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Arts

Who needs Photoshop? Watch as the world rediscovers the age-old art of double exposure

The world is once again falling for the old formats, whether it’s vinyl records, film photography or recording to tape. In a digital age we prescribe a specific kind of love to these outputs, whether it’s for the added challenge they impose, the historical capital associated, or even something as simple as their aesthetic.

Another old-school medium rushing back into pop culture is the Polaroid. Well, maybe that was Outkast’s fault, but nonetheless. On the back of its popularity, a somewhat lesser-known technique we’ve been seeing more and more of is double exposure, a way photographers used to overlay images before editing software existed.

A style pioneered by the likes of legendary cover album cover artists Hipgnosis (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath) it remains a film-based forerunner to what you can do today in Photoshop.

Double exposure
Underground Soundtrack

Need yourself a trippy album cover or press shot? Dust off your old Polaroid and rediscover the age-old art of double exposure.

While some newer instant film cameras have begun to imitate multiple exposure with a built-in setting, it’s not quite the same as cocking the shutter yourself and mastering the art, old school.

Here are a few recent favourites, for inspiration. All shot on Polaroid, except for the last (consider it a personal favourite).

Brock Royston
Citizen Erased
Cody Wu
Nathan Allard
James Blake by Alexander Brown

READ: Over Exposed: who are the young photographers rejecting our digital age?