Great Use of Negative Space in Photography

Negative spaces are areas in the photo that do not have many details. In contrast, space that is the focus of the photo is positive space. While some photographers may see negative space as wasted, this space can enhance the quality of the photo in many ways.

Minimalism works well when an object in the photo is interesting, since other objects in the picture can detract from the interesting object. Photographers may try to place the object of focus in a scene with few other distracting objects. Many objects are not noticeable when surrounded by other details. Placing an object next to a minimalistic background can make it stand out and help the audience focus more on it.

The negative space can make the object look small and give the viewer a sense of perspective. For example, a tree would look much smaller against an enormous sky.

The negative space can give the image a sense of place. Some objects are difficult to identify until the audience sees nearby negative space, which gives the object context. A small boat in a large ocean gives the viewer a better understanding of the openness of the ocean. The large negative space can give a sense that the boat should travel a long distance.

Photographers can increase the negative space in a scene by changing the composition of the photo. The photographer should continue adjusting, until the negative space feels balanced with the positive space. Unfortunately, there is no objective and measurable moment where a shot feels balanced. Therefore, the photographer should follow his intuition.

A busy image can be overwhelming to the eyes when they try to focus on the details. Negative space gives the audience a place to rest their eyes for a moment. It can also serve as a place to put text. When a space has many details, text on the image can be difficult to read, so negative space with one shade will help text in another shade pop out.

When a photo has too many details in the background that detract from the focus, the photographer can blur them. The altered background can provide a contrast to the object, but the colors in the blur can make it still appear as if it is a part of the scene.

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