unique and beautiful fine art
“Falling leaves remind us that “letting go” can be beautiful.” – Author Unknown
I have always been fascinated with the juxtaposition of the end of summer and beginning of Autumn. Specifically, how brilliant the changing colors contract the remaining greenery. In trying some new artistic techniques, I decided to create a double-exposure in Photoshop using two images I had photographed at Oil City Creek State Park and turn that double-exposure into a water color art piece.
what is double exposure?
Double exposure photography is a technique that layers two different exposures on a single image, combining two photographs into one. This can be created in-camera for some camera models and can also be created in post production. For the purposes of this art piece, I combined two photographs of a river scene and red fall leaf in to one image using Photoshop.
Step 1: Select the two photos you would like to combine making sure they are complimentary to each other and that the photos work well with one overlayed on the other.
Step 2: In Photoshop, create the double exposure using layers and opacity. For a great instructional video on how to do this, check out Creating a Double Exposure in Photoshop from the Flourish Academy.
Step 3: Export and save the double-exposed image on your local PC or MAC.
I really love how the texture from the picnic table under the leaf adds depth to the final double exposure.
Creating the Water Color art piece
This was the fun part for me, as I had never created an art piece like this before. Usually, as a landscape photographer, I try to keep my photography as close to natural as possible because creation is beautiful just as it was created. However, I was determined to try something new. I decided to use Adobe’s free Watercolor Artist Photoshop Action.
I found this action to be easy to use and Adobe has some amazing instructions that are helpful for someone new who has never created anything like this before.
Check out this quick video clip to watch how the final piece came to be.
The Final Product
This was a super fun project that had enough in it to spark my creativity. I can’t wait to learn other techniques in phototgraphy and post production to create more art pieces like this one.
This post is a part of a photography blog circle featuring photographers specializing in a variety of niches. To see what the next photographer is sharing for the weekly theme, “Double Exposure,” check out Jessica Wasik with Bark & Gold Photography, sharing how to create a ghostly Halloween photo of your pet.. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here.