What is Negative Space
Photography is a subtractive art. In the face of a scene full of eyes, the more you want to express, the more difficult it is to express. It is a good way to reduce complexity. We can use negative space (blank) techniques to create.
Maybe you are preparing a photography project right now. Working on a photographic project really helps to improve one’s photographic skills. In this article, we will discuss a photographic technique-negative space in composition.
Negative space is a composition technique that can create attractive photos. As long as it is used properly, it can greatly improve the level of photos.
In a photo, there are 3 composition elements:
- Picture frame: Picture frame refers to the outer edge of the picture.
- Positive space: the subject of the photo, which is usually the area where the camera focuses.
- Negative space: the picture space except the subject, located between the positive space and the frame.
When considering composition, many people pay too much attention to the positive space and less consider the problem of negative space. Even if it is considered, it is often only noticed after the shooting. This method can only take second-rate photos. If it can be used reasonably, negative space can perform two very important functions:
- Negative space can help determine positive space;
- Negative space can assist positive space and strengthen the attractiveness of positive space.
Negative space helps determine positive space by arranging other details. For example, a photo may only take a part of a bridge. However, there are other details in the negative space that can be used to determine the specific location of the bridge. Is it in a downtown, a city park, or a forest? These questions cannot be answered in close-up photos. If the photographer still captures some landscapes, it creates a negative space where the positive space can be determined. Therefore, this photo is also better.
Making good use of negative space can enhance the photo, but there is one thing that must be avoided: negative space can never be more eye-catching than positive space, otherwise it will ruin the photo.
Emphasizing positive space is another function of negative space, because negative space can be used to control the audience’s attention. The way to achieve this is to direct the viewer’s gaze to the positive space, such as making the negative space lack details (which may lead to the risk of no details at all).
In short, both positive and negative space should be considered when considering composition. Both are of the same importance and should be treated equally. Doing this will help improve your shooting skills.
Negative space (blank) is not much in the composition of the picture, which does not mean the lack of overall aesthetics. In fact, negative space often adds more imagination and makes your photos more atmospheric.
In photography practice, when we find an interesting subject, we have to use various composition methods to express the prominent subject. Appropriate use of negative space will bring a more artistic effect.
To show characters in a landscape, the more you want, the harder it is to express well.
It is a good way to use the composition technique of “negative space” to “de-complicate and simplify”.
The content of negative space composition is not much, but it does not mean that the overall beauty is lacking, or the amount of information is insufficient. In fact, negative space tends to make the subject more distinct, the picture more artistic, and it can arouse the viewer’s infinite imagination.
Advantages of Negative Space Composition
In the practice of portrait photography, we always want to use a variety of composition techniques to express and contrast the characters. Appropriate use of negative space techniques to create will make the theme more vivid, the characters more prominent, and the picture more artistic, which can effectively evoke the composition. Its structure attracts the audience’s attention and triggers infinite associations.
- In a minimalist environment, highlight the characters and the artistic conception
The most common negative space composition often chooses a single tone and form of background, which can be fog, sky, water, grassland, land or other scenery.
- Clever use of environmental elements, do addition in subtraction
Purposeful selection of the picture, as far as possible to reduce the interference elements in the negative space, to make the negative space more “negative”, this is the main idea in the selection and composition of the scene, but this does not mean abandoning all environmental elements. On the basis of simplicity, selecting one or two representative and styling elements into the picture can better achieve the purpose of emphasizing people in the environment.
- Find the best location in a beautiful scenery
Could it be that negative space can only choose the background of a single element? Of course not, those vast and beautiful scenery are also suitable for negative space.
- Play space fun in negative space
White space is a major feature of negative space composition, but white space does not mean white space, and styling elements are also needed in negative space. In the dark negative space, use light to add elements, create an atmosphere, and create interest.
- Use lines to enhance the depth of negative space
Some people think that although the negative space composition highlights the characters, it reduces the environment to a lack of space. How to break this situation? The answer is-lines.
- Follow the light and use light to transform the negative space
In a dark environment, it is often easier to highlight bright elements. We can let light participate in the composition, use light to grasp the structure and hierarchy of the picture, simplify the complex, strengthen the key points, set off the characters, and express emotions.
Under the action of light, the lines can be highlighted and the structure can be more clear. For an environment that lacks a sense of structure, it can be transformed by the Tyndall effect of light to create a more three-dimensional, agile and dreamy negative space. It should be noted that in order to form a clear beam or line, two conditions must be met. The machine position must be in a backlight or sidelight position, and there must be dust, water droplets, smoke, fog and other particles in the air. Attention should also be paid to comprehensively considering the light receiving conditions of both light and dark, and control the contrast and the range of light exposure to achieve the ideal form of beauty and mysterious atmosphere.