What are multiple exposures?

Get started with the concept of merging separate images to create a brand-new composition

The multiple-exposure technique has been around since the days of film, but the creative control offered by digital cameras – and the fact that you can preview the result as each image is added to the multiple exposure – makes it accessible to all.

That’s if your camera offers the function, of course. Not all do. But all is not lost if yours doesn’t, as you can try this technique in your preferred editing software instead.

The technique itself is simple: combine two or more images in a single photo. (Merging a pair of images is technically a double exposure, but let’s not split hairs.)

The camera can handle all of the technical aspects for you, leaving you to concentrate on the art: shooting the right images, choosing an arrangement or composition that takes the original photos in a new direction, and selecting the best way to blend them.

Double exposure By working with just two pictures at a time, you’ll get a better feel for the different ways in which they can be merged or blended together, whether that’s in-camera or using editing software.

Get started The easiest way to start producing multiple exposures is by shooting and combining two exposures together.