To provide an image synthesizing apparatus in which an image equal to multiple exposure of a silver salt camera can be obtained through extremely simple operation by setting an image pickup device in a consecutive photographing state of continuously capturing an image in a fixed exposure cycle, and defining only an image in which a pixel equal to or higher than a fixed level is present in a captured image, as an image to be synthesized.

During an automatic multi-exposure mode, an image captured by a CCD 1 is sent to an image memory 4 via a YUV processor 3. At the same time, an image captured for through-image display is also sent to a video encoder 6. A CPU 8 determines whether or not a pixel equal to or higher than a determination level is present in the captured image and if even one such pixel is present, the captured image is defined as a target of image synthesis. The image that becomes a target of synthesis since the pixel equal to or higher than the determination level is present, is sequentially synthesized on the image memory 4. When the automatic multi-exposure mode is ended, synthesized image data are written and stored on a recording medium 9.