A question of layers

[chaser of light]

In my pre digital work I did a fair amount of multiple exposure shots.
Now I could continue to do so with the S2, but I have also been pondering the question of doing it with layers( I mean the multiple....exposures!)
Being a novice at this and many other things, I am wondering how I could do it in PS.
Whenever I have tried doing it with layers I have failed miserably.
Please enlighten me.

Here is an example of the kind of result I am after....this is film in-camera work.

[Linda G]

Wow. I work with mulitple layers all the time but am having trouble figuring out what the image is you've posted to tell what's what. Sorry, maybe it was that extra long nap I needed and took after I came home, maybe it was the double flashes in my eyes from the experiments Mel's been doing with two ttl flashes on the S2.

There are many ways to make double exposures in PS, the first would be to make sure the dimentions are the same and drag one image onto another (or cut and paste) and change the opacity of the top layer until the bottom layer showed through as much as you wanted. A second way would be to make the layers again and use an eraser tool to erase the top layer in spots, exposing the bottom layer elements that you wanted. I'll see if I can get some examples for you.

[Linda G]

Okay, Of course, I couldn't find anything I thought would make a great tutorial, but this will give you the idea. First image is of the two together in Photoshop, second shows the opacity change and the third is a strange example of my daughter's eyes peeking through by erasing.

[Linda G]

I also lower the opacity like this when erasing to see where I want to erase, then put it back to 100 when I'm done.

[Linda G]

Final one. There are many ways, but this should get you started. Just ask if you have more questions!

[Tom V]

Maybe a little of this can help:

http://theswampbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1842

It is a tutorial of sorts on doing a quadruple exposure in Photoshop (might be quint..., I forget). It shows the use of layers and layer masks.

[chaser of light]

Thank you Linda and Tom. I'll probably have more questions as I start working with it.

Linda, the example I posted is of my model submerged just under the surface of the ocean, underexposed twice in the same frame, as you can see, transparency is retained while overlapping causes colour changes!

[toners]

Your comment about color changes resulting from overlapping images in a film multiple exposure suggests the idea of experimenting with layer blending modes in Photoshop.

[chaser of light]

Aha! Blending sounds like a good thing

But how?:confused:

[toners]

Oh! - you mean you were seeking actual information rather than fuzzy suggestions from someone nearly clueless about what he was talking about?

Well, ok, I tried a trial and error approach (my usual learning method, interspersed with thumbing through manuals then back to trial and error).

Try this:
Open up the two images you want to "double expose".

"select/all" then copy - ctrl-C

Paste onto the other image - ctrl-V

Now for the fun - double click the top layer in the layers pallett. In PS 7 I get a dialogue with a "blending options" scoll window from which you can select a bunch of stuff, like lighten, screen, color dodge (very cool) and so on. As you select them you can see the effect. You can modify the effect by adjusting the transparency.

[chaser of light]

Now your talking! Thanks Toners! Will do some tests with your suggestions.