DOUBLE TAKE

Learn to capture and merge several images into one, using editing software to create striking abstract portraits

Difficulty level: Easy

Time taken: 2 Hours

What you’ll need

• DSLR or mirrorless camera
• Natural light
• Photoshop
• A willing model

As a technique, double exposure photography is nothing new. It has existed since the early days of film when, traditionally, the same slide was exposed twice to produce a superimposed image. In the digital age, the effect can be reproduced using a camera with a dedicated Multiple Exposure mode.

However, if your camera doesn’t have a dedicated mode, or you want more creative control over the final image, you can also mimic the effect in Photoshop. In this tutorial, you’ll discover how to shoot the best initial portrait image for this technique, as well as how to edit the two images in Photoshop for a striking and abstract result. One of the great things here is that you don’t have to shoot your portrait and overlay images at the same time. If you have the perfect fill-in image within your archive, it’s easy to have a go – provided you have a camera with manual shooting modes and a willing subject.

Follow this step-by-step tutorial, as we go through both the shooting and editing steps you need to merge two photographs together, with the help of some simple Photoshop blending modes.

Shooting steps