Two Photos are Better than One! (Diptychs explained)

Several months ago, Heather Hess mentioned that instead of doing a photo-a-day project, she actually takes 2 photos everyday. I (Katie) thought that she was just an overachiever (lol!) but then she explained that she likes diptychs. I had never heard that word before so I had to ask her what that meant and she explained that it is a pairing of two pictures together presented as one image. I decided that sounded really interesting, so I did a little research on the topic. It turns out that there is a whole world out there that I didn’t even know about!

I love the definition given in this Flickr group for diptych fans:

The diptych – two photos that fit better together than they did apart. A mini story in two frames, an association, siblings, parent & child, different perspectives on the same theme, anything that works well as a team of two. Get creative! Think in pairs!

WHY DIPTYCHS?

Diptychs tell a story that goes beyond one photograph. I love Zalaine’s guest post on CaptureYour365 because it illustrates just how effective diptychs and triptychs (3 images) are for storytelling purposes. A series of photos can better represent a memory, a feeling, or an event.

This post from Digital Scrapbooking School also emphasizes the storytelling power of multiple images. I love the idea of showing what can happen in just a few short seconds of time. These 2 photos placed side by side allude to what might have happened between shots. Can’t you just imagine the first Lego guy telling the others “Hey! You’ve got to come and take a look at this!”?

Two photos together show different perspectives of the same scene:

Diptychs are great for comparisons or then-and-now type of presentations:

Not only can you share diptychs as a creative way to display your photos, you can also include them on digital scrapbook layouts!

Layout by Katie. Home by Audrey Neal. Foam Stamp Alpha by Sahlin Studio. The Architect font by Heather Hess.

HOW TO CREATE DIPTYCHS

There are several easy ways to create diptychs:

• If you are familiar with your photo editing program. You simply need to place all of the images on the same canvas and then size them as desired. You can decide if you want a border to separate the images, or if you want them right next to each other. It’s totally up to you!
• If you need step-by-step instructions, check out this tutorial from a flickr group member.
• Many of the programs used for creating photo collages can also come in handy for creating multi-photo images such as diptychs.
• The mosaic tool on bighugelabs.com is my favorite shortcut for creating diptychs and more! (see my previous post on Big Huge Labs here)

I love finding new ways to have fun with photos! I bet you will love creating diptychs too – give them a try!

P.S. The Digi Show has a new website and a new facebook page. Be sure to check us out so you get first news of when a new show is available!