![]() ![]() Positive and Negative space in Photography is about the idea of being intentional with not only our subjects (positive space) but about the context and environment that surrounds them (negative space). Subject isolation - We can use it to isolate our subjects and focus attention on the things that matter.Ĭalm down compositions - We can use it to calm down chaos and bring order and sense into compositions.Īnd so many other ways your imagination is the limit. Vastness - We can use it to illustrate an idea of vastness through the inclusion of a lot more negative space than positive. Examples of Positive and Negative space in Photographyīeing deliberate about how we use positive and negative space in Photography can enable us to clarify our images in any setting: Thoughtful selection, rather than unintentional addition or reckless subtraction.Īs photographers, we should seek to be more thoughtful about the things we decide to include in our images, what subjects we use (our positive space), how we shape them (our negative space), and how our stories get told. It’s about intentionally deciding what things to include into your life. See, Minimalism isn’t really about throwing out stuff. About being unencumbered and free and whatever.īut to stop there is to look at the words without understanding the meaning behind the passage. There’s a common misconception that Minimalism is about throwing things out. To borrow from MinimalismĪn idea I think is terrific to borrow for both positive and negative space in Photography is Minimalism. ![]() The more effective you are at getting straight to the point (even if that point is to intentionally force people not to get to the point immediately - yeah, I’m getting real meta here), the more effective you’ll be as a visual communicator. And suddenly what could have been told in 3 sentences bloats out to 13. However, sentences can become verbose a lot of extra fat, too many words, or superfluous ideas that don’t serve a purpose. It’s a lot like writing when writing a paragraph, there’s most likely going to be one or at most two main messages before each final full stop. Generally speaking, in Photography, the easier a photo is to immediately understand to a viewer, the more powerful, evocative, or successful that image is. In many cases, I’d go so far as to say that a subject is only as strong as the negative space that surrounds it. Negative space in Photography is essential. Most importantly, it’s about the idea that every image has a “hierarchy of importance” a specific order in which the viewer should be digesting the composition.Įffective photographers are great at communicating to the viewer what that order should be so they can tell their story in the most compelling way possible. It’s the suggestion that there are certain parts of the image that are more important than the others. It’s about providing the surrounding environment for the positive space to sit in, and it allows the subject or the main idea of the photograph space to breathe and express itself. Rather than it being about where your eyes should be looking at as the viewer, it’s about the enablement of that movement. Negative space, on the other hand, is a little more abstract. It’s the thing that’s easy to identify the image with. Often, you’ll hear this talked about in terms of “story”, the main point of an image, or the main idea being communicated a portrait of a baby, a landscape of a grand valley, the gate of someone’s stride as they cross the street. It’s about where your eyes should be looking as a viewer, and it’s about the photographer’s deliberate inclusion of specific subjects that enables that. Positive space in Photography is about the subject. Well, let’s start with positive space first because that might be a little easier to understand. It’s about subject isolation, and it’s one of my favourite techniques to use. Negative space in Photography is a tool that allows photographers to accentuate their subjects in a more visually compelling way. Negative space in Photography (and positive space) is one of the most effective visual language techniques any photographer can learn.Īs a component of Visual Language, we see it used commonly in other visual mediums such as painting, architecture, illustrations, cinematography and more. ![]()
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