Multiple Exposure Portraits: Using Colour with Intention

I’ve just finished teaching my course focused specifically on colour in multiple exposure portraits, and I thought I would take a moment to reflect on it.

Multiple exposure is often approached as a creative technique where more layers mean more interest. When people first try it, they tend to add, combine, and build without much restraint, which is completely natural.

In this course, we started by building a strong foundation, and then exploring how colour behaves within that.

Through developing my own work, I have noticed that strong multiple exposure is not about adding more. It is about making intentional visual decisions. And very often, those decisions come down to colour.

Part 1: Exploring colour and possibilities

In the first part of the course, the focus was on exploration, but built on strong foundations.

Before introducing multiple exposure, we looked at what makes a strong base portrait. Light, composition and simplicity all play an important role, because everything added later depends on that starting point.

From there, we began experimenting with combining portraits, textures and colour layers, paying attention to how colour behaves when layers interact.

At this stage, the goal was not to perfect the final image, but to observe.

Portrait colour comparison showing change in mood

Different colour combinations created very different results. Some felt calm, others more intense.

Sometimes, the images became busy or unclear. Colours clashed, layers competed, and the subject sometimes disappeared. That was expected.

This stage was about understanding how colour behaves, while maintaining a strong underlying structure.

When colour becomes too much

A common point during the course was when colour or texture started to overwhelm the image.

There were moments where too many tones competed for attention, or where the overall mood felt unclear. Even when individual elements worked, the image as a whole felt unresolved.

This was an important turning point.

Instead of asking what else could be added, we started asking whether the colour was helping the image.

Part 2: Using colour with intention

In the second part, we moved away from just adding layers, and towards making decisions.

One of the first steps was simplifying. Even when multiple layers were used, they needed to work together. A controlled colour palette helped unify the image, while too many competing tones quickly broke it apart.

We also explored how colour defines mood.

A cooler palette created distance, calmness or introspection. Warmer tones felt more emotional, more immediate or more intense. The same portrait could carry a completely different feeling depending on the colour choices.

At this stage, it became clear that colour is not decorative. It is structural. It shapes how the image is read and how it feels.

Another important shift was thinking of colour as light.

Rather than placing colour on top of an image, we started using it to shape direction, depth and atmosphere. It became part of the image, not something separate from it.

Using colour to reshape light in portrait photography

Colour and clarity

As colour became more intentional, clarity became more important.

The subject, especially the face, needed to remain readable. Colour could sit on the face, but it had to support the image rather than obscure it.

This was not about strict rules, but about balance. The image needed to remain clear while still carrying the intended mood.

Part 3: Refining colour and control

In the final part, the focus was on refinement.

We reviewed the work and made adjustments, often by simplifying rather than adding.

Small adjustments can make a significant difference.

By this stage, the focus was no longer on creating effects, but on refining decisions.

Ethereal green multiple exposure portrait with controlled colour and mood

Lowering opacity, softening transitions, or adjusting where colour sits in the image often changed the entire feel.

Expanding the use of colour

We also looked at how colour can be introduced in more controlled ways.

In editing, tools like masks, opacity and blend modes became important, not for creating effects, but for controlling how colour behaves.

What really matters

What became clear through teaching this course is that colour is not an addition. It is one of the main elements that defines the image.

Strong multiple exposure portraits are not built from many layers, but from clear decisions.

A limited colour palette, a clear subject, and a consistent mood will always be more effective than a complex image without direction.

Final thoughts

From my own work, I have found that multiple exposure offers a lot of possibilities, but it is easy to lose direction without a clear approach.

Focusing on colour brings that clarity back.

It allows you to simplify, to guide the viewer, and to create images that feel intentional rather than accidental.

In the end, it is not about how much you add, but about how well everything works together.

Refined use of colour and layering in a multiple exposure portrait

I will be running further sessions on this in the future, continuing to explore colour and control in multiple exposure portraits.

Olena