April 10, 2012
Tutorial Tuesday: Double Exposures
Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! Sarah of Naptime Momtog and I will be bringing you a new challenge every week, to stretch your shooting and editing skills. This week, I thought we’d visit a lesson I saw about a week or so ago on creating “Double Exposures” in Photoshop (or similar programs). If you haven’t seen the tutorial already, click HERE

Granted, by following these steps, you won’t create a real double exposure…ya know, in the same way you would have done by using film. But, it still looks pretty cool. 

Start by selecting two images – this might be the most difficult part. I selected an azalea image I took on Friday afternoon…
Azaleas RS
…and this photo of my red flats that I took yesterday afternoon in the parking lot. Notice my baby bump getting in the way? I thought this image might introduce some interesting texture.
Red Flats RS
  1. Open both images in Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements, Gimp, etc.).
  2. Edit both images. They do not necessarily have to be processed the same, but it may help if they had similar processing. You can certainly edit the images in Lightroom first, then open in Photoshop.
  3. Choose one image that you want to be the background image. In this particular case, I chose the azaleas. 
  4. Go to your second image. Copy the image (Ctrl + A to select all, Ctrl+C to copy).
  5. Go back to your first image and paste the second image on top of the first image. It will create a new layer. 
  6. Lower the opacity to your liking – I suggest something like 20%.
  7. Taken a step further, you can add a layer mask to the second image’s layer and paint off some of the top layer from the bottom layer (if that makes sense – you’ll use a black paint brush at a 20-30% opacity). If you’ve applied textures to your images before, it’s the same effect. 
  8. Flatten your layers and save.
Azalea Double Exposure RS
With all that said, what do you think of the final result?  I really like this effect – just need to find more opportunities to use it.

Ready to join in the fun? Here’s how to do it:
1.Read THIS TUTORIAL at Fernweh Magazine – thanks Carlotta for the brilliant idea!
2. Choose your favorite creation (or more!) to share with us.
3. Don’t forget to grab the button for your post!
4. Link up between now and next Monday.

Tutorial Tuesday

PS: If you have any photography or editing suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let Sarah or me know! We would love to feature your tutorial.
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