In-Camera Multiple Exposures, part 2

Leonardo Mascaro July 27, 2020

One year ago I wrote a blog post on how to take In-Camera Multiple Exposures With the Fujifilm X-T2, which quickly became one of the most visited pages on my website. Following that, I decided to bring a second part, exploring a little further a few different styles I normally use when shooting Multiple Exposures. If you're not familiar with the technique, I highly recommend reading last year's entry first.

Keep in mind that not all of these "styles" will work with any kind of subject, so the idea is to explore and experiment as much as possible until you have a better understanding of what results each of them brings to the image. The more you try it, you'll start having a better judgment to know what works best on each scenario.

→ Upside Down

After taking the first shot, you turn the camera upside down, re-frame it, and take the second shot. There are basically 2 ways of approaching this: 1) Framing both shots keeping the horizon in the center; or 2) Framing both shots but this time keeping the bottom of the picture (normally the ground) in the center:

San Francisco | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

Both cases will result in a mirrored and keep your final image very symmetrical.

Kate K-S @ National Sawdust, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

→ Out of Focus

For this one, after taking the first shot exactly the way you want it, you switch the lens to manual focus, blur everything on purpose and place the same subject (blurred in this case) a little higher in the frame, knowing that the area was pretty dark in the first shot. Another option is to look for other bright colors and lighting sources to use it as the second shot:

Natalie Forteza @ The Iridium, NYC | @ Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

→ Zoom in or Out

What you do here is, using a zoom lens (of any range), after taking the first shot you simply zoom in (or out) from your subject, reframe to make sure you still have enough interesting things on the frame, and take the second shot. In both examples, both shots were sharp, but you can also experiment with zooming in (or out) while also blurring everything on the second shot.

Manhattan Bridge, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro Reuben Koops | © Leonardo Mascaro

→ Rotation

This one works better with 3 (or more) exposures. What you do is, after the first shot, slightly rotate the camera (trying not to change the composition much) on each subsequent shot. In this case, more things in the scene (and an interesting background) can really make a difference.

ABIAH @ Joe's Pub, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

→ Final Thoughts

At first, it's going to be a lot of trial and error but, at some point, you will start to have a better idea of how to frame the second shot to achieve the results you are looking for. The more you practice, the more you'll understand the possibilities and you will start visualizing the images in your mind even before you take it. But also keep in mind that not all the techniques will work well in any scenario. Sometimes nothing will work actually.

Like almost every other technique, the most important thing is to just keep shooting until you get the hang of it. There's always room for improvement. Here are a few other examples for inspiration. Have fun!

Los Angeles, CA | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

Upright Man @ Brooklyn Bowl, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

Louvre Museum, Paris | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

Addie & Jacq @ Rockwood Music Hall, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

Leah Harris @ Rockwood Music Hall, NYC | © Leonardo Mascaro • Equipment used: Canon 6D

In-Camera Multiple Exposure With the Fujifilm X-T2

Leonardo Mascaro July 22, 2019

Multiple Exposure in Photography is not a new technique by any means, but it’s definitely still very enjoyable and, surprisingly, not explored by that many Photographers.

In a film camera, a ‘multiple exposure” consisted in pressing the shutter to take a photograph, but instead of advancing the film to the next frame, you would recompose, press the shutter again, and that second image would superimpose the first one, creating the most various effects depending on the lighting conditions and subject matter. Later on, with the advent of Photoshop, people started experimenting the same effects in the digital world, by simply layering different photographs on top of one another and playing with opacity, masks, bleeding modes, etc.

But what most people don’t realize is that a lot of the current digital cameras are also capable of creating the same ‘multiple exposure’ effect natively, without the need of a post processing software. I remember when I upgraded my DSLR from an entry level to a full-frame model, the one key feature that I knew my next camera would absolutely have to have it was a multiple exposure setting. I haven’t looked back since then, and it’s something that I am constantly experimenting with, on my personal projects, and also for some of my clients that are also attracted by that look.

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/200 sec at f/3.2, ISO 1600 - 70mm (EF 70-200mm f/2.8)

The difference between DSLR and Mirrorless system for Multiple Exposures:

I always loved shooting multiple exposures on a DSLR camera, but there’s one thing on the mirrorless system that makes it even more enjoyable: the electronic viewfinder! When you’re shooting multiple exposures on a DSLR with an optical viewfinder, you have no idea how both images will blend, unless you are looking at the back at the camera, instead of the viewfinder, which is not always a good idea. With a mirrorless camera, like the Fujifilm X-T2, assuming that you are using the electronic viewfinder (highly recommended), once you take the first shot, you will be looking at it while framing the second one, until you fire the shutter for the second time. It’s magical to see the effect being created right in front of you even before you actually do it!

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

The only minor issue, for me, is that the Fujifilm camera automatically converts your double exposure file into a JPEG (even if you camera is set to shoot RAW only), as with other DSLRs I tested, the camera maintains the file as RAW, allowing you have much more control in post processing later on. Hope they are able to change that in the near future.

“So where do I find the multiple exposures setting in my Fujifilm X-T2 camera?”, you may be asking… Well, they couldn’t make it easier than this:

All you need to do is turn the bottom of the left dial from S (single frame) to the icon right next to it with the two “overlapping” photos, and you are ready to start experimenting! Take your first shot, accept it or retry (if you’re not happy with your first frame), and look for the second shot to be combined.

Many people will say that it’s much easier to jump into Photoshop and combine as many layers as you want with endless possibilities, but I personally still think that it’s way more interesting and fun when you are in a location and create unique images with what you have available right there for you. Here are more images to inspire you to try and have fun next time you’re out photographing:

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 16mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/4, ISO 200 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/640 sec at f/8, ISO 100 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

Equipment used:

How To Take Double Exposure Photos Without Photoshop

Leonardo Mascaro June 23, 2017

I was recently featured on Format Magazine, where I could share a little bit of my process and approach when creating multiple exposures on camera, as you can see on my "California Exposed" series and many of my concert photos.

You can read the whole article in this link and find out how did I create some of these images below: