Definition:
A triptych is an artwork made up of a series of three images. The three individual triptych images must be interrelated and can explore a particular subject, a specific style, a theme, or even one image that is “split” to create three separate images. In addition, a triptych can show a sequential progression, often suggesting a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
Purpose:
Ultimately, an effective triptych emphasizes the Gestalt concept of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Background:
Triptychs were very popular artworks in the 15th century and usually depicted religious themes. They often had a larger central image with two smaller hinged images on each side of the large image. The two smaller images could be folded over the larger image and therefore protected all three images. More recently, triptychs are created photographic images.
The KSCCC Annual Challenge 2024-2025:
Shoot a photographic series that works as a triptych, whether 3 separate images or one image “split” into three individual images.
The triptych can be submitted as three separate images or as one image showing an amalgamation of the three images (i.e. a type of collage).
During the 2024-2025 season, there will be several short tutorials during Friday meetings on various ways to collate the three images to present them as one unified triptych image.
Submission Deadline: May 30, 2025
Presentation: June 6, 2025
PHOTOGRAPHIC TRIPTYCH SAMPLES:
HELPFUL LINKS:
Websites
- How to shoot a photography triptych
- Creating Triptychs With Your Photographs
- 12 Great Tips and Ideas for Triptych Photography
- Triptych art: thinking outside the box
- How to Split a Photo Into Multiple Frames
YouTube videos
- Have You Ever Tried Triptych Photography? Here’s Why You Should (15:33)
- Triptych Photography Shoot | Intimate Coastal Landscapes (13:58)
- How to Create a Triptych Artwork from Photography (13:57)
Ross Laing
Kanata Seniors' Centre Camera Club 