I’ve been playing around with some ideas recently during weddings and sessions, and really having fun with it. I think it’s too fun to not share with people.
These images are not double exposures, as some folks have thought. They are each one shot, taken with a reflective surface held near the lens. Any guesses as to the reflective object?
Yup.
So, I’ve been exploring the idea of shoot-throughs for interesting texture — shooting through leaves or flowers or jars or string-lights or what-have-you. Available objects. For instance, for Jill and Zach’s engagement session, I photographed them through a pile of 3 mini mason jars that the café used as water glasses (seen as the blur in the foreground):
Or this shot of Angelica and Christopher, shot through twinkle lights:
And one day a while back I was wandering around a store and saw pocket mirrors, and I thought… I should carry a pocket mirror with me for shoots. But all of them had really distinct plastic edges, and I didn’t want to carry around a mirror without an edge (it sounds like a good recipe to cut a hand open). Then I realized I had a reflective little item in my bag already: my iPhone. I tested it out on Chieko and Robby:
You can see the pink edge of my phone case. It looks like a mirror. It wasn’t until Maggie and Daniel’s wedding that I really tested it out and made sure that hot-pink edge didn’t show up…
And then I pulled it out for Amanda and Gene’s session and really liked the effect:
That’s all there is to it! I’m still new to this, but it’s fun to play around. Used well, the images that come out look pretty darn magical, I’d say.
So go play :)
Love this !!
Sam Hurd achieves some similar effects with a prism!
@Dale – Funny you should mention that! I read his post on prisming last week and bought a prism to play with (because of his post!) :) It just arrived a few days ago and I’m taking it out for a spin tomorrow. Should be fun.
AMAZE!!!! I was wondering what the heck you were doing! So so cool! Did you come up with this on your own? If so we need to come up with a term for it so when I try it/copy you I can be like, “I Elissa’d this photo!” Haha
@Christy – I don’t think I’m the first to do this! It does need a cool term, though.
Fascinating idea; thanks for sharing. How did you get the two images to slowly converge in that last engagement shot? Is it just blended from the out of focus edge?
@Dale – I think it was just luck of how the trees were and how cloudy it was, that it blended on its own. I didn’t do anything to it except a few minor exposure/contrast adjustments.
@Becca – You can actually do double exposures on digital cameras! It’s a setting somewhere. I haven’t done many, though.
Very cool – love the element of play!
I was going to ask how you were doing double exposures on a digital camera! Genius! See, this is why you do photography. :)
So cool, Elissa!! Definitely going to try this out next time I go shooting!
I have been wondering about this! Maybe I’ll give it a try tomorrow :)
I used a flashlight app on my iPod at a reception to make my 5D2 focus…. #canonproblems
WOW! I’ve done this with mirrors before, but have been afraid to carry one around because I’m sure I’d cut myself. I never would have thought to do it with an iphone. That’s brilliant. And these photos are pure magic!
MIND BLOWN. That is such an awesome idea.