Dualon Tutorial

You guys remember this:

Well probably not since I haven't posted it here on my blog yet, but I have posted it on my Facebook account and followed it up with a few more featuring the same fatso...that would be moi.

Dualon is something I came up with during the early days of last semester's hell week since I needed something to keep me sane. Dualon means there's two of me but I'm still alone - Dual and Alone. I'm pretty sure a lot of people have already done something like this using other camera tricks such as moving from the scene when shooting in panorama mode or simply editing two photos together using some photo editing software. What I did with Dualon is probably simpler, or I dunno really because I never looked up any tutorials on the web.

For this tutorial you will need:

- a tripod or anything to keep your camera steady

- a camera

Step 1: Set Up

Choose your background, and pose. Afterwards, set up the camera and make sure it stays in one position throughout the whole session. The slightest change in movement can completely ruin the end product so always keep in mind the position of the camera and the objects in the scene (unless of course you guys know more about photo editing in which case you really shouldn't be reading my tutorials since all these are coming from a noob).

Step 2: Shoot the first photo

I know I look silly but please bear with it

If you're shooting alone like what I did then I suggest using timer mode. Make sure that when you're moving on to the scene none of the objects are accidentally moved or displaced from their original position, also mind your position in the whole scene relative to your next position in the next photo as this will be the basis of how the two photos will be merged together.

Step 3: Shoot the second photo

After taking the first photo, click the shutter button again without moving the camera and move to your next position in the scene as the timer counts down. It's probably easier if you're with another person to do the shooting.

Step 4: Crop one of the photos

Check the two photos if the scene remains the same. The slightest change in the position of the walls, objects or even lighting will most likely give obvious marks when the two photos are merged together so if there are any anomaly between the two photos then it's best to retake the scene or just do your own editing.

Choose one of the photo you took and copy it to Microsoft Paint. Based on this photo and the other, pick a middle line that will provide a separator for the two photos. Make sure that you're not caught within the separator. All other things caught within the separator are fine. One the photo has been cropped, save it.

Step 5: Merge the two photos

Now copy the other photo to Microsoft Paint. Zoom in, or out, to match the two photos in one go. Once the second photo is in place, paste the cropped photo on the current image. If the cropped photo's position is on the left then it will automatically be in place once it's pasted (I'm not quite sure what happens if the cropped photo is on the right).

And then you're done! There's two of you but you're still alone, ha! It's like the story of my lonely romance...now excuse me I need to sob in a corner.