Tip: Multiple exposures in your camera

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

When analogue cameras dominated the market, photos with multiple exposures were often made by using different slides to create a 'slide sandwich'.

Or if you took a shot with a camera containing a roll of film, did not advance the roll and then took another shot over the previous one, you were using a technique called multiple exposure.

With digital cameras, this was initially more difficult to achieve because, as soon as the image has been recorded on the memory card, it is removed from the camera sensor. This makes it difficult to overlay two or more images.

The Canon EOS-1Dx series, EOS 5D Mark III + IV, EOS 6D Mark I + II and the EOS 70D + 80D + 90D DSLRs have the option to create exposure stacks of between two and nine photos.

For this technique, it is best to use a tripod or, if you have a steady hand, a monopod. Ideally, you want a background that has not shifted between the multiple images. For the photos in this article, I used a monopod and had the advantage of a dark background.

This function is available for both RAW and JPEG images and is called 'multiple exposures'. Within this function, there are various settings that can be adjusted to tailor the final result to your needs.

These options are Additive, Average, (Comparative) Bright and (Comparative) Dark. Nikon cameras have a similar option called 'Multiple Exposure'.

• The additive exposure control is for photographers who are used to making multiple exposures with film cameras. Instead of making each photo with the correct exposure, the total exposure is added together for each individual photo.
  
  To achieve the right result, you need to underexpose each image, so that the resulting image is correctly exposed when they are all combined;


• The 'Average' setting provides automatic exposure control, with each image automatically underexposed so that the final image is correctly exposed. Unlike the 'Additive' setting, all images in the 'Average' setting are taken at the same exposure level;


• The (Comparative) 'Bright' setting is suitable for photographing uniform dark scenes with bright objects overlaid. A classic example of such a scene would be a moon over a dark night sky. This can only be achieved by covering the bright objects in the scene;


• Conversely, (Comparative) 'Dark' is used to eliminate the bright parts of images and therefore only overlay the dark parts of each image.

This setting is useful for eliminating reflections and bright spots in an image, such as the reflections you can see when photographing a portrait of someone wearing glasses.

As well as the way the exposures are made, you can also choose whether you want to save all the photos separately or just the final result. You can also choose whether to continue with 'multiple exposures' after your first series or whether your camera should switch 'multiple exposures' off again.

If you want to continue with 'multiple exposures', do not forget to switch this option off again, as I know from personal experience .

You cannot select 'Multiple exposures' if HDR mode is enabled, if you are recording a video or if white balance bracketing has been set. Automatic exposure bracketing, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority and chromatic aberration correction are also disabled then.

For anyone who wants to stand out creatively, multiple images are certainly an option worth trying. I sometimes use this in my sports photography, but of course you can also use it for nature, architecture or even portrait photography. Have fun!

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