HOW TO GET SPLENDID COMPOSITIONS THANKS TO THE NEGATIVE SPACE

Mario's Note: Today I am especially happy to welcome Alexa, my new blog contributor, who will have a weekly contribution full of photographic tips and tricks in line with what we have been posting on the Blog of Photographer so far, but with a very unique voice and look. (If you like child photography do not forget to follow his blog https://snapanappy.com/). - Welcome Alexa! The concept of negative space has been used for hundreds of years in the world of art composition (painting, architecture, design and sculpture) and of course, in photography.

WHAT EXACTLY IS NEGATIVE SPACE?

The negative space is everything that surrounds our main subject without providing 'relevant' information, that is, it is the area that accompanies, hugs your image, but that is not protagonist in itself because it lacks weight, is flat, or It contains very little information (soft textures, flat colors, white or black background ...)

WHAT DO YOU GET WITH THE NEGATIVE SPACE?

Give prominence to what you really want to highlight, to the main element of your image, because the lack of information from the negative space, makes your eye instinctively direct to that which contains the weight information (what we also call positive space). For our visual system it is very natural, since it needs something to look at; in a totally homogeneous field of vision, he becomes disoriented.

Example of composition based on negative space

In the previous photo you can see this effect clearly. The flower is the main subject; what we have also called 'Positive space' before, while the negative space would be the blue of the surrounding sky. As you can see, blue accompanies the flower, hugs it, enhances it, but does not take away from it. Once the negative space is presented, we will see how we can use it to get fantastic and inspiring compositions with it.

NEGATIVE SPACE AND COMPOSITION:

Negative space for 'minimalist' compositions When you place your main element surrounded by a vast negative space , you get somewhat abstract images, which usually inspire calm, peace or loneliness, always depending on the motive and tone of the negative space. Well used, providing a lot of negative space around the subject, can transmit infinite feelings, makes us look at an image and stand before it, and stop seeing to feel it. Doesn't the following image produce something like that? The fisherman in the middle of the water and the fog, without horizon, without any element that diverts our attention from him. Doesn't it make you want to know what you feel, what happens? (By the way, surely the fog that surrounds the fisherman has also caught your attention, isn't it inspiring? Well, if you're interested, Iaio wrote a magnificent article about fog that you can't miss ... You can read it here .)

A lot of negative space around gives us more minimalist images

Negative space in front of the main subject (or positive space) Placing the negative space in front of the main subject, usually causes the sensation that the action happens in progression to him, that the photograph breathes and projects its message forward. It is perhaps the most natural way for the eye to frame the negative space, because it is the one that best adapts to the succession of gaze-thinking that we exercise when looking at an image.

Negative space in front of the center of interest

Negative space behind the main subject. This way of locating the negative space is more shocking to our perception of what happens in the image, because the image breathes, it has air (from behind), but our protagonist seems to hit the frame of the photograph, which can transmit us true overwhelmed or the feeling of a somewhat dramatic image, since we usually project the look in progression to the center of interest and hope to see space where the action is directed.

The negative space is behind the protagonists

Negative space above the center of interest. If you place the negative space above the protagonist of your photograph, the feeling you get is that the action happens upwards, which we normally associate to the sky, to fly, or to freedom. Negative space below the center of interest If, on the contrary, the negative space is below the image, it may seem that it floats, since below it does not seem to have anything to support it. See what an interesting effect Eduardo Martínez, a participant in the challenge on this topic, applied by applying this negative space technique under the boat. (If you want to see more images about this challenge, you can see them here. )

Eduardo Martínez (no title)

Once you have decided how you want or what you want to inspire with your photography, you should not forget to combine it with the basic composition rules, as Iaio explains in this magnificent article on frames and composition. If the image is well composed, and the negative background complements it, you will surely get spectacular images.

HOW TO GET THE NEGATIVE SPACE ON A TECHNICAL LEVEL?

Now that you are clear about what the negative space is and how you can place it within the frame of your picture, you may wonder how you can 'fill in' that space and if you are doing it correctly. For this there are some more aspects to consider, because it says so much the 'How do I place it?' Like the 'What fill that space?' The colors in the negative space: If you are photographing in color, it is very important to think what color you are going to make complement the protagonist of your image. For example, if you are photographing a flower of a certain shade of yellow and fill the negative space with the same type of yellow, the flower in this case (positive space) will not stand out above the rest of the image, so you will lose the Effect sought with this technique. So before shooting, think about how you are going to make your protagonist stand out. You can do it through complementary colors, or with other very interesting techniques such as high and low key photographs, which are very associated with this negative space technique. You can read about the photographs in high and low key in this fantastic article by Mario here .

Complementary colors

Play with depth of field: If you do not have a fund to fill your negative space that satisfies you, you can do something as simple and effective as playing with depth of field. As you probably know, the greater the aperture of the diaphragm, the less depth of field (more unfocused area in the image). This will get your subject focused, and the rest of the image out of focus. If this is minimally homogeneous and there are no elements that stand out too much, you can get a very interesting negative effect as well. What do you think of this technique? It is very easy and effective, so do not forget to practice it, because when you least realize it you will have it so integrated that you will no longer need to think about it, the photographs will come out alone and surely they will be magnificent. That is the key to photography, it is not studying large monographs or attending expensive courses, or having the best camera on the market. Is to try and try and try again, is to learn to look and think before shooting, is to learn to visualize the photo we want before pressing the button, and based on doing it hundreds of times, you will completely forget about the rules of composition and of all those things that a priori seem so complicated. You will forget everything because it will already be part of you. And you know what? That moment is magnificent but it is only achieved by practicing. So ... What are you waiting for? To practice!And if you liked the article ... Share it with your friends! Thank you!