Combination printing
Encyclopedia
Combination printing is the technique of using two or more photograph
ic images in conjunction with one another to create a single image.
Combination printing was popular in the mid-19th century due to the limitations of the negative's light sensitivity and camera
technology. For example, the long exposures required at the time to create an image would properly expose the main subject, such as a building, but would completely overexpose the sky. The sky would then lack detail, usually appearing as solid white. Hippolyte Bayard
was the first to suggest combining two separate negatives, one of the subject matter and a properly exposed negative of clouds, to create a balanced photograph.
The technique was also used to create new, original compositions. Photographers such as William Lake Price and Oscar Rejlander are famous for using combination printing. Rejlander's Two Ways of Life is one of the most distinguished examples of the technique, combining 32 negatives to create the final image.
Controversy broke out in the photographic community about the use of combination printing in the mid-19th century. Photographs originally had been regarded as truth and that the camera never lied. However, with the ability to manipulate the final product, it shattered the notion that photographs depicted "truth."
The technique paved the way for yet another artistic process, photomontage
.
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
ic images in conjunction with one another to create a single image.
Combination printing was popular in the mid-19th century due to the limitations of the negative's light sensitivity and camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
technology. For example, the long exposures required at the time to create an image would properly expose the main subject, such as a building, but would completely overexpose the sky. The sky would then lack detail, usually appearing as solid white. Hippolyte Bayard
Hippolyte Bayard
-Late career:Despite his initial hardships in photography, Bayard continued to be a productive member of the photographic society. He was a founding member of the French Society of Photography...
was the first to suggest combining two separate negatives, one of the subject matter and a properly exposed negative of clouds, to create a balanced photograph.
The technique was also used to create new, original compositions. Photographers such as William Lake Price and Oscar Rejlander are famous for using combination printing. Rejlander's Two Ways of Life is one of the most distinguished examples of the technique, combining 32 negatives to create the final image.
Controversy broke out in the photographic community about the use of combination printing in the mid-19th century. Photographs originally had been regarded as truth and that the camera never lied. However, with the ability to manipulate the final product, it shattered the notion that photographs depicted "truth."
The technique paved the way for yet another artistic process, photomontage
Photomontage
Photomontage is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. A similar method, although one that does not...
.