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Composition: effective use of negative space
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Dec 31, 2017 17:59:54   #
RichardQ Loc: Colorado
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
Richard, you are such an accomplished artist, you need to tell us how it all works together

I think the visual and literal weight of the structures make them feel like they're floating, regardless of the wires. The composition has such great impact, I can't even put into words. The obvious reply with respect to the topic is there would be no image here without the negative space; it's all about that. But it's also all about the lines and angles. Please tell us more about your vision!
Richard, you are such an accomplished artist, you ... (show quote)


Linda, thank you for the compliments re my 1951 photo, which I created for my Advertising Design class in Pratt Institute. The cranes were first photographed during a prosaic assignment for an insurance investigator handling an industrial accident lawsuit against a building contractor. I realized the graphic potential of the cranes and connecting cable patterns, and was inspired to combine, in the enlarger, two negatives of different cranes to create opposing triangular spaces. Triangles are dynamic, emitting energy fields which in these combinations result in tensions that are contained within the frame. One negative was turned upside down in the enlarger to expand the range of the triangle shapes. I was lucky in having a blank sky that day, because cloud backgrounds would have spoiled my concept. Does that explanation help you to understand the image? If I had to title it, I guess I'd call it "Tensions."

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Dec 31, 2017 18:08:05   #
autofocus Loc: North Central Connecticut
 
RichardQ wrote:
Linda, thank you for the compliments re my 1951 photo, which I created for my Advertising Design class in Pratt Institute. The cranes were first photographed during a prosaic assignment for an insurance investigator handling an industrial accident lawsuit against a building contractor. I realized the graphic potential of the cranes and connecting cable patterns, and was inspired to combine, in the enlarger, two negatives of different cranes to create opposing triangular spaces. Triangles are dynamic, emitting energy fields which in these combinations result in tensions that are contained within the frame. One negative was turned upside down in the enlarger to expand the range of the triangle shapes. I was lucky in having a blank sky that day, because cloud backgrounds would have spoiled my concept. Does that explanation help you to understand the image? If I had to title it, I guess I'd call it "Tensions."
Linda, thank you for the compliments re my 1951 ph... (show quote)


hmm...my older sister went to Pratt, early fifties. She went on to be an art teacher

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Dec 31, 2017 18:18:31   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
#2 is highly engaging because it's so unique. And hard to tell exactly the setting - you mentioned meadow, but looks like ice on water to me. Love its whimsical nature! Thanks so much for posting.


It's actually a meadow but last year in Yosemite almost every meadow was underwater.

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Dec 31, 2017 21:03:33   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
RichardQ wrote:
Linda, thank you for the compliments re my 1951 photo, which I created for my Advertising Design class in Pratt Institute. The cranes were first photographed during a prosaic assignment for an insurance investigator handling an industrial accident lawsuit against a building contractor. I realized the graphic potential of the cranes and connecting cable patterns, and was inspired to combine, in the enlarger, two negatives of different cranes to create opposing triangular spaces. Triangles are dynamic, emitting energy fields which in these combinations result in tensions that are contained within the frame. One negative was turned upside down in the enlarger to expand the range of the triangle shapes. I was lucky in having a blank sky that day, because cloud backgrounds would have spoiled my concept. Does that explanation help you to understand the image? If I had to title it, I guess I'd call it "Tensions."
Linda, thank you for the compliments re my 1951 ph... (show quote)


Thank you, Richard. Much appreciated!

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Dec 31, 2017 22:09:03   #
dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
Thanks so much for joining the thread, db!

In #2 the scale is difficult to discern. If the trees in lower left are mature, we can get some sense, but they are hard to see. There are similar difficulties for those who have never stood in front of volcanoes (I'm in Washington State) or who try to take pictures of the Badlands. Without a person, or some other universally accepted element whose size we can relate to, it's a challenge.

With #1, I feel the subject is the entire scene (not just the tree, not just the land). Many landscapes are like that, and I love them. But I think to be defined as containing negative space, the story would have to be different, for example about a sole surving tree in a wider scene of distant landscape, one that shows devastation from the mining practices perhaps.

Just my opinion, please take all you read in all forums with a large grain of salt
Thanks so much for joining the thread, db! br br ... (show quote)


I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful comments! Thank you so much. Those were taken before I had any inkling about ‘negative space.’ I posted to get some feedback but after viewing so many of the other great examples here, I can see how they are only landscapes (and not great ones at that.). I will be more conscious of negative space after this thought-provoking discussion thread. Very helpful!

I look forward to seeing more conversations about composition and technique here. (The threads touting one expensive lens or camera over another are rather less useful to me.). Thanks again!

Happy New Year all!

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Dec 31, 2017 23:33:01   #
tdekany Loc: Oregon
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
Because there's not enough space (subject fills too much of the frame)?


Yes exactly. At least that is how I “see” it and interpret it.

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Jan 1, 2018 00:14:33   #
Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan
 
Two balanced pictures. Examples of Positive use of Negative space. Negative Space still sounds like a redundant way to term it. But it's a Positive Subject to think about.
artBob wrote:
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space occasionally is used to artistic effect as the "real" subject of an image.

Some examples: http://www.creativebloq.com/art/art-negative-space-8133765/2





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Jan 1, 2018 00:26:56   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Another term for negative space: Dead space.
Fotoartist wrote:
Two balanced pictures. Examples of Positive use of Negative space. Negative Space still sounds like a redundant way to term it. But it's a Positive Subject to think about.

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Jan 1, 2018 07:57:44   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
dbfalconer wrote:
I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful comments! Thank you so much. Those were taken before I had any inkling about ‘negative space.’ I posted to get some feedback but after viewing so many of the other great examples here, I can see how they are only landscapes (and not great ones at that.). I will be more conscious of negative space after this thought-provoking discussion thread. Very helpful!

I look forward to seeing more conversations about composition and technique here. (The threads touting one expensive lens or camera over another are rather less useful to me.). Thanks again!

Happy New Year all!
I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful c... (show quote)


And the same to you! Many thanks for your interest.

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Jan 1, 2018 07:59:31   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
Fotoartist wrote:
Two balanced pictures. Examples of Positive use of Negative space. Negative Space still sounds like a redundant way to term it. But it's a Positive Subject to think about.


LOL, not a square inch un-used on that magazine cover. I'm going to start looking at them a different way as a result of this conversation.

Stunning northern light shot!

Thanks for sticking around.

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Jan 1, 2018 08:02:01   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
anotherview wrote:
Another term for negative space: Dead space.


Only to a magazine or newspaper editior as we've noted. I encourage you to check out the two articles linked in this thread and to take time to browse the photos posted by participants. Viewed as a group and comparatively, you will see that some are quite masterful (not mine, lol) in the effective use of negative space. The best add a strong element to the composition, just as any other well used compositional element. Thanks for checking in!

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Jan 1, 2018 10:53:14   #
tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana
 
I think the space that basically overwhelms the fence posts and gives the image a lonesome, distant quality might qualify for this consideration. But then again, I really like this image and maybe it doesn't fit at all! :-)



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Jan 1, 2018 13:08:15   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
I believe it's been a year since there was a discussion topic on this subject

Just as a discussion of bokeh should be about the quality of the out-of-focus background (how it supports the subject), the effective use of negative space is much more than just "empty space."

A few definitions:

- "It's about the the edges of the objects or the light/dark, and the shapes they make."

- "Meaningful negative space adds to the story that the picture is telling, or it adds to the feelings that the picture is trying to evoke."

- "Negative space can be used to denote scale, or even to draw attention into that space.

- "Negative space defines and emphasizes the main subject of a photo, drawing your eye to it."

Please offer your opinions and to help further the discussion, post examples or provide links to photos you feel use negative space in a powerful way, and tell us why you feel that way.

Many thanks.
I believe it's been a year since there was a discu... (show quote)



Check out this link. Great pics. http://pixelcurse.com/photography/35-great-examples-of-using-negative-space-in-photography

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Jan 1, 2018 13:27:06   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
tommystrat wrote:
I think the space that basically overwhelms the fence posts and gives the image a lonesome, distant quality might qualify for this consideration. But then again, I really like this image and maybe it doesn't fit at all! :-)


Love the photo, but what would you think about cropping out the trees and sky? Does that make the composition stronger in terms of the story (and use of negative space)?

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Jan 1, 2018 13:32:52   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
via the lens wrote:
Check out this link. Great pics. http://pixelcurse.com/photography/35-great-examples-of-using-negative-space-in-photography


This is a great article. What is the best thing about it IMO is the wide, wide range of images. There's really one of everything there! Obvious studies of geometry/shapes, a few that many folks wouldn't think of as even having negative space (though we know that anything not positive - the subject - is considered negative space), hugely impactful compositions that make me ask how did this artist ever see this?? and a couple of those head-scratchers that just look contrived for no good reason

I hope everyone takes a look at these thought-provoking photos. Thanks so much.

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