How to do multiple exposures?

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but I haven't figured out how. I basically want to do something similar as this martial arts photograph:

http://blog.scottcampb​ell.nl …emale-martial-artist.html

Another example of what I'd like to achieve:
http://abigailroseyear​two.files.wordpress.co​m/2013/08/motion-26.jpg

Do accomplish this, do I use a combination of continous and strobe lighting? Can someone point me to a resource or explain more in detail how this is done?

Thanks.

What body do you have? Last time I looked, the setting to do this is only on the 1dx, 60d and 5d3.

My signature lists a 5D3 and 5D2. It's a body setting? Huh?

Edit: Note, I want to create it using a long exposure and dragging the shutter to capture the motion. Can't I do that with some lighting trickery without having to combine photos using software (whether in-camera or out)?

I may have finally found something: http://www.diyphotogra​phy.net …bjects-using-shutter-drag

Very long exposure, a very small amount of ambient/continuous light, and firing flash(es) one or more times during the exposure. Getting the balance just right takes some trial-and-error. You'll need to make sure your ambient/continuous is not hitting the background, or the background will be way overexposed compared to the subject.

You will likely need to have your flash triggers NOT connected to the camera. Camera on a tripod, shutter release in one hand, flash trigger in the other hand.

To start out, you could do some long exposures with the triggers on the camera, and second-curtain sync. That would give you a long trail leading up to a "frozen" final image at the end of the trail.
Edit: looks like this is what you found in the link you just posted, but they shopped a couple of images together with Screen mode to give multiple "freeze" points. Cheating ...but makes an effective final image.

I have some second-curtain-sync experiment shots in the DragonCon set on my Flickr. In those cases, the subjects were wielding lightsabers, and I fired the flash at the end of the shot to give light-trails from the sabers. Not quite the same as the continuous/ambient light falling on the subject, but still a fun experiment.

As an alternative, you could have ONLY continuous light, and have the subject freeze/hold a pose once or twice during the exposure. That would be a little harder for the model to pull off.

You can also simply use stroboscopic flash (popping the flash off multiple times during one exposure), or if you have a talented model you can do it with constant light; assuming they can hold the beginning and ending poses long enough for a proper exposure.

nathancarter wrote in post #16594885
they shopped a couple of images together with Screen mode to give multiple "freeze" points. Cheating ...but makes an effective final image.

So it's possible to do it all in one image, then? Not sure how I'd get the first and last frozen images to be crisp and clear.

Nathan wrote in post #16594911
So it's possible to do it all in one image, then? Not sure how I'd get the first and last frozen images to be crisp and clear.

I have a book from the late 80's that shows a similar shot done with a ballerina using constant light. The dancer stood still for a predetermined amount of time when the shutter was first opened, moved through a few steps, then stopped and stood still again. If people can light paint scenes with models in them you should be able to do this. Mixing strobes and constants would likely be easier though.

Some daylight balanced constant lights with a strobe on each side of the frame. You could make it even easier on yourself set-up wise by using diffusion panels rather than softboxes and pushing both lights through the panels to keep the qualities the same.

Next step is how to do this cheaply. Yikes.

Look forward to your results - show us some of the experiments too

Nathan wrote in post #16594944
Next step is how to do this cheaply. Yikes.

Many (most/all?) of the Yongnuo flash units have a 'Multi' mode, that acts like a strobe. You can set the flash to flash x number of times for y period of time. I know for sure the YN568 & YN 568II have this mode, but I think there are others.

That would probably be the cheapest and easiest way to accomplish this. And as nathancarter said, you would want to under expose the ambient a bit to your liking. This would be one of those 'practice, practice, practice' things, but once you get it, you'll be set.

Nathan wrote in post #16594944
Next step is how to do this cheaply. Yikes.

Easy. Set the camera on a tripod and focus. Mark the start and end points. Set up your continuous light sources. Determine the appropriate exposure time under continuous light, then set your flash for that appropriate aperture. Set the 10 second timer on the camera and get your model in position. When the shutter opens pop the flash and then run around behind the camera to the other side. While you're doing that your model can be moving slowly through a series of movements towards your end point marker. When she gets there pop the flash again. Done.

Nathan wrote in post #16594796
My signature lists a 5D3 and 5D2. It's a body setting? Huh?

Edit: Note, I want to create it using a long exposure and dragging the shutter to capture the motion. Can't I do that with some lighting trickery without having to combine photos using software (whether in-camera or out)?

sorry, but your signature isn't working here. you might want to look into it.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16595294
Easy. Set the camera on a tripod and focus. Mark the start and end points. Set up your continuous light sources. Determine the appropriate exposure time under continuous light, then set your flash for that appropriate aperture. Set the 10 second timer on the camera and get your model in position. When the shutter opens pop the flash and then run around behind the camera to the other side. While you're doing that your model can be moving slowly through a series of movements towards your end point marker. When she gets there pop the flash again. Done.

Agreed - however, I think you're assuming that the photographer is holding the flash to point it at the model?

Depending on how your flashes are arranged, you might not even have to do any running around. If they're on light stands, you could be just standing there. Camera shutter set to 10 seconds, camera remote in one hand, flash trigger in the other hand (not attached to camera). Click the camera remote to start the exposure, have the model move slowly through the frame, and click the flash trigger several times during the 10-sec shutter duration.

Here's one of my second-curtain shutter-dragging images from Dragon Con. I had no control over the ambient, though - just the flashes. It took a few tries to figure out the shutter speed that I wanted; the models were moving quickly to get smooth sweeps of the lightsabers, so I used a relatively short shutter speed (1/5 sec) compared to what you're trying to do. I also didn't have a tripod, so I was somewhat limited in my shutter speed. Here, the flash fires at the end of the exposure, so you get the saber trails leading up to the "freeze" image. With only a little more effort, I could have done a longer exposure and fired the flash multiple times - though the ambient wasn't really suitable for it.

I wanted to minimize the "ghosting" that you're trying to include, but I still got a little bit of it in my images from this set. You can see it very faintly where her arms swept through the swinging motion, but it's much more pronounced on the boots, where there was less motion over the course of the exposure.

Two flashes on light stands, pointing at her face and back, creating the shadows going to bottom left and upper right. Primary ambient source is far left, with the shadow pointing out the bottom right corner of the image.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …nathancarter/10​105553585/

nathancarter wrote in post #16595542
Agreed - however, I think you're assuming that the photographer is holding the flash to point it at the model?

Depending on how your flashes are arranged, you might not even have to do any running around. If they're on light stands, you could be just standing there. Camera shutter set to 10 seconds, camera remote in one hand, flash trigger in the other hand (not attached to camera). Click the camera remote to start the exposure, have the model move slowly through the frame, and click the flash trigger several times during the 10-sec shutter duration...........r

I don't know what kit the OP has, just that he wants to do this cheaply. I was just offering a way of acheiving the results with minimal kit; i.e., one or two continuous lights and a speedlight.

The point of firing the strobe off on one side and then the other is to give two separate but solid images, one on the left and one on the right, with the constant light providing the "ghosts" in the middle. A 30 second exposure would allow you to have the model move through a series of poses across the frame while still allowing time for you to fire two separate flashes. Of course if they are on a remote you could just sit there and pop one then the other without moving.