Seeing Double
I find myself at the half way point for my Collaborative Project 52 with the amazing Regina Boston (RMB Photography). Each month we have a previously established theme and weekly we create double exposure images to coordinate with the theme. We then create diptychs with one of each of our images and share them on Instagram. (Follow along our hashtag! #2025project52_Double ). The project continually challenges my artistic vision, creativity and photographic skill. The month of June the theme deviated the most from my “typcal” genre when our topic was…”People.” I found it captivating that while a photograph is a single fraction of a second of time, when two of these moments are combined a drastic and dramatic shift to the the feel, the story transforms.
Here’s a bit of what I learned week - by - week…
Week 1:
When your subjects are in motion you can take shots subsequently and quickly capturing different stances of their movement. For the last image my daughter walked into the scene for the second shot so it appears as if her brother is turning his head while she’s simply moving forward. Also: negative space is your friend! I used it to give a sense of scale and enhance the contrast of the movement.
Week 2:
I continued with using a single scene capturing different moments as my daughters moved throughout the field picking strawberries. I then tried a different angle (which made the rows of berries criss cross.) I also experimented with layering different elements of the scene like filling the sky area with berries and using a close up of my daughter’s hand with a pull back of my other daughter in the field. The layering options are endless!
Week 3:
I was off to Michigan and took advantage of the lakeshore vibe to capture strangers. Through the use of backlight and selective focus I was able to make the subjects seem relatable and ambiguous. For each of these images I moved just slightly while the subjects were also on the move (and in one a boat drove through the frame on the second image!) The unpredictability adds a sense of spontaneity
Week 4:
And… I was off again. This time for a city vacation in Texas! We spent a morning at a natural spring pool with the backdrop of the Austin, TX skyline. The color of the water, the textures, and the way the light bounced off added magical layers to the scene. During the heat of the afternoons we retreated to museums and it just so happened the art museum on University of Texas’s campus was free on Tuesday! The unique light, shapes and windows were a cool backdrop for a double exposure. I balanced one in focus with an “out of focus” image with my son examining the exhibit. And then with my kids in the huge window I returned to how I began this month: a single scene as my children moved through it.
Takeaways from the month of Double Exposures with people:
Timing. There’s definitely a sense of capturing at an opportune time, whether it’s almost immediately after taking the first image, or pausing a bit to get the most dramatic change in posture to enhance the movement.
Negative space. Using negative space allows for the viewer to imagine what’s next and to fill in the blanks in their mind of where the sense of movement will take them.
Look for textures. To enhance the storytelling find some rich textures to layer along with your “people” images. I used light reflecting off water, strawberries and an out of focus image in the art museum to pique curiosity.
Be open. People do what people do. They are unpredictable in beautiful ways! With the image of my kids I didn’t guide them at all - I let them be and do what they naturally were. Could I have posed them? Sure. (Well, if they decided to be agreeable to that at the moment. I do have 3 teenagers after all! :) And yet I was patient and subtle (think fly on the wall or a rock or the side of the huge pool or a strawberry field) and captured as the scene unfolded.
Have you included people in your double exposure images? If so, please send me a message with any tips you have or what you’ve learned. If not, try out some of these tips and please share the results with me! Happy creating!
