Matching photos

Sometimes we might toss aside a certain photo because by itself it isn’t as powerful as we would like it to be. However, when telling a story that same picture might be powerful when combined in a diptych or triptych with another that complements or contrasts with it.

Trying to “match” certain pictures is an exercise in observation and feeling. Sometimes you can use a larger, main picture and one or two minor pictures that fill out the narrative of the main one. Sometimes the two pictures can represent an overall view and an abstract or detail to go with it. By thinking in this way one can visualize more options for presenting a story and find oneself being more deliberate in capturing not only an image that can serve as the main theme, but the peripheral pictures that might be combined with it.

It opens the photographers eyes to things that otherwise may go unnoticed and adds depth to any story being told through photographs. Thinking in this way can even be helpful when taking family pictures or personal travel photos. It doesn’t have to be used for a major photographic project!