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3.07.2012

multiple exposures: a guest post / tutorial


Hey there! I'm Mary Ann, and I was so delighted when Eve, um, reminded me that I told her I would guest post :) Doesn't she have such an amazing blog?
Since I'm guessing that most of us here have an interest in photography, I decided to post a little photo-related tutorial.

Double exposures seem to have been a trend in the blogging world lately - I think it started with Carlotta. Most people make them with Photoshop, but for those of us who aren't lucky enough to own it, there's an easy and free alternative: it's called Pixlr. Today, I'm going to show you how I make my own double exposures online, the free and easy way. Let's get started!


First, you're going to want to open up Pixlr.com. Once you're there, click the link to open the photo editor.
(By the way, you can click on any of these pictures to view them larger.)


Click "Open image from computer," and find one of the pictures that you'd like to make into a double exposure.


I picked this one I took of the sky the other day. I like to keep the pictures pretty simple so there isn't too much to look at... some double exposures can just make your eyes hurt!


Now you need to add your second picture. Go to Layer > Open image as layer, and you can pick a new image to open from your computer. I picked this goofy one of my brother - I think he'll look cool, floating in the sky. :)


Your second picture should be completely covering up your first - we'll work on that.


On the bottom left corner of the Layers menu on the sidebar, you'll see a little icon with an arrow next to it. Make sure that your top layer (Layer 1, not the background) is highlighted, and click the icon to open up the layer settings.


Ready for the fun part? All you have to do is adjust the opacity to around 50% and, presto, you have a double exposure!


I like to add a little bit of contrast to mine by going to Adjustment > Brightness & Contrast, just to give everything a little extra pop.


To finish up, just flatten the image by going back to the Layer menu...


and then save it to your computer!



Here's my finished product:


It's not the best one I've ever made, but still, it makes me smile!


If you want to see more of my photo experiments, you can visit me at my main blog here. If any of you try this yourself, leave me a link in the comments - I'd love to see what you come up with!


Thanks again, Eve, for letting me guest post. :)

13 comments:

  1. Ah. This was a great tutorial! Seems easy enough... I'll have to try is sometime! :)

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  2. Yes, I agree. Eve does have an amazing blog.

    That's amazing! Sooo going to try it. :)

    Abbie /// XOXOX

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  3. oh, I have been wondering how these work..
    thanks so much for the tut. I am going to try it really soon. :)

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  4. Thank-you so much for guest posting! :) That's a great tutorial! I might just try something like it on PS. ;)
    Your snow bokeh is the most amazing thing! <3

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  5. Thanks for the tutorial! I had been wondering how to do this effect. Now I know. :)

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  6. Awesome! I've been wondering about how to do these. Thanks so much!

    Katie

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  7. that first shot was awesome! thanks for the tutorial!

    xoxo,
    Jessica @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul

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  8. Beautiful! I've done something similar using photoshop before. :) This one is absolutely amazing, Mary Ann!!!

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  9. Anonymous12.3.12

    These are really good, Mary Ann! I love the second double exposure!

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  10. Anonymous18.6.12

    Oh my gosh! I just made my first double exposure. Thank you so much for the tutorial. It was easy to follow your instructions. I'm so happy with how my picture turned out!

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  11. Anonymous8.11.13

    thanks for the step by step and visual directions , this was by far the best tutorial i have seen for pixlr, did my first cant wait to try more. :)

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  12. Thank you for these clear directions - I couldn't figure it out until I found your directions. Super!

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