Create A Triptych For Your Photographs

Creating a triptych in Photoshop doesn't take long too do and they make great pieces for hanging on walls. If you don't know what one is, a triptych is an image that consists of three different images that usually relate in some way. Why three? Well items grouped in odd numbers are usually more compositionally pleasing and you can use three shots of different things or split one image up onto three separate panels. Here we are going to be looking at using three different images to create one shot.

What works?

The images you use need to link to each other some way but this doesn't necessary mean it has to be of the same subject. They could be linked by colour, for example, or you could have applied the same treatment to them during post production to make them appear similar. Images taken at the same focal length tend to appear more balanced when put together, however this rule isn't set in stone. You could also try linking them by movement, with three shots showing someone/something moving closer to the front of the frame or further away.

These types of shots tend to work better when your person, animal or object is looking into the frame rather than out as having them looking out of the shot will draw the viewer's attention away from the centre of the image and generally it just doesn't feel right. Try flipping your shot in Photoshop (Image>Image Rotation>Flip Horizontally) to change the direction of which your subject is facing (we did this with the guitar in the image above).

How to do it:

Make self a grid in Photoshop using guides. You need to be able to see the rulers to do this so if you can't see them, go to View>Rulers. To add guides you just click on one of the rulers and drag out over to your template. You want two horizontal lines to sit in the middle of your template so each of the images you add to it sit in line. It's also a good idea to use vertical lines (we used four) so there's equal spacing between each of your images you drag over to the template.



Open all your images up in Photoshop and drag them, one at a time on to your document you want to make your triptych in.



You can resize them by clicking on each of the layers and going to Edit>Free Transform. If you hold down the shift key while you adjust the anchor points the image won't be stretched out of proportion. To move them into a different position, just select the move tool and adjust the position of your shots until you get a composition you're happy with.

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