Welcome to "Double Exposure": Exploring Photography's Creative Blend. In this project, I dive into the world of double-exposure photography using different Photoshop tools and techniques. Mixing live music photography with masking and camera raw editing, I created unique images that merge different scenes and stories. Join me in this journey as we uncover the beauty of blending two perspectives into one captivating visual experience.
Photoshop Double-Exposure Workflow
The link above will redirect you to a time-lapsed video of the workflow process I went through to combine and edit my photos to produce the double-exposure images I created for this project. I opened my pictures in Adobe Photoshop where I proceeded to use a variety of selection tools to single out the portion of the image I wanted to isolate. I used the “Layer Mask” tool to separate the area so I could look at different overlay options without damaging the images. I rearranged the order of the layers and placed the image I decided to mix in, and then played around with different mask settings until I was happy with the appearance. When I began creating my exposures I kept them all in their initial color settings, but as I continued on I decided to start using the “Camera Raw Filter” effect to edit some of the pictures to monotone as I felt it allowed certain parts of the image to stand out better
Double-Exposure Process
To create double-exposed images in Photoshop, similar to the ones you see down below, you must utilize a variety of different tools to make an aesthetically pleasing composition. Its important to keep in mind the relationship between the images, and make sure its well-established so that they can be combined cohesively. It's also essential to keep an open mind when editing, and look at a variety of different image and coloring combinations. There's nothing wrong with changing the concept of an edit that you've already begun to work on, or even starting from scratch and taking it in a completely new direction
How to create a double-exposed image:
Step 1 - Choose your images: Select the photos you would like to combine, there's no limit to how many you can overlay, but I stuck to 2-3. Although you can combine any images you like, the final product is usually better when the pictures follow a common theme, such as a particular event, location, or band.
Step 2 - Select an area: Pick the main image you would like to start with and use the different selection tools offered in Photoshop to highlight the area where you would like to have the double exposure. The “Lasso”, the “Magic Wand”, and the “Marquee” tool are all good options for this step, and it all depends on the area your focused on and which works best for you. Using the Shift and Option keys, you can add and subtract to your selected area using any of the aforementioned tools
Step 3 - Masking: Once you’re happy with your selection, select the “Layer Mask” button in the layers window to separate your area. Once you do so, you can play around with the different mask settings in the properties window, such as “Density” and “Feather”. You can also invert your mask depending on how you choose to make your selection
Step 4 - Layering: Now you can import the image(s) you would like to overlay to create your double-exposure. You can adjust the order of your layers to explore different options and move images in and out to determine what you think looks best
Step 5 - Final Edits: This step is optional, but you can use either the “Camera Raw Filter” or Adobe Lightroom to edit the coloring of images. You can change your images to monotone or edit the colors however you would like to match each other better. You can also edit the opacity of your layers to make the exposure more or less prominent. Play around with different tools, and once you are happy, export your final image!
Finished Images
Reflection
Why did you choose this topic area?
I chose this topic area because although I’ve been working on my photography skills for a while prior to this class, I wanted to try and learn some new photo editing techniques. This class has helped me refine my photography quite a bit, and even sparked a more serious interest in it, however I have little to no experience with image editing outside of color grading and touch ups. I wanted to give a new look to the images I took this semester using my new camera. I have recently focused on music and entertainment photography as I enjoy the movement and energy, so I wanted to try and combine different perspectives from specific shoots to give them a bit more context.
What is the most important thing that you learned completing these tutorials?
I think the most important thing I learned through these tutorials is how to look at, and edit images with a more critical eye. I wanted to make sure the photos I used in the double exposures had a clear relationship so that it felt natural to combine them. I had to choose images that had a clear focal point in which I could insert the exposure, and decide how best to make that point stand out. It taught me a wide variety of skills in Photoshop, Lightroom, and photo analysis as a whole.
How did learning these new skills impact your creativity?
Learning these new skills has allowed me to look at the way I take photos in a whole new light. After I had decided on the concept for this project, I had a job taking photos for a band playing at one of the restaurants downtown. I noticed myself being much more critical of the images I was taking, and much more intentional with them. I thought about the pictures not just in the context of how they would look when standing alone, but also how I could take different images that could be overlaid with one another. It allowed me to think about the relationship between the images I shoot on a much deeper and more interconnected level
Tutorial Videos
Photoshop One-on-One: Fundamentals: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/photoshop-one-on-one-fundamentals/adding-depth-with-layer-effects?resume=false&u=74651442
This tutorial had a total length of 13 hours, but I skipped around mainly focusing on the "Layers" and "Color" sections, as they were the most relevant in this project
Photoshop 2021 Essential Training: Photography: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/photoshop-2021-essential-training-photography/creating-the-impossible-single-exposure?resume=false&u=74651442
This tutorial had a total length of 3 hours and 31 minutes, but I skipped around once again and choose to focus on the "Making Tonal and Color Adjustments" and the "Combining Multiple Images" sections. This tutorial was probably the most important as it gave me the most information about double-exposures specifically
Photoshop: Backgrounds and Textures: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/photoshop-backgrounds-and-textures/extending-the-power-of-photographic-imagery?resume=false&u=74651442
This tutorial had a total length of 2 hours and 18 minutes, and I mainly focused on the sections pertaining backgrounds as apposed to the sections on texture. This tutorial helped fill in some of the additional knowledge I needed to complete my project, and let me think about the process in a different light