Quick-Tip: How to Create Double Exposure Photographs in Photoshop

Quick-Tip: How to Create Double Exposure Photographs in Photoshop
Quick-Tip: How to Create Double Exposure Photographs in Photoshop
Before
After

Step 5

You can also do the same with the background layer. Add a curves adjustment layer above the background layer then make any adjustments that you need.

A neat trick you can do is to darken the whites in the background layer. This makes the brightest areas of your background layer darker so that it does not compete with your foreground layer. To do this, simply drag the top-right curves point downwards. Here’s the before and after results. The difference is subtle but it helps make your foreground stand out more.

Step 6

Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself repositioning your layers If you need to reposition or transform your background layer, right-click on it then choose “Convert to Smart Object”. This will allow you to move and scale your layer nondestructively.

Step 7

We’re done! Make any readjustments you need to the black & white adjustment layer. You can also delete it and try running some Photoshop actions to create a film or retro/vintage effect. Here are some actions that work great with double exposures:

Final Results

Here are the final results creating using a variety of methods.

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Download the PSD

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26 comments on “Quick-Tip: How to Create Double Exposure Photographs in Photoshop”

  1. I always like double exposure and am really glad they are so easy to do in Photoshop!

  2. When I bring my images in they look great. Background image is dark and has contrast and the above image is nicely back lit and punchy. However as soon as I make the layer 'screen' it desaturates a lot and no amount of curve linking bring back the punch. The only way is to switch it back to 'normal' in layer properties or sometimes overlay works better. Please help! Thanks

  3. Hi - great tutorial. Just a question on step 2 the first sentence - can you please tell me how it ends? "then set the..."I'm new at this. Thanks for your help.

  4. It is not double exposure if it is not done in the camera since there is no actual "exposure" happening. This is called a digital imaging manipulation.

    1. Or a method for creating a double exposure "effect". I agree that the heading is misleading.

  5. Thanks!! This is the best double-exposure tutorial! I went through countless tuts and none of them use the drag up/down tool. Yours made the most sense and the easiest to do.

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