How To Create An Awesome Triptych

By ARTHUR H. BLEICH

A triptych is a three-panel display of artwork that dates back to the early days of Christianity.  Displayed as church alter pieces, they usually depicted religious themes and were  arranged in thirds to honor the concept of the Holy Trinity.

Throughout the ages, artists embraced them to tell stories in a dramatic way that single paintings could not and, when photography came along, it was eagerly adopted as a way to showcase single or multiple images by displaying them across the panels. In today's digital world you can make large, visually dramatic images (even using small desktop printers) to provide a sense of narrative flow, depth and dimension, and create visually impactful, harmonious displays.

TRIPTYCHS ARE VERSATILE

Triptychs can be displayed horizontally, vertically, diagonally or even in in other ways (such as stair-stepping them) and the panels of the display can differ in size . The only “rule” is that they be in three parts. Their subject matter is also extremely flexible which gives photographers and artists a great deal of creative freedom. Here are some categories you may want to consider for your first triptych.

Unified scene: This is a single, continuous image that is divided and displayed across three panels. It is a popular format for landscapes, nature subjects and cityscapes.

Transformation or sequential: These triptychs capture the different stages of a single subject, such as the growth of a flower from bud to bloom to wither.

Narrative: The panels tell a visual story, with the left often representing the beginning, the center the climax, and the right the conclusion. They may also show a change over time

Thematic grouping: The three panels are separate images that are variations on a single theme, such as a color, an emotion, or a set of complementary subjects.

Juxtaposed or reconstructed: The panels show smaller parts of an object or variations of a subject that are recombined in unusual ways to offer a new visual perspective.

There are many more variations, but these should give you some ideas for starters and a search of the web will reveal many examples if these categories and others.

CREATING YOUR FIRST TRIPTYCH

It's easier to create a triptych than it is to pronounce the word or spell it. You probably already have images in your files that would make a good triptych so begin by choosing one of them. Let's say you have an outstanding sunset or mountain landscape. Simply crop the image into three same-sized sections in your imaging program or upload your photo to one of several online services that specializes in image splitting that will do it free and return the results to you in minutes . It's best to make all the sections the same size as it it will simplify framing them. At the end of this post, I've listed some easy steps.

If you plan to frame your triptych using ready-made frames, it's best to buy them first There are sometimes small variations between frame manufacturers' sizes so take a measurement of the inside area and that's the size at which each panel image should be printed. Run a test image at that size, check the fit, and make minor adjustments to your print sizes, if needed.

Next, If you're using small photos to produce a large triptych, you'll need to pay attention to their resolution. Enlarging them to the size you want using your imaging program's resampling settings may lead to loss of image quality. Print one of the three panels to check its quality and, if you're not satisfied, a free AI upscaling app will usually solve the problem. (see Resources below). Now print your panels out, frame them and hang them 1 to 4 inches apart. Voila! You've created your first triptych.

MAKING  TRIPTYCHS  WITH DESKTOP PRINTERS  

Most small desktop printers are able to output longer images than 11 inches. While they are limited to printing images at an 8-inch width (or 8.5-inches if they can do borderless printing), you can usually print longer lengths (check the specs for your printer).  Which means each panel of  tour three-panel triptych can be e 8 (or 8.5) inches wide by whatever length you choose. Ordinarily, you'd need to use bigger paper and cut it to size. But there's also another way.

Tucked away in the Red River Paper catalog, are popular paper surfaces available in 8.5 x 14 inch legal size and 8.5 x 25 inches!  (see Resources below.) A triptych display with three vertical panels using the  8.5 x 14 size can be as wide as 24 inches by 25 inches high, even bigger, actually, when you add frame width and the spacing between them. Using 25-inch long  paper ups  the possibilities. If, for example, you you displayed your triptych frames end- to-end  as a panorama,  they'd be more than 6 feet wide bur a bit skinny at 8 inches. Nevertheless, I'll bet there's subject material it would be perfect for— perhaps a long, exotic snake, a freight train or a sporting event.

DISPLAYING YOUR TRIPTYCH

After printing your three triptych images, you can display them in separate frames, or mount them together on mat board, with space between them, and use a single frame. The first method is more dramatic and is preferred by most triptych creators, but it's your call.

If you prefer not to do your own framing, there are custom frame vendors with online software that allows you to try many different frame possibilities using your own images to preview the results and see exactly how they ‘ll look before they are made and shipped to you (see Resources below).

Though triptychs have been around for centuries, they still offer photographers and artists unique possibilities for visual expression. They make wonderful gifts and can also provide you with an opportunity to earn additional income. If you're looking for something new to try, this would be a great choice.

RESOURCES:

Red River Paper long papers for desktop printers:  8.5 x 14 here, and 8.5 x 25 paper here.

Free AI Upscaling software:  A previous blog post that  tells you how to download and use UPSCAYL AI .

Anerican Frame: Has online software that lets you preview your triptysh images in different frame configurations.

DIVIDING TRIPTYCH IMAGES  INTO EQUAL THIRDS

This method will work on any imaging program where the  dimensions of the crop area can be pre-set to a custom size.  Adobe Photoshop Elements was used in this instance. The steps below are for horizontal images. If you need to divide a vertical image, simply turn it on its side, complete the steps below and then rotate the panels back to vertical when finished.

1. Resize or resample your image to any width that can be divided by 3. You can work in inches or pixels. Let's assume we've chosen 9 inches with gives us a height of 5.486 inches. Jot down  the height; you'll need it in Step 4.

2. Copy your newly created  image and set the copy aside. You'll need it in Step 7.

3. Select the Crop tool. You ‘re now going to pre-set the dimensions of the area it will cover. You'll see a box marked No Restriction. Click on it and a drop-down menu of size options appears. Click on Custom.

4. In the W box input 3, which is third of the image width. In the H box enter the height, in this case, 5.486 inches. If you want  pixel values, end them with the suffix px.

5. You are now set to begin slicing the image into thirds. Begin by cropping the left third of the image and saving it as Panel 1.  (Your original image file will always remain intact.)

6. Now bring the original image up again, and confirm, (or reset if necessary), the crop tool pre-set limits and then crop  the right third of the image and save it as Panel 3.

7. Next bring up the  image copy you made in Step 2.

8. Change the crop tool pre-set width to 6 and then, from either the left or right side of the image remove two thirds of it.  Save this crop and then open it. You now have access to what will be the middle panel of your triptych. 

9. Change the crop area pre-set width back to 3 inches and make sure the height is also correctly set. 

10.  Make the final croy of what will be the middle  panel and save it as e as Panel 2.

You now have three identically-sized panels and can adjust them to the final size and resolution values required for your triptych.  NOTE: If you run into problems, check that the Crop tool pre-set is on Custom, that the correct Width and Height values are input, and that  in or px is appended to them, either right after the value or with a space between them.

Original Publication Date: September 29, 2025

Article Last updated: September 29, 2025

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