A triptych is a composition of three photos. The goal is too make a composition of photos that are stronger as a whole than on their own. There are guidelines to making sure that your triptych is a unified, pleasing composition.
- Echo and rhythm between the subject and the background.
- Make sure the side panels compliment their position.
- Make sure the lighting is consistent between the three photos.
- Changing the colors of the photos can help to highlight the subjects and unity of the pictures.
- One very clear idea should connect all of the images.
- Don’t let one image bring the rest down.
- Keep the textures, details, and differences of the photos in mind.
- Point the viewers’ eye back to the center.
- Pay attention to the shapes, implied shapes, and lines.
- Unify the colors (monochromatic, black and white, cool, or warm)
- Use a black, white or grey background, that doesn’t distract from the photos.
- Keep all of your images horizontal or vertical, so they will fit better in the composition.
How to Create a Triptych in Photoshop
- Open a new file in Photoshop
- Photo
- Landscape or Portrait
- 8″ x 10″ or 8″ x 12″
- Select the three images you want to use in Adobe Bridge
- Tools
- Photoshop
- Load Photos into Photoshop Layers.
- Save under the desired name as a Photoshop file.
- Use the rectangle tool to make a frame where a photo will fit
- Use a dark fill color
- Command J (Mac) or Control J (Windows) to duplicate the square frame (do this twice)
- Make sure the frames are equally spaced apart and within the image.
- Select the box where you want the first image to go
- Use the move tool to drag the image from one document to the triptych document
- Option click between the shape and image layer to make a clipping mask
- Command T (Mac) or Control T (Windows) to free transform the image within the shape. This will let you edit and resize the image within the shape as well.
- Select the shape
- Add the layer style
- bevel and emboss
- bevel going down (this will make it look like the photo has been cut out)
- Layer
- Layer style
- Copy
- Paste to other shapes.
- Add any other effects to the images you would like (Monochromatic, Black & White, Cool Tone, Warm Tone, etc.)
This is a triptych I created, with Jeeps being the inspiration. I went with a black background and black & white photos. If I where to redo this composition, I would have went with the photos in portrait orientation and have the background in landscape, so that the two jeeps on the sids would be pointing in towards the middle.
These jeeps are all different colors, so thats why I made the choice to do black and white, to tie the colors together. The photos where all taken on the same day, so the lighting is similar. The colors and subjects give off a vintage feel, focusing on the appreciation for this type of vehicle. I used this as a gift for my dad because he loves jeeps.
As you can see, the composition of the photos together is stronger than any one of the photos and could make a nice gift, advertisement, or a stronger layout to sell your photography prints.