SET SUBJECT TIPS: NEGATIVE SPACE

Negative space photography is related to minimalist photography (February's Set Subject!). It emphasises not just the subject but also the empty space around the subject. So, although the viewer’s eyes may focus on a central figure, they can’t help but notice the large section of emptiness that surrounds and defines that figure. Essentially, that emptiness (in whatever form it takes) gives definition and emphasis to the subject.

“It’s minimalism in photographic form,” says photographer Will Milne. “You have your focal point and very few other elements on the page.” That focal point or main subject is the “positive space,” and the rest of the frame, be it a blank sky or the studio's white space, is the negative space.

“You can use light and shadow to create negative space,” says photographer Jimmy Marble. Lighting can emphasise a subject in a stark and dramatic way, and shadows that extend into the background can further emphasise the subject’s relationship to the space. That works best with bright, direct light.

Negative spaces are often, but not always, solid backgrounds. They can be concrete walls, rolls of brightly coloured paper, or black studio backgrounds. But that’s only the beginning. Emptiness takes many forms.

Negative spaces don’t have to be uniform. Grass can be a negative space, even though it has quite a bit of texture to it. Likewise, desert sands with a noticeable variation or a cloudy sky can also serve as dramatic, empty spaces, even though they are not one uniform colour. Negative space photography is about relationships and how the subject relates to expansive spaces, whether it’s a wide field of grass, a vast desert, or an open sky.

Source: Adobe.com