distances from the camera. In reality your eyes can't focus on two things at two different distances, so this type of composition is unnatural and really gets a viewer's attention. Figure 12-9 shows an image with two points of sharp focus achieved by using this technique.
You can use false perspective in a number of ways, including the following:
Figure 12-9: Two sharp points of focus created by the swing function on a tilt-shift lens.
To move the subject from the center of the frame without changing its shape: Some subjects require you to photograph them from straight on, in which case the camera is level, parallel, and lined up exactly with the center of the subject. You photograph something in this way to show the true shape of the subject without making one side appear larger than the other. In this scenario your subject rests in the exact center of your frame. Shifting your lens to the left or the right moves the subject out of the center of the frame without affecting its shape.
To create panoramic compositions: This is the application of shift that I use most often. To create these compositions, set your camera on a tripod directed at the center of the scene and then shift your lens all the way to the left. Expose an image and then shift the camera back to the center to take another exposure. Then shift the lens all the way to the right and take a third exposure. Finally, you can use your photo-editing software to line up the three images (as layers in one single file) at the points where they overlap, resulting in a panoramic composition of the scene. See the manual for your photo-editing software to find out how to auto-align your layers.
In Figure 12–10,1 show two examples of a similar composition of a building. The camera's physical position was the same in each, but in the photo on the left I had to angle the camera upward to get the whole building in my frame. Doing so caused the building to be bigger at the bottom (where it's closest to my digital sensor) and to get thinner toward the top (where it's angled farthest from the digital sensor). In the photo on the right, I raised the lens upward instead of angling the whole camera. By doing so, my digital sensor remained parallel to the building and allowed me to avoid distorting its shape.
Figure 12–10: Raising a tilt-shift lens helps achieve the illusion of a higher perspective without having to change your camera position.
Taking multiple digital exposures
With film cameras you can use one piece of film for multiple exposures. You do this by taking various shots without advancing the film; this technique used to be one of the most creative in photography. But ever since photographers started to become familiar with digital photography and photo-editing software, the art of double exposure became less relevant.
Some digital cameras don't allow you to take multiple exposures on a single frame. You take an image and the next time you release the shutter, another image is created. Instead of taking multiple exposures, you now have the
ability to put multiple images together in your editing software. (Chapter 18 tells you more about photo- editing techniques.) Creating this type of image in postproduction gives you more control over the final result and has brought on results that could never have been captured on film. Even so, it's still fun to experiment with true multiple exposures. In this section, I reveal a technique that allows you to achieve multiple digital exposures in camera much as you would have with film.
Sometimes you achieve the best results when you allow yourself to be surprised. Shooting multiple exposures with the technique discussed in this section can cause you to lose some technical control. Don't look at this loss of control as a bad thing though. If you're surprised by the results, perhaps your viewers will be as well. Like Robert Frost once said, 'No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.'
To achieve multiple digital exposures in camera, you need to expose for a few seconds on one area and then quickly rotate the camera to another area to expose for a few seconds. Doing so creates one image with two compositions combined. It sounds tricky, but if you use the following guidelines when you create your exposures, you'll be just fine:
Create a situation in which you can have at least a six-second exposure, which is the minimum for creating a digital double exposure.
The longer your shutter is open, the more exposures you can include in your composition.
Use a neutral density filter when creating these long exposures. If you
want to shoot a photo in a situation that doesn't provide a low-light setting (such as at dusk or dawn), a filter can help. A filter that reduces your exposure by at least 10 stops is ideal. This way you can shoot during a bright, sunny day at an aperture setting of f/16 using an ISO of 100 and have an eight-second exposure. (Chapter 3 provides more information on ISO and aperture.)
Plan out your shot. To get multiple images on one digital frame, you have to move your camera during the exposure from one composition to the other. It's important that you know how you need to move the camera to get the shots you want without any excessive movements. Observe your scene and choose a starting point and any other points where you'll be composing. Practice the movements a few times beforehand so you have them down by the time you start shooting.
A tripod helps you move the camera quickly. Moving the camera slowly from one area to the next causes you to have streaks from the transition. To avoid these streaks, plan out the shot before starting the exposure and move quickly between exposures.
Be sure to fix the camera on your exposure's subject for about two seconds. Because you have created a situation where little light is entering your lens, quick movements don't affect your exposure. The camera has to be fixed on something for about two seconds to record anything noticeable. However, keep in mind that anything in motion will be affected with motion blur because you're using a long exposure.
If you want one exposure to be more prevalent than the other, keep the camera pointed in that area for a longer portion of the total exposure than the other. Bright elements show more dominantly over darker elements.
Crafting soft, dream-like compositions
When you think of photography, you probably think about images that are in focus. A blurry photo is considered a failed attempt and is discarded as useless. It doesn't represent the subject in an ideal way. People don't want to look at blurry images; doing so makes them feel like something's wrong with their eyesight. However, a certain quality in a blurry image is worth exploring.
As I discuss experimenting with images that don't have a focal point, I refer to blurry as 'soft' because it sounds better and seems appropriate for the mood you create by not having sharp focus. A soft image is subtle and provides a sense of secrecy. The finer details aren't yours to know, so you focus on the other details in the image
