HOW TO USE NEGATIVE SPACE IN PHOTOGRAPHY

HOW TO USE NEGATIVE SPACE IN PHOTOGRAPHY

NEGATIVE SPACE IN PHOTOGRAPHY EXAMPLES

Negative space – what is it? When a photographer wants to create a good picture, he should think about a lot of things. Composition, conception, light… So, every photographer constantly is looking for something new, and, yes, in 100th time reads about Golden ratio. But the most important thing is a center of composition. The right organization of a center of composition and background provides good solution for both composition and conception.

Cat and Jeff of The Apartment Photography. GRAND WINNER 2019 AWARD
International Wedding Photographer of the Year

Background around compositional center

Negative space is called a space that is around the main object on a photo. And that negative space (background) need not be empty or simple (one-colored). So, on the other hand, the positive space – is a visual center, the main object. It is obvious that the visual center should contrast and attract.

Xenia Shabanova. RUNNER UP 
International Wedding Photographer of the Year

Dramatic photography

In order to make a photo more dramatic, increase the intensity of emotions, and make the shot more interesting, a skillful combination of negative and positive space can be used. The main subject is isolated, which contrasts with a larger amount of negative space. This creates additional drama in the shot. This technique is used not only in graphic design and photography, but also in videography (I remember a moment from Slipknot’s “Vermillion” music video very well) and in cinema.

Ruan Redelinghuys
International Wedding Photographer of the Year

How to use it?

If a photographer wants to use negative space, he should use right proportion. Positive space takes less place than negative. So, that Little-Big contrast creates a dramatic effect. Using this trick, we can increase the emotions of photographs, outline the importance.

Using negative space can expressively and gracefully, and most importantly “loudly” show the main thing – emotion. A smile, a sense of magic, a feeling of loneliness – everything you want to convey with your photos. Negative space and its skillful use will elevate your photography skills to a new level and help you easily solve artistic challenges in photography.

KyeongJun Yang, (Republic Of) Korea, Winner, ZEISS Photography Award 2020

Examples

HELIOS 44M | review | Photography Blog (rezedaphoto.com)

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