In this episode of The Complete Picture we’re going to discuss how to select multiple images to work together as diptychs and triptychs. You will learn how similar attributes such as color and shape, mood and lighting, line and form will help to unify two (or more) photographs, perhaps even creating new meaning through the relationship of the imagery.
Have you made diptychs or triptychs from different portions of the same image — perhaps with some overlap, perhaps not? Or from the same scene taken at different times of day or year?
Hi Sam – I don’t presume to speak for Julieanne, so this is just my opinion.
I would suggest you try out the various ideas and see what you think. You are the artist, after all, and if you feel something works well as an overlap, or as a zoom/crop, use it!
Thinking about it, I’d try to find some consistent measure, though, so the effort appears more intentional. For example, if you have an overlap, try aligning the images in a stair-like way. Say, if you’re moving from left to right, and there’s a subject that is common to both, align that overlap vertically – the right edge of the top image overlapping the left edge of the bottom image.
Also note that aspect ratio, like any ‘rule’ is meant to be something of a starting point or anchor for your own use. Traditional triptychs either use the same size and aspect ratio, or scaled aspect ratios (larger in the center, smaller to either side). Diptychs and triptychs are somewhat formal patterns that are part of a larger design vocabulary that implies relationships between the images. Nothing says you have to do this, but it can enhance symmetry and cohesion and acts to unify the work, depending on the theme and your intent. Breaking this pattern also can have impact, but the theme between the works needs to be very, very strong or it just looks like pieces of a series, not a collective unit.
Is it necessary that the different images in a diptych / triptych be cropped to the same aspect ratio?