Diptych in photography is a technique and format that uses two photographs to tell a story. These photos are closely associated and share some form of commonality. To illustrate this point and celebrate Women’s History Month, we create a series of mother-daughter diptych photos to tell their story.

 

(Left) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 50mm, 1/15 sec, ISO100
(Right) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 28mm, 1/60 sec, ISO400

The mother-daughter portrait with a twist

Create an artistic way to shoot a mother-daughter portrait through diptych by placing the portraits side-by-side. This shows a clear distinction of two people yet allowing viewers to find similarities between them. The similarities may not be obvious at first, but as one takes a few more seconds to observe, one may then identify the subtle resemblances of the mother and child through their actions or expressions.

Up your portrait game and learn how to create Dreamy, Colourful Portraits with Foreground Bokeh.

Using colours to distinguish generations

EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens
(Left) f2.0, 61mm, 1/25 sec, ISO100; (right) f2.0, 48mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO400

 

Diptych is often used to show contrasting ideas. Placing a black & white portrait next to a coloured one emphasises on the differences. For this, we want to portray the number of years these two women have between them. The black & white portrait symbolises an older generation, which is also a way to display classic beauty, while the coloured one, as suggested, is a younger and vibrant version of the next generation.

A deeper impact with close-up

(Left) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 39mm, 1/8 sec, ISO100
(Right) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 28mm, 1/80 sec, ISO100

Take a close-up shot of a mother’s hand, and then compare it to the daughter’s. Notice the wrinkles and colour of the mother’s skin, both symbolising experience and age. Or take note of the smiles in both of the subjects. Are they somewhat similar (because of the relation), or do they bring out an individual character?

The half that tells a story

(Left) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 70mm, 1/20 sec, ISO100
(Right) EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 48mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO400

Add a creative twist to your diptych portrait by (not following the rules) combining two sides of the faces into one. As seen in many advertising campaigns, this method is interesting as it shows similarities and differences at the same time, and at one glance. It suggests a shared story of two people, and a narrative that the subject or photographer can share with his/her viewers. To help you achieve this, the EOS RP Eye Detection AF (available in One Shot AF and Servo AF) tracks the movements of the eye to ensure a sharp and focused image when shooting portraits. In addition, here is a little secret to help you shoot catchlights that makes your eyes sparkle.

Learn more about EOS RP, the camera we used to shoot this series of photos, in Reimagine Your Potential in EOS RP, or find out more about RF lenses and let us help you choose the right one in RF Lenses: Which One Suits Me? 

 

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