Multiple Exposure on the Same Sheet of Film

**Downformontreal** · 29-Dec-2009, 22:59

When making a multiple exposure in camera, how do you compensate for the two exposures?

I am going to take two portraits on the same sheet of film. If the reading is hypothetically f/5.6 @ 1/125 for the first portrait, and f/5.6 @ 1/125 for the second portrait, would I expose both portraits at f/5.6 @ 1/250 to compensate for the additional light?

I hope this makes sense. Thank you very much for the help.

Best,
Marc

**lenser** · 29-Dec-2009, 23:40

Marc, It would help to know how the two images will be positioned in frame. In several commercial multi-exposure situations where the images blend into black edges, but do not overlap; I have used normal exposure times based on careful metering with my Minolta Flash III. Same thing when I did full on head shots toward one corner and a larger profile encompassing the full on shot. It was super important to place the lighting on the profile so that the side of the head fell into full black shadow so no additional exposure layered over the straight on shot. In fact, my business partner has a perfect example of this portrait technique on our website, www.cameraworksassociates.com and I've got a commercial one of a multi layered boat propeller in the commercial page of the same site.

Hope this helps, but if you are somehow layering one image over the other, you will need some sort of exposure compensation. Any chance you could include some sort of diagram for the relative positions and how you expect to light them?

**ret wisner** · 30-Dec-2009, 05:19

i would expose as you would normally and n-1 on dev

**csant** · 30-Dec-2009, 05:59

As some others have pointed out, it really depends on what you are actually shooting. If there is little, or no overlap of bright areas, there is little need to compensate. If, on the other hand, there is significant overlap, it's better to compensate. I did some experiments with shooting the same scene twice, once wide open, once stopped down (this was an old "trick" to achieve some soft focus) - and I needed to fully compensate.

**Bosaiya** · 30-Dec-2009, 07:21

When I do multiple exposures it's almost always by accident and as a result exposure and development are as normal. It's certainly the type of thing you'd want to play around with to get a feel for, results will certainly vary along with your personal tastes.

**Glenn Thoreson** · 30-Dec-2009, 12:05

I do that sometimes but it depends on the circumstances as to how you would expose. I've only done "ghost" images, with a background that has a half exposed subject in front. In this case, your method would be correct. It would give a fully exposed first shot and a half exposed second shot. There are many other situations, though, that I'm not familiar with.

**ThePhilosopher** · 31-Dec-2009, 10:24

IIRC if a scene meters for 1/125@f/8 then two exposures with 1/125@f/11 would meter correctly give you proper exposure as well. I don't know how this works with strobes considering opening up to f/5.6 for soft focus and using a shutter of 1/500 (a stop of underexposure) makes your metered strobe too powerful because the shutter speed has no effect on the strobe output. I'll have to do some playing with my Bronica before doing this with a 4x5.

**Andrew O'Neill** · 31-Dec-2009, 11:31

If the reading is hypothetically f/5.6 @ 1/125 for the first portrait, and f/5.6 @ 1/125 for the second portrait, would I expose both portraits at f/5.6 @ 1/250 to compensate for the additional light?

Yes, and only after you have placed your exposure accordingly.