “Background” layer must be turned off).
Place the image with the bird File-Place-Built-in and select the bird. In this option of placing a new image in the document, the layer will be placed as a smart object. In order to turn a smart object into a regular layer, you need to go to the menu Layers – Rasterize – Smart object. (You can place the image in the document in any other way)
Step 4. Scale the image (Free Transform or Ctrl+T) at your discretion, and you can also flip it horizontally (Edit – Transform – Flip Horizontal).
Create a selection along the contour of the girl. Move the mouse over the thumbnail of the “Background copy” layer, hold down the Ctrl key + left-click. A selection is created.
Without removing the selection, go to the layer with the Bird and click on the layer mask. The image was now masked. So that we can move the bird inside the mask, click the icon between the layer and the layer mask (the connection between the layer mask and the layer), click on the layer with the image of the bird and move the image as you wish.
Place the Bird image into the document again. Place the layer below the “Background copy” layer. We scale at our discretion. Apply Filter – Blur – Gaussian blur with a radius of 20 pixels (at your discretion).
The picture is ready!
Using this method you can make a wide variety of portraits.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
The double exposure effect is related to artistic photography. Using this technique, you can create the effect of overlaying and combining photos. Such effects are created in graphic editors, such as Photoshop. But there are also cameras with the ability to shoot in double exposure mode.
Double exposure in photography means that you are capturing two different subjects in one frame. This technique is also called double exposure.
This effect is easily achievable on film cameras, when you can press the start button twice without spinning the film. You will get two images on one frame. In digital technology, the multiple exposure effect is only possible in cameras where it is provided for in the menu, and the camera knows how to shoot in this mode.
The following cameras can have a built-in double exposure mode: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 1D X and 70D, most Nikon digital cameras, Fujifilm X-Pro1 and X100s cameras, as well as Olympus OM-D E-M5. These photos may require RAW format. To simplify the creation of the effect, you can use real-time shooting in live mode. In the menu, the mode may be called multiple exposure.
Creating a double exposure effect in your camera:
- Take a silhouette photo. You need to choose as clean a background as possible, not very bright. For example, the background could be the sky at sunset.
- Select the structure to fill in the photo. The structure should also preferably be on a clean background, without unnecessary details.
- Now turn on the camera and prepare the saved picture with the silhouette. In the camera settings, select multiple exposure mode and turn on real-time viewing.
- Leave the photo viewing mode and point the camera at the structure (trees, buildings, leaves, etc.). You need to compare the images, place the texture inside the silhouette. Take pictures with the selected parameters and the camera itself will combine the images.
Video about using double exposure in a camera:
Multiple exposures in the works of photographers
Famous photographers who use multiple exposures in their works.
Hi all! Today we will talk about what it is and how to create it in Photoshop.
So, let's go!
Traditionally created by photographers, they use their camera to combine two separate photographs to create an unusual abstract image.
However, we can also fake this effect in Photoshop, which actually gives us more control over the final result.
Follow this tutorial step by step and you'll create the effect with ease. double exposure. And we will do this using several simple techniques for selecting objects and creating masks.
Final result:
Double exposure is not just a popular effect among photographers, it is a technique that is also used by artists and designers to create cool abstract works. You can see this effect on many photo album covers, as well as in the opening credits of popular films.
Today we will create this effect in Photoshop. This is relatively easy to do, but the quality of the final work depends on the size and clarity of the photos you choose.
The most popular combination is to combine portrait photography and natural landscape, so I took some cool photos from a free stock image site. First we will take a profile photo of a girl from the Stockvalut website. My goal was to find a photo with a clean background to make it easier to highlight the subject we would be working with. The second image is a beautiful landscape photo from Unsplash.
One of the advantages of creating double exposure The thing about Photoshop is that you can test many images and choose the ones that give the best results.
Step 1. Separate the portrait from the background
We'll start by separating the portrait from the background. We will do this using the Pen tool - we will create a closed contour around the girl’s face.
Outline the hair approximately, cutting off the tousled strands a little so as not to capture the background when highlighting.
As soon as you finish forming the outline, right-click on it and select Select Area from the context menu. Set the Feather Radius to 0.5 px.
Step 2. Correcting the hair highlight
Now let's work with the hair. Go to Select > Refine Edge... and start increasing the Radius and Offset Edge options to add ruffled tufts of hair to the selection area.
Extending the selection boundaries will also cause a background areola to appear around the face. To get rid of it, use the Erase Refinement tool.
You can also use the Refine Radius tool (brush icon) to add stray hairs that were not included into the selection.
Once you're done creating the selection, copy the contents and paste it onto a new layer. Add a new layer with a white fill to separate the newly created selection layer from the background layer, placing it between them.
Step 3. Add a Landscape Image
Open the landscape image and paste it into the document you are working with. Ctrl-click on the layer thumbnail with the cut-out portrait to load the selection. Then select the landscape layer and click on the layer mask button to hide the part of the layer that is not included in the selection.
Detach the mask from the image by clicking on the link icon between the layer and mask thumbnail. This will allow you to move and scale the landscape without affecting the mask, so you can find the best position.
Step 4. Add light facial features
Create a duplicate of the cut out portrait layer and place it above the other layers. Add a new Levels adjustment layer and then begin to darken the image by moving the Input and Output sliders.
Change the Blending Mode of the newly created portrait layer to Screen to turn all dark areas transparent. Darkening the image using Levels will leave only a slight ghostly image after overlay, which can always be changed using the appropriate adjustment layer.
Add a layer mask and use a large soft brush to erase some areas to improve the blending effect. Painting with a black brush on the layer mask hides the area you are painting on, while painting with a white brush shows it again.
Use an eyedropper to select a light color from the image and fill the background layer with it.
Step 5. Adjusting the final result
As you may have noticed, there is a shadowed area at the top of the image due to the overlap of the girl's hair. In order to hide it, create a new layer and paint this area with a large soft brush, using the same color as in the previous step. You can also use a layer mask.
Let's create a new adjustment layer above all layers - Black and White... and reduce its opacity to 30% to mute the colors a little.
Finally, add a Gradient Map adjustment layer. For the light tone, take light beige color #e2d9d1, for the midtones, dark brown color - #52463b, and for the shadows, take dark blue color - #0e1133. Change the adjustment layer's Blend Mode to Color.
Final result:
Today we created double exposure in Photoshop. By using different photographs as portraits and landscapes, you can end up with many different options for your work.
Thank you for reading to the end. See you again!
Translator: Sergey Zastavny;
