Multiple exposure

A double exposure

In photography, a multiple exposure is when a single frame of film is taken more than once. This usually happens accidentally if the photographer forgets to advance the film. To prevent multiple exposures, most modern cameras will not let the photographer open the shutter again until the film is advanced. It can also be used on purpose for special effects, such as creating a fake photograph of a ghost. The resulting image will be a combination of all of the shots. Multiple exposures are not possible on digital cameras, but the effect can be simulated with the alpha channel feature of photo editing software such as Photoshop or GIMP.

Multiple Exposure Media

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  A multi-exposure composite image of the October 2004 lunar eclipse taken from Hayward, California

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  5th plate of Racheal. One piece of background, 1915

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  Hand-coloured processed double exposure image of a woman in the Canton Region of Late Qing Dynasty, 1870s

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  Double exposure made using a film camera

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  Double exposure made in the darkroom

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  Multiple exposure of one person, made using Adobe Photoshop