Multi Exposure Photography
In its early days, photography was seen as a way to portray reality, deliver facts, and tell the truth. Unlike a painter, who can paint whatever he wants, a photographer always needs to have his subject right in front of his camera to make a photograph of it. This at least is most commonly the case unless you know how to do otherwise for example by manipulating a photograph. And because that is something early photographers explored and figured out quickly, the good reputation of photography for being a truthful and honest way of representing life, started to crumble.
Today, most photographers use photo editing software to change the visual appearance of their photographs. And many of these techniques and tools are the digital descendants of the analog techniques used in a darkroom. Some of these techniques are used to fine-tune a photograph like correcting the exposure or the contrast, but there are much more elaborate and creative techniques as well to make a photograph totally different from reality. One of these techniques is multi-exposure photography.
But before we dive into this technique and the different ways photographers have been using it, let’s take a closer look at its definition and how a multi-exposure photograph can be made.
A multi-exposure is a photograph in which two or more images are superimposed in a single frame. This can be achieved in a few different ways:
In camera:
A multi-exposure photograph can be created with a film camera by exposing the same negative twice or more without advancing the film. This way you can choose different subjects, but have very little control over how the final photograph will look.
There are also digital cameras, that have a multi-exposure feature, which allows you to layer multiple images on top of each other in-camera. You often even get a live preview of the final image on the screen, which gives you more control of the composition compared to the film camera where the level of chance and surprise are much higher.
In the darkroom:
In the darkroom, instead of using one negative to create a photograph on paper, you choose to superimpose several negatives to create a multi-exposure photograph. This way you can pick negatives from your whole archive, instead of being restricted to being what’s in front of you when being out in the field with your camera.
In photo editing software:
This is similar to the darkroom technique, but with all the creative tools your editing software has to offer. You can choose photographs from your digital archive or even use other media (text, images from the internet etc.) to combine them with your photograph. It probably offers the highest control of the final appearance of your creation.
It is possible, that the first multi-exposure photograph was created without by accident. If you ever used a film camera that doesn’t automatically advance the film after pressing the shutter button you might probably know how easy it is to expose the same frame twice.
But no matter how intentional these first multi-exposures were, this technique soon emerged in a variety of contexts: Some photographers used the technique to elevate their work and hoped it would be seen as art, portrait photographers offered it as a specialty to their customers, others claimed to be able to capture ghosts and yet others saw it as a new and exciting way to explore the creative possibilities that go beyond traditional photography.
Many famous photographers like Man Ray, Imogen Cunningham, and Graciela Iturbide have experimented with multi-exposure photography during their career. But there are three American photographers, who stand out of the crowd for me when it comes to this special technique. Not only because of their extensive use of multi-exposure photography, but particularly with regard to their very unique and creative ways that are unlike any other. They all deserve their own essays, but I wanted to give you a quick introduction to them.
Duane Michals
Duane Michals is a photographer whose work is so inventive and creative unlike any other photographic body of work. Michals
uses the multi-exposure technique to create images often have a dreamlike quality and can be a little eerie at times. He often uses a his photographs as a sequence, and/or combines them with words to tell a story.
Duane Michals, Self-Portrait with My Guardian, Angle, 1974. Courtesy: DC Moore Gallery, New York 
Duane Michals, Self-Portrait as If I Were Dead, 1968. Courtesy: DC Moore Gallery, New York 
Duane Michals, Magritte with Hat, 1965, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2009.31.1 Jerry Uelsmann
Photographer Jerry Uelsmann is known for his surreal multi-exposure photographs in which he creates his own worlds and reality. He combines different elements from various photographs and turns them into visual poetry. All created in his darkroom, without the use of any digital software. Here is a short video of his process.
Harry Callahan
Harry Callahan saw photography as an adventure. During his lifetime he explored different genres and became well known for his innovative use of the abstract and minimalistic in this medium. Besides double-exposures of architecture, he also created beautiful and intimate portraits of his wife Eleanor using the multi-exposure technique.
Ever since multi-exposure photography was discovered, it never lost its allure and magic, and countless photographers use it to express their creative vision. Callahan, Michals and Uelsmann are the perfect examples of how versatile this technique is. It just opens up a whole new world to photographers who want their work to be more unique and creative.
I started making my first double-exposure photographs around 2011 while walking the streets of Chicago with my twin lens camera - my Lubitel 166B. I enjoyed creating images that looked different from the way the human eye sees. By layering different images I can create my own little world, and express ideas, thoughts or emotions in a different way than with a single photograph.
Multi-exposure photography is also a great way to connect and collaborate with other photographers. Something I have done in the past, but also just very recently. But I will tell you all about it and share some of the photographs next week.
That’s it from me today.
Thank you for being here and for reading this week’s newsletter. It means a lot to me!
X,
Susanne
Have you ever made any multi-exposure photographs? Which is your favourite method and why? Feel free to share any thoughts, questions or comments with me. I would love to hear from you.
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In my photographic learnings, Duane Michals was one of the most influential teachers of visual storytelling. I mimicked his visual humor and sequences within my own ways of seeing.
Awesome overview in double exposure!
Cheers!
great lesson! jerry uelsman is my favourite regarding multi exposure. personally i made multi exposure images in 3 ways: in camera by not advancing the film (some of them accidentally), in a digital camera and in photoshop by layering images. never did it in a darkroom but who knows when opportunity arrises