Here’s a good technique to try if you want to get creative on your travels: a multiple-exposure effect that works really well with architecture and city scenes. You can use it home or abroad, and it gives a uniquely fresh look to even well-known subjects.
By combining several shots of a building or scene, along with some simple textures, you can make an impressionist view in seconds. It will certainly stand out against everyone else's identical snaps.
Although merging the main subject with more distinct scenes is a good technique in its own right, it’s tougher to do and takes practise. Using textures is simpler, and they often often work better, giving a more painterly look to the final image.
The number of frames you shoot is up to you, but remember the more you shoot, the less distinct the subject is likely to be. That said, you can apply ‘weighting’ to the shots. For example, say you decide to make a 10-image multiple exposure; you could shoot five of them from the same position, then mix it up with the others, adding textures, sky shots, or similar. That way the first five will form 50% of the final exposure, and be clearer in the mix as a result. You could even shoot the main subject from a tripod, so that it’s clearer, but the more fractured look is fun, too.
The multiple shots give the subject a fractured, sketchy look, while the texture add a painterly feel.
The principle is simple and it can all be done in camera, so you can enjoy the results instantly, without any processing in Photoshop - part of the fun is not knowing exactly how it will turn out.
All you need is a camera that has a multiple exposure mode, and you’re good to go. Here’s how it’s done…
1/ Find a good subject
Though it’s not essential, finding a strong, dominant subject is a good idea for this technique. The reason is that smaller subjects and more cluttered scenes can mix with the textures and be overwhelmed by them, losing any particular sense of place. That’s fine if you want to go for the ‘full impressionism’ look, but it’s not always successful and is less likely to grab and hold the viewer’s attention. Here, a rooftop view of Palermo Cathedral works pretty well, even if it did cost ˆ6 and a lung to get up there.
A strong subject helps stop the multiple exposure effect getting too abstract. You can shoot it several times to make it more prominent in the final mix though.
2/ Activate the multiple exposure mode
Now find your camera’s multiple exposure mode. Most DSLRs and CSCs now have these, and many creative compacts do, too. It’s usually to be found within the shooting menu (shown here on a Nikon D810), or via the drive modes, along with the likes of single, continuous and self-timer. After switching it on, you may also get the option for the multiple exposure mode to remain active for just one image, or until switched off. It’s usually safer to set it to one image (Single), as you may forget it’s on and spoil a later shot otherwise.
The multiple exposure options can usually be found in your camera's shooting menu, or as one of the drive modes.
3/ Control the multiple exposure
Within the multiple exposure settings you’ll also have the option to set the number of shots. The number will vary from camera to camera. On the Nikon D810 featured here, it’s 10, but others do many more. Plan out how many different views you want to make up the final exposure and set that number. Finally, if there’s an ‘auto gain’ option, it’s a good idea to use it, as it’ll stop the picture over- or underexposing too much.
Pick the number of shots to take. The more you choose, the more impressionistic the image will look.
4/ Start shooting
On the main screen, or the top-plate LCD, you should now see a symbol showing the mode is active – it’s normally represented by overlapping frames. Now you’re ready to shoot, so frame up and focus on the main subject. You can shoot in whatever exposure mode you like, but I prefer aperture-priority for techniques like this. You can also shoot in Raw if you want; this will give you a little more control if required later on. Begin by shooting the main subject, remembering that you can shoot the scene several times as part of the overall exposure, to make it more distinct in the final mix. Here, I shot the cathedral tower five times (of the 10 shots overall), at f/11, 1/250sec, ISO 200.
Note the multiple exposure symbol on the top-plate LCD; two overlapping frames, showing the mode is active.
5/ Add some textures or other effects
With the multiple exposure mode still active, you can now overlay the main subject with textures or other shots. Basic textures are great for this, as they won’t overwhelm the main subject. Fluffy clouds are a good bet, too. For the final five shots of this multiple exposure, I shot a series of textures as I walked back down from the Cathedral roof (similar examples of which are shown below). As I was still in aperture-priority mode, the shutter speed feel dramatically in the dark stairwell, giving me a shutter speed of 2secs and adding some soft blur to four of the textures. For the final one, taken in the courtyard below, it was brighter, so I got a faster shutter speed and a sharper texture to finish off the multiple exposure.
Mixing up the type of textures you shoot can improve the image. Try to steer clear of anything that will clash with the subject.
6/ Post processing
Take a look at the image on screen, to see if it was successful. Based on how the separate images are working together as part of the multiple exposure, you might like to reshoot, giving more weighting to one part than another, or trying harder or softer textures. If you’re happy, but the image looks a bit flat, you can try some in-camera processing. If you’ve shot in Raw mode you’ll have the most options to increase or decrease brightness or saturation and so on.
If the image looks a little flat, just use some in-camera processing to perk up the contrast and colour.
. digitalrev.com2017-7-20 03:00