Putting together a triptych

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

You probably know the rule of odd numbers. It says that an odd number of visual elements is more pleasing to look at. Three is probably the most commonly used number, something we also see in interior design. That is why a triptych is so appealing.

You sometimes see them in shops: paintings, or things that look like paintings, divided across three frames. You hang them next to each other on the wall, with a few centimetres between them. Often, the middle one is wide and the two on the sides are narrow. But not always.

This is one form of a triptych, where a single image is divided into three parts. This often makes it a little more interesting than a single image. It is a bit like looking through a window consisting of three panes.

It can also be done differently. Instead of cutting one photo into three parts, you can bring three different photos together. Those three photos do need to fit together. They need to form a single whole.

This means you cannot simply choose your three best photos for a triptych. Do they have a subject that is related or even the same? Do they complement each other, so that together they tell more than each one does individually?

It is also very important that they have the same look. In most cases, that means they need to receive the same editing, though not necessarily always. Or editing that complements each other, making them form a whole.

With a triptych, you essentially break through the limitation of the story told by a single photo. A triptych allows you to show that story visually too. Not as moving images, but through three snapshots.

Creating a triptych is not easy. It requires careful thought. Sometimes you need to study your subject. Sometimes you can find three photos among the work in your archive.

There are, of course, variations on a triptych. You can use two photos or four photos. More often results in less cohesion. But the odd number three remains the most appealing and will, in many cases, speak most to the imagination.

Do you ever make a triptych? How do you go about it? Tell us in a comment below this post.

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