[CT]

Combining multiple shots together like this one is very simple to do.



You need a photo editing package with a cloning tool, and a tripod. You can manage without a tripod by mounting the camera on a solid surface as long as it doesn't move at all between exposures, but a tripod makes life much easier. Probably the easiest way to get to grips with this is to take two exposures of yourself on a settee - one sitting on one side of the settee and one on the other. Obviously you'll release the shutter with the delayed timer. Use your imagination to try and make the picture amusing - your two subjects can be arguing, one sleeping etc. The overriding factor is the camera must not move a fraction between shots.

So you've taken your two shots and we now go to the computer. I use PSP which I'm most familiar with, but the following instructions are just as valid for Photoshop with only minor differeces.

Open your two images in PSP side by side.



1. Select the Clone Tool.
2. Select the Clone Tool Properties blue icon which opens the Tool Options Box (3)
3. In the Tool Options Box, set the size of the Clone Tool to about 20 and the Density and Opacity settings to 100.

OK we can now start cloning. We'll call the first pic the Destination pic and the second pic the Source pic.

In PSP RIGHT click with your mouse button on the point in your source pic where you want to start cloning from.THIS NEEDS TO BE SOME TINY POINT IN THE PICTURE - THE SMALLER THE BETTER. The reason for this is that when you RIGHT click with your mouse all you do is copy the entire picture into memory and when you start to clone it into the destination pic you need to register the two images with as near pixel to pixel accuracy as possible.

OK- RIGHT click on your source picture

Move the curser over your destination pic and when you're happy that you're right over your tiny target point, press the LEFT mouse button and keep it pressed. Now as you move your mouse curser over the destination pic you'll see the second figure magically beginning to appear. If you've made a mistake and the two images obviously aren't aligning correctly then it's no problem - just go to EDIT and UNDO then start again by RIGHT clicking again on your source pic.

That's it - when your second figure is fully cloned in, you're done. (Don't forget to save it)

If you do the above simple exercise you'll fully understand what's involved and you'll be amazed how easy it is. There's no reasn why you couldn't have 4 versions of yourself sitting around a table playing cards and another two versions standing watching the game. You're only limited by your imagination.

If you do shots outdoors like the car pic, then just be careful of light changes between exposures which wont look right in the finished result. You can have as many figures in your pic as you like, but obviously you'll need to keep a fair idea in your mind of where each figure is as you take the shots. There's no reason why your figures can't overlap, it will just dictate the order in which you clone your source images into the destination pic.

In Photoshop the Clone Tool is the Rubber Stamp Tool and instead of selecting the clone source with a right mouse click, it's a keyboard command, but I can't remember which offhand, and I don't have PS installed at the moment to check. Cloning is still carried out with a left mouse click.

You can have a lot of fun with this simple technique - so let's see some results!

[silkstone]

Many thanks for that, CT. I think you're using PSP8 there, but it's much the same in PSP9, except that the Tool Options appear automatically as a menu bar. Also the x and y cursor coordinates appear at the bottom right of the screen, so you can align the source and target points perfectly. :wink:

[Pook]

Great shot.. LOL.. made me laugh. Similar to that one of the girls running across the beach that I did... well.. I say girls.. but it's all one model cloned in again and again.

[Steve]

Thanks for the tutorial CT and for the scooby example shot. I am sure that we will see many of these fun and interesting shots appearing in the members gallery soon for us all to enjoy. I may even try one myself 8)

Pook..I have seen your shot before but it still impresses me each time it is shown, its a great example and carries a massive WOW factor