Composition: effective use of negative space: I believe it's been a year since there was a discussion topic on this subject :sm02: Just as a discussion of bokeh should be about the...

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

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.

Joe Blow

What was once a massive plant stamping panels for General Motors less than 10 years ago, has been largely torn down. This is all that remains.

The emptiness was once filled with buildings, machines, cranes, coils of steel, and people and the amenities they use. Weeds push up in the parking lots and signs are slowly rusting away. Puddles slowly evaporate.

CO

I photographed this young lady in front of a black backdrop. It might meet the criteria of the first and fourth definitions you listed.

(Download)

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Respectfully borrowed one of your quotes for a collection of wisdom I keep on my iPad.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Joe Blow wrote:

What was once a massive plant stamping panels for General Motors less than 10 years ago, has been largely torn down. This is all that remains.

The emptiness was once filled with buildings, machines, cranes, coils of steel, and people and the amenities they use. Weeds push up in the parking lots and signs are slowly rusting away. Puddles slowly evaporate.

If we go solely by the image, and not your accompanying narrative, could this be mistaken for new construction? Thereby conveying an entirely different message? What do you define as the negative space of the image and how does it help tell the story?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

CO wrote:

I photographed this young lady in front of a black backdrop. It might meet the criteria of the first and fourth definitions you listed.

This is an interesting one to ponder, because on the one hand, we expect a studio portrait to not have much or anything going on around the subject, but in yours we also have kind of free-floating feet, both the model's and her stool

Definitely emphasises the shapes!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

rjaywallace wrote:

Respectfully borrowed one of your quotes for a collection of wisdom I keep on my iPad.

Cool. If you do a UHH search for "negative space," you'll find several older topics, some in challenges, a couple in critique forum or For Your Consideration, a couple in main forum. But the more you view, the less likely it is you'll get a good sense of the idea because people's pov's vary widely

And of course there are a gazillion articles online elsewhere. In this article, to me the first looks contrived, the second is a winner for effective use IMO, the fourth I never would have labeled as negative space, but how cool it is!
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/understanding-and-using-negative-space-in-photography

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Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Can areas with "stuff" be considered negative space? If yes, is this an effective use?

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Linda From Maine wrote:

Can areas with "stuff" be considered negative space? If yes, is this an effective use?

To me, this is the best example of negative space so far, that has been posted

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Linda From Maine wrote:

Cool. If you do a UHH search for "negative sp... (show quote)

Thank you, Linda. It is a worthy topic to keep in mind whenever we press that button. I need to train myself to stop and think before I capture an image.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

See if this snap qualifies.

(Download)

CO

Linda From Maine wrote:

Can areas with "stuff" be considered negative space? If yes, is this an effective use?

I think the field can be considered negative space because there are no features that could hold the viewer's interest.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Or this

PS: this is just a screen shot of my iPad

(Download)

CO

tdekany wrote:

See if this snap qualifies.

To me there's too much going on with the water to be considered negative space. The ripples in the water could hold the viewer's interest. Another might want to figure out what is floating in the water. I could be wrong. I'd like to hear what other people think.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

CO wrote:

To me there's too much going on with the water to be considered negative space. The ripples in the water could hold the viewer's interest. Another might want to figure out what is floating in the water. I could be wrong. I'd like to hear what other people think.

Appreciate the reply.