"Floating face" portrait? K-mart portrait? Deluxe glamour shot?

September 20, 2013 8:09 AM

Is there a term for the type of portrait that contains two angles of the same person's face in the same photo? I'm thinking of this style (Will Ferrell). Another example here. These were really popular in the 70s and 80s. I want to get one of the style portraits taken but I don't even know how to describe it, or how to search for it. Does anyone know a name for this style, or even a way to explain it? Also, have you ever seen it being offered these days, and if so, where? I have seen these previous Askme's (1, 2) but they don't really help. Also my google-fu is useless except for that Will Ferrell portrait.
posted by banishedimmortal to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

If you Google Image Search "Olan Mills double exposure" you will find a million examples. Olan Mills was a very popular photography studio based in K-Marts in the 70s and 80s. They still apparently exist!
posted by Rock Steady at 8:17 AM on September 20, 2013

olan mills is only one of the companies that did this. they are owned by lifetouch now, which is the same company that is behind jc penny's and target's portrait studios (as well as most school pictures). to my knowledge (a decade working with a competitor) none of the mall type portrait studios offer this exact thing anymore (they all do digital collages that can get close, but not quite what you're going for). it's easy enough to achieve with a student photographer and photoshop.
posted by nadawi at 8:30 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

The double-exposure pic is also very popular in the meme scene. Particularly "They did this...So I this."

Particularly this kid.
posted by kuanes at 8:33 AM on September 20, 2013

If you can get digital images from a studio sitting, I could whip up a double exposure portrait for you in 5 minutes. You could muck around with pretty much any raster graphics program by toying around with layer opacity and graduated blending effects.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:40 AM on September 20, 2013

Portrait Innovations still offers this as a photo option as of last month. I almost ordered one of my daughter sheerly for the lulz I knew it would induce in our friend group. But I didn't because I'm a nice Mom like that. (So tempting!!)
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 11:21 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]