Many wonderful things people invent by accident: potato chips, Velcro fasteners, double exposure. Today we’re talking about the last one.
Double exposure is a technique that allows you to create images with a story, character, or strong emotion.
There are two ways to shoot double exposure on film:
1. Shoot the entire roll as usual, then reload it into the camera and shoot again. This option is good if you want to experiment without planning every frame. You’ll probably get something interesting.
2. Shoot twice on one frame, then move on. This option suits cameras where frames are wound manually or have a built-in multiple exposure function. In this case, you can plan your shots in advance.
Whichever method you choose to make the shots work, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
1. White or light elements in the first frame will remain so, and the second frame will "fit" into the dark areas of the first. For example, you first shoot a person in a black T-shirt against a white wall, then a pug. The white wall will stay white, and the pug will be visible around the T-shirt area. Dark elements from the first shot allow details from the second to appear.
2. You need to plan the shot, imagine how one frame will overlay the other. Try not to combine frames cluttered with details. And most importantly – practice a lot and experiment.
3. Double exposure means that twice as much light hits the film. So there is a risk of overexposing the shot. To avoid this, you can underexpose both the first and second frames – make sure less light hits the film, or set the ISO higher than nominal so that less light reaches the film.
