Double Exposure is a technique that combines two different images or exposures by layering them on top of each other. But firstly, what is exposure? It refers to how much light a camera sensor is ‘exposed’ to, hence the name.

In film photography, this technique is popular and used often, by exposing the same portion of film twice, resulting in the second image being superimposed on the first. Double Exposure is also known as the ‘ghost effect’ because it often happened by accident. An important thing to note is that both elements (layers) are visible on top of each other. If one is opaque and the other is simply peeking out from underneath, this isn’t double exposure. There is however a limit to how many times you can expose film, as the chemical process involved in taking a picture degrades the film each time it is exposed. This isn’t the case with digital cameras, however, so you could layer as much as you want.

 

Examples

 

 

Personally, the more interesting pieces with double exposure utilise the technique in a very creative way, by using certain images that have matching aspects. For example, the Jungle Book poster uses the tiger’s stripes to also portray the trees and branches in the forest, whilst the bottom right, marges a mountain with a face and creates an interesting portrait that really stands out due to the bizarre shape created. Another example of how brilliantly this effect can be used is the woman with the smoke layered ontop. This image almost achieves a 3D effect, because of the perfect placement and strong contrast. It creates emotional depth because of the fire, which seems to be coming from the woman’s heart, making us think that this is a traumatic event that she has experienced, and it doesn’t take away from either image – they work equally well as one.

I had a go at this technique myself, in photoshop, and the first time definitely wasn’t a success, because I didn’t have a full grasp of the method and opportunities it presents. I stuck to the minimum so I could create something by the end, and I would definitely call it a test run or practise. My second attempt was much better, after looking back through my notes carefully and really having fun whilst I experiment.

 

Quick Demo

 

• Import image into PS, cut out subject with pen tool
• CTRL + J, duplicates image into separate layer
• Add solid fill layer as background (underneath subject)
• Bring in next element/image ontop, 50% opacity
• Right-click subject, bring back pixels, click on new element, add layer mask (removes outside area)
• Make opacity 100%
• Duplicate original photo (subject), move above new element layer, use blending mode
• Add new layer mask, CTRL + I, with white brush, bring back parts of original photo
• Duplicate new element (original), with white brush, pain in background
• Play around with blending modes
• Optional – change colour to background image

 

Here are the images I used for my first attempt and the screengrabs to show its progression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, as I said before, I consider this one to be a bit of a fail. Even though it looks quite pretty as a finished result, it doesn’t properly portray the technique, nor does it utilise the imagery selected in a good way. The first is in reference to the flower in particular which isn’t really double exposure at all. I didn’t know how to do the main step correctly and spent a while on the flag, so I was quite fed up by the point and too lazy to do it all over again with the rose, which is why it’s just slapped on there with a blending mode. Obviously, my inspiration here was Bulgaria, as I have included a famous statue in Bulgaria, called Saint Sofia, the flag and well known national product – rose oil (made from the Bulgarian rose). My aim was to make it look like she was standing in the rose, but this didn’t work out, and it looks out of place as a flower simply floating around. What I do like, however, is the way that I have merged the flag with the statue. The actual image I chose for the flag was a bad decision on my part because it’s horizontal whilst Saint Sofia is narrow and vertical, but, I think I did a good job working around this and succeeded in implementing the flag into the piece. I wanted the colours to be subtle, but also still visible, almost like they are originally part of the statue, so I pushed them mostly to the back and edges of the statue so that the details of the dress and face were retained, and the colours are also shown.

I am also a little annoyed at myself for choosing Bulgaria of all themes when it should have been something more beneficial to my fantasy project. I do think that the position of Saint Sofia is very powerful though, which is the inspiration for a good pose for a fantasy character. Furthermore, they gave me a chance to practise and see what I could have done better.  For example, another thing that I really should have considered better was the distinct lines that a flag has, which look a little odd in double exposure (in this case at least). I tried to smooth them out or blend them together, but this not only made the colours less visible but also interfered with the mask. I don’t really understand where I want wrong in that area, but I had no choice but to leave the lines as they were. One thing I learned in my second attempt is what went wrong with the actual basis of the double exposure effect (the masks) and why I kept having to rely on blending modes and the eraser in this piece.

The second time I tried this in photoshop was a huge success. I reviewed my notes and looked into the method more in-depth so that I understood each step thoroughly. This time, I wanted to create something relevant to my fantasy post, so I decided to use my final character design for Kreo along with an image that links to his life. Originally, I planned to only use two images, but later on, when I realised that the top half of his body needed something as well and that I was also much more confident and could use another, I added in a third. Like before, here are the original images and progress shots.

 

 

 

 

I chose these images because they resemble the types of things Kreo would be involved with as King/Lord Umber. The battlefield represents all not only the great war he started but also the violence and murder that allowed him to gain power. The black smoke reflects his emotions, and loss thereof – anger, sadness, fear, betrayal, greed and of course, the need to turn to darkness for protection and power. When choosing the image, I also took note of in which direction the smoke was moving; this one worked best because it is horizontal like Kreo. I didn’t make the same mistake as last time, and really thought about the silhouette and position of my subject.

 

 

This is the very basis of the double exposure technique – this step where you have to bring back the pixels of the cut-out subject, select the new element, and add a layer mask. This was where I went wrong in my previous attempt, as I either forgot or didn’t know how to bring back the pixels (even though it’s actually very simple). It felt truly satisfying to see the layers merge, and from that point on it was simply a matter of experimentation and personal preference.

 

 

I thought that having the image just inside Kreo’s cloak would be a bit boring, and would leave too much negative space, so I duplicated the image, placed it on top, and using blending modes and the eraser, chose the parts I wanted and blended it into the background. I used the masks correctly this time and using the white paintbrush, painted parts of the sword back in to make it pop a bit more against the image. The hardest part here was matching the duplicate up to the original so that it looked like one image flowing into the background. I thought of just duplicating the layer that already had the image, but all that did was duplicate the mask, and I needed the rest of the image, not just the part in the centre. Next time, I am going to make duplicates of the new elements I add-in, and see if that would help.

 

 

I chose to make the background a colour from the battlefield image as I felt this rounded the piece off a bit more, and made everything feel cohesive. You can also see here that I chose ‘dissolve’ as the blending mode for the battlefield image outside of Kreo because I really liked the effect and how it added an interesting texture to the piece. I change this later on however because of the changes I made for the background.

 

 

Here, I have already repeated the previous steps for the smoke and added it in, and am trying to do the same thing as I did with the battlefield image, and carry it onto the outside. I kept it for a while, as it looked cool to see the smoke escaping out of him, but at some point, I decided that it looked better just inside Kreo and I removed the layer altogether.

 

 

I noticed that the blue background was a bit plain, and I wanted to add an image of some sort to make it match more with the other elements. At first, I tried scaling up the smoke and using a blending mode to add it to the background, but that looked hideous, so I tried the next best alternative – a gradient! A gradient fading into black at the bottom improved the piece so much! In my opinion, it added that ominous, dark feel that the piece was missing because of the blue, and it reflects Kreo and the aesthetic of the show much better.

I liked the result so much, I wanted to add text, and this resulted in an actual poster which I am using for my final production! I played around with position after choosing a suitable font, and whilst the gold looked really nice, the silver letters just rounded everything off perfectly, thanks to the link to Kreo’s colour scheme.

 

 

 

I had some difficulty choosing the placement of the text, as I felt that all of them looked really cool and realistic to how real movie posters look. But, I thought about the rule of thirds and decided on the middle one, as it aligned nicely with Kreo and the sword. Here is the final result:

 

 

I love how this turned out, and I am so happy I gave double exposure another try, because I have a much better grasp of how it can be done in photoshop now, and I made one of my final posters with this technique! It is very beneficial to my project that I have understood this as it can be used not only in poster designs but also in the title sequence (animated double exposure) and it is quite suitable for fantasy, where there are often multiple characters/important props. Double exposure is a great way to showcase everything and think creatively about positioning and matching the images.

I will be including the poster in its own specific post after I have completed the second one, which I am currently creating.