3 Column Themes for Tumblr Photo Blogs

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The Best 3 Column Tumblr Layouts to Showcase Photos

Tumblr is one of the top micro-blogging websites available. Its flexibility allows you to post anything you can think of, from quotes to videos to a traditional blog post, but my favorite use for Tumblr is the photoblog.

3 Column layouts (called themes on Tumblr) are perfect for photo-bloggers who want to create a better balance between photographs and occasional text, links, quotes, or other non-image posts, and give your photoblog the impression of a scrapbook.

This lens showcases the best 3 Column themes (listed in alphabetical order) for creating a photo Tumblelog. I've tried & tested each one, detailing the pros & cons of each, along with examples of other photo-blogs using the theme, to help you pick the best theme for your Tumblr portfolio.

Astronaut Theme

Clean & simple with a little spunk.

Astronaut Theme by Peter Vidani

Click here or the image above to preview & download.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change 8 different text & link colors
----Change body font
----Upload header image
----Show/Hide icon bubble & notes on individual pages
---Input your Disqus username to enable comments on your posts
**Cool talk bubble style icon image

DISADVANTAGES
**Annoying "Install Theme" button at top of page
**If you link an image to an outside source, you have to click through to the post page to access it.

astronaut_theme_individual_page.png (324 KB) astronaut_theme_customize_page.png (127 KB)
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Examples of Astronaut Theme

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Chunky Theme

Outgoing & a bit in-your-face

Chunky Theme by sleepoversf

Click here or the image above to preview & download.

If you want to stand out & make a statement with your photoblog, try this layout with a larger-than-life header & Polaroid-style posts.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change background & text colors for the page, header, & posts
----Toggle Drop Shadows & Dark Layout options
----Input Typekit code to get fonts for your blog
----Input your Disqus username to enable comments on your posts

DISADVANTAGES
**Doesn't show Tag links anywhere
**No Search or Archive links
**If you link an image to an outside source, you have to click through to the post page to access it.

chunky_theme_post_page.png (567 KB) chunky_theme_customize_page.png (184 KB)
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Examples of Chunky Theme

Last Stand of Stupidity Theme

Professional & user-friendly.

Last Stand of Stupidity Theme by iamseventh

Click here or the image above to preview & install.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change links color.
----Upload background image.
----Show/hide Description, Tags, & People I Follow
----Input custom slogan/tagline (appears below blog title)
----Input Disqus username to allow comments on your blog.
----Input Google Analytics ID to allow ads on your blog.
**"Reblog" link on every post.
**"Older" & "Newer" links at the bottom of every permalink page.
**Professional-looking drop-shadow effect for each post.

DISADVANTAGES
**Not a lot of color/style customization options.
**Have to right-click & "View Image" to see full-size image on permalink page.

last stand of stupidity 3 column tumblr theme permalink page preview last stand of stupidity 3 column tumblr theme customize page preview
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Examples of Last Stand of Stupidity Theme

Lillian v2 Theme

Almost perfect.

Lillian v2 Theme by Joe Lalan

Click here or the image above to preview & install.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change colors for background, posts, text, links, tweets, side, & border.
----Upload background image.
----Show/hide "Ask" button (appears at top right next to "Theme" link)
**Large icon image (128px squared) & description box
**Fixed "Old" & "New" navigation on sides.
**Images link directly to outside source (if applicable)
**Displays full-size image on permalink pages.
**Displays date & time for each post.

DISADVANTAGES
**Doesn't display tags anywhere.
**Fixed "Old" & "New" navigation isn't continued on permalink pages.
Lillian v2 3 column tumblr theme permalink page preview Lillian v2 3 column tumblr theme customize page preview
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Off Franklin Theme

Convenience & Customization

Off Franklin Theme by Some Random Dude

Click here or the image above to preview & download.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change all page colors & font styles
----Upload images for background, header, & icons
----Show/Hide links to Tags, Following, Album Art (audio posts), & Sticky Footers
----Input your Disqus username to enable comments on your posts
**Fixed navigation at bottom of page - links to Random, Next, Follow, & Top of Page
**See the full-size image by clicking the square in the bottom left corner
**Search box as a drop-down in the header navigation
**Displays profile icon as a 128 by 128 pixel image
**Next & previous page links on every post's page

DISADVANTAGES
**Displays tags only on post page

off_franklin_customize_page.png (268 KB) off_franklin_image_magnifier.png (584 KB) off_franklin_post_page.png (375 KB)
Click images above to view larger.

Examples of Off Franklin Theme

Plaintext Theme

Uber-minimal, uber-customizable

Plaintext Theme by elleusing

Click here or the image above to preview & install.

NOTE: In order to get the fixed sidebar for this theme, you must click both "Sidebar" AND "Fixed Sidebar" on the Customize page. The sidebar will only work with 2 columns.

FEATURES
**1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change colors for background, text, links, hover, navigation, tags, & search pages.
----Change font for navigation & main text.
----Upload background image & set to scrolling or tiled & position.
----Show/hide sidebar, search, description, icon, & streampad.
----Choose 2, 3, or 4 column layout.
**Fixed Next & Previous arrows on each page, including permalink pages.
**Images link directly to outside sources, if applicable.

DISADVANTAGES
**Sidebar options only show up for a 2 column layout.

plaintext theme 2 column preview plaintext theme 4 column preview plaintext theme customize page plaintext theme fixed sidebar plaintext theme fixed sidebar permalink preview plaintext theme permalink page
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Examples of Plaintext Theme

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Themapolooza Theme

Cool, clean, & convenient.

Themapolooza theme by Anthagio

Click here or the image above to preview & download.
One of my favorite themes is this simple & clean 3-column grey-scaled layout by anthagio.

FEATURES
**Lots of easy, 1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Choose between 3 or 4 columns
----Change link color, heart color, & fonts
----Add/hide icon image and links to Archive, RSS Feed, & Random Posts
----Add up to 4 custom links to the header
**See the full-size image by clicking the magnifying glass in the corner
**Header navigation & next page link scroll with the page
*Next & previous page links on every post's page

DISADVANTAGES
**Only allows for a small profile icon - so if you wanted to show yours off, you'll have to do some tweaking or pick a different layout.

themapalooza_post_page.png (499 KB) themapalooza_magnifier.png (351 KB) themapalooza_customize_appearance.png (278 KB)
Click above images for larger view.

Examples of Themapolooza Theme

Unfold Theme

Simple, clean, & pretty much perfect.

Unfold Theme by shesayshello

Click here or the image above to preview & install.

FEATURES
**Easy, 1-click customizations from the "Appearance" tab in "Customize" mode
----Change colors for links, body, & title.
----Change fonts for body & title.
----Upload background & header images.
----Choose tiled or scroll background or neither.
----Show/hide Captions, Notes, Twitter, & Searchbar.
**Displays tags on permalink pages.
**Images link to outside source (if applicable) from permalink page.

DISADVANTAGES
None that I found!

unfold 3 column tumblr theme customize page preview unfold 3 column tumblr theme permalink page preview
Click images above to view larger.

Examples of Unfold Theme

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What's Your Favorite 3 Column Theme?

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Comments/Questions

  • teamunited12 Feb 23, 2012 @ 11:42 am | delete
    Nice lens and information....thanks
  • anilagarwal Dec 29, 2011 @ 9:47 am | delete
    Cool themes collection for Tumblr blogs
  • krakensquid Dec 11, 2011 @ 3:54 am | delete
    Great lens - well written and very informative!
  • heehaw May 20, 2011 @ 12:57 pm | delete
    i love the Chunky Theme, it's green is blended and eye catching. Last Stand of Stupidity Theme is more for people who wish to post future 3D photos. i love it all, i love to see blogs with 3 columns.

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