Understanding Multiple Exposure Photographs: Analysing Multiple Exposure Photography through Filmic Montage

Multiple exposure photographs seem to be a forgotten aspect of photography theory, despite being a well-known technique. Although photography and film share common roots, the concept of filmic montage provides a useful starting point for understanding multiple exposure photographs, because the operation of montage editing is similar to the operation of multiple exposure photographs. This paper aims to examine whether the concept of filmic montage and multiple exposure photographs can be compared specifically through the works of American photographers, Harry Callahan, Jerry Uelsmann and Man Ray, and Soviet cinematographer, Dziga Vertov. With filmic montage, the third meaning created in the spectator’s mind is a multiple exposure, whereas multiple exposure photographs achieve this effect through their layered structure, which evokes pensiveness in the viewer. The focus of the paper will be on the perception and understanding of multiple exposure photographs, and whether they can be brought closer to the viewer in terms of comprehension. To understand the operation of multiple exposure, the theories of Roland Barthes and Jacques Rancière are also utilized.

Keywords: multiple exposures, filmic montage, studium-punctum, third meaning, pensive image