Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Multiplicity Masking

By taking several images in sequence, you can layer them in Photoshop to create a photo like the one above.

Above, I took 5 shots in a row as the girl walked across the frame. Although I held the camera as still as possible, I was not using a tripod, so I had to align the images before masking.


  1. Shoot several images in a row with the same framing, having a subject move throughout the frame
  2. Open each file in Photoshop. Start with one image, then Select > All, and Copy > Paste each image on top of that initial photo, creating a stack of layers like you see above.
  3. Unlock the background image by double clicking on it, then hitting "OK" when you see the window pop up labeling it now "Layer 0".
  4. Highlight all the layers by shift clicking them.
  5. Go to Edit > Auto Alight Layers. Click OK for the "auto" version.
  6. Now that the images are aligned, you can begin to mask. Add a mask to all the layers except the bottom one. Invert each mask to make it black.
  7. Using a soft white brush, paint on the mask over the area where the girl stood in each frame.

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