Paulina Zepeda

Can you describe this photograph?

“I took this photo on a sunny Spring day at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. The front of the building was blooming with orange and yellow flowers and there were people picnicking on the grass enjoying the sunlight. There was a lot going on and I knew I wanted to take a double exposure, but of what? For sure the beautiful building, but should I take a picture of the flowers, and which flowers? Should I take a photo of the people, dogs, or bikes? Should I do the clouds or a tree? I decided on the orange and yellow flowers because I've only seen them bloom in abundance like this here and only at this time of year. I like to capture unusual sights.”

What are you most proud of in this piece?

“I love how the flowers stand out in the photo and you can still see the Conservatory and the sculpture well. I think the lightness of the building helped in the flowers not overtaking its presence in the photo. The final result was not what I had in mind. I never know exactly what to expect when taking double exposures, each one is a surprise and I was happy with how the exposures worked with each other.”

From following your working on Instagram I know you’ve really been into double exposures lately-- and they’re really beautiful. What do you enjoy so much about double exposures?

“Thank you Dana! I love that [with double exposure] you can focus on two subjects you like and put them into one photo. Double exposures are an experiment every time. I will have an idea in my head, but the final result is never exactly what I visualized. The challenge is finding a pair that work well together. The best part of shooting double exposures is the fun surprise when you first view the final piece.”

What is your process for shooting double exposures? Do you shoot the two frames back-to-back or do you shoot the whole roll two times? And how do you meter your shots?

“I shoot them back to back. My point and shoot camera meters my shots. I'm able to focus on the composition and how the colors and lighting in each frame will work with each other. I did my first film swap recently with @pitterpatterpoetry and it was so fun! They gave me an idea of what they had shot for each frame, they rolled it up again, and gave it to me to expose the roll a second time. If anyone reading here wants to swap, slide into my DMs!”

What makes a good photo subject for double exposures? What do you look for when pairing shots together?

“My double exposure recipe is usually mixing a single main subject with something that creates a pattern. First, I pick a building, car, or person as the main subject and then pick flowers as the second layering exposure.”

Do you have any advice for those who want to experiment with double exposure?

“Go for it! The only way to learn is to take the double exposure. Like I mentioned before, it's an experiment every time and you're going to learn as you take more. Personally, I don't like mixing horizontal and vertical shots and I avoid large white areas.”

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