How to: Negative Space - What is it?

The first time I heard the phrase "Negative Space", 30 years ago, was when I was being complimented by an art director on my "...use of negative space." Not knowing what he was saying, and not realizing this was a compliment, I just smiled. After the meeting I asked another photographer what negative space was and he told me that it is, 'the area around the main element(s) in a photo.'? I have been shooting off center for decades and really did not know I was having a lot of Negative Space in my images, I just knew I liked not centering the subject. Every image in this article has "Negative Space", from a fair amount, to a lot. The stagecoach and the 2 cowboys riding in the field at sunset have the most negative space.

Because almost every image will have some level of negative space, having negative space in your photo is not out of the ordinary. The real difference is HOW you treat this negative space, or put another way, where is the main subject located in the image in relationship to the rest of the photo?

As you can see in the examples above, by shifting the main subject to one side or the other, you can use the negative space creatively. Also in the examples you can see how the image changes when you move the primary subject from just off center to well off center, as you can see in the first image at the top of this page. By doing this you can help control what is included as negative space and help control what the viewer is looking at in the photo.

The above photo of a Southwest Airlines 737 is one of the exceptions to my normal way of shooting off center. In this case centering the empennage (the tail) was to me the only way to frame this image. I included it to show that sometimes putting the subject in the middle is a good thing. I'm standing on the roof of the Southwest Airlines Phoenix concourse just before sunrise to get this image. There is a TSA agent about 2 feet away to make sure I do not do something stupid.

How to use Negative Space in your photos

When taking a photo, with a camera or a cell phone, rather than putting the main element in the middle of the frame, if you turn (rotate) the camera/cell phone to the left or right and place the subject off center, you will take better composed images. Don't just turn left or right, but actually look on both sides and determine the best direction and decide how far to the left or to the right you should turn the camera.

NOTE: It will help if you turn your cell phone horizontal, this way you can really get a lot of negative space to work with.

Deciding on what NOT to include in a photo is as important as what to include. Also keep in mind there is no "Wrong" way to frame a photo for your use. There may be better ways, different ways, more polished ways, more interesting ways, cooler ways... but no wrong way. If you like the photo, that's all that matters.?

The ability to frame an image to use negative space correctly will help make a good photo better, or turning the negative space into a positive by adding to the image as a whole.?

If you want to see larger photos, go here to read this article on my website.

Steve Thornton - www.stevethornton.com

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