How to Create Multiple copies of You

by Kevin Ahronson · June 25, 2021

This is such fun

Something quite different for you this week – and something which can be enormously good fun to try out.

Using a combination of multiple camera shots and Photoshop, we are going to look at a really easy way to replicate you (or it can be anyone else) within a single image.

This is not cloning as such, because each image shows you doing something different. You’re in different positions, doing different things and you could even be wearing different clothes and as seen in the photo below, I am lounging in a chair, leaning over a computer monitor, standing with a camera, working at a laptop and lying on the floor.

Watch the video below for the full story.

Multiple clones of Kevin Ahronson

Is it difficult?

Absolutely no. I set up my camera on a tall tripod as soon as I arrived in the HSP offices. Within 15 minutes I had taken the shot. The editing process took me maybe 30 mins (tops).

As you watch the video below, you’ll see how quickly I run through the procedure. I have slowed down my normal work pace for the camera so in reality, I completed the edit even quicker than on video.

But it does depend on how many clones you’re adding to the image. Obviously, the more clones you photograph, the longer it takes. However, once you add the first couple of clones to the photo, you tend to get into a rhythm and your work process speeds up.

What equipment do you need?

To do this you’ll need a sturdy tripod and if possible, some kind of remote trigger.

I used an app on my phone for the shot above. Most modern cameras have access to phone apps, although some definitely work better than others.

There are dozens of wireless camera triggers available and you could even have a cable-connected release (although many of the cables tend to be quite short, so you may need to enlist the help of someone to take the shots for you)

Watch the video

A number of my students had a go at this recently and managed to get some really great images. A few of their earliest attempts are below, all of them far more creative than mine.

The car shot was particularly clever. The photographer added motion blur (in the windows) in Photoshop, to create the impression that the vehicle was actually moving.