Think Negative – not Positive

Sounds odd doesn’t it?  Yet believe it or not, the use of something called negative space can be very powerful in photography.  But what is negative space?  The term is kind of hard to describe in words, but the best way I can think of to describe negative space is the space that has nothing, or the lack of a subject or point of focus.  Things like skies are good examples of negative space.  It can bring a sense of scale in ways that are otherwise very difficult to attain.  I’ve shared a few shots of this here on the blog recently as kind of a “latest and greatest” theme from various trips, but they also serve as good examples of negative space.  Take a look at these shots again and think of them in terms of the negative space, and how it enhances composition:

Negative Space 1

Negative Space 1

Negative Space 2

Negative Space 2

Negative Space 3

Negative Space 3

See how empty or negative space can actually work to your advantage?  Like the examples show, skies work well in this regard, but you could use any negative space to better accent a photo or design.

Anyway, that’s the photo tip and post for today.  Anyone have any thoughts on the use of negative space?  Got examples you can share?  Feel free to sound off with your thoughts, tips, ideas, suggestions in the comments.

Don’t forget, there’s also the monthly giveaway going on over in the Flickr forums – you can win a free copy of PictureCode’s Noise Ninja – just submit up to 3 photos before the deadline!

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Grab the Feed
Follow Me on Twitter

4 comments for “Think Negative – not Positive

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.