what does negative space do?
negative space does some pretty cool stuff for us
negative space gives your eyes a break, or a place to rest
When there is too much going on in a photo, the story is confusing. Negative space helps your eyes (and brain) take a break.
Take a look at these two beach scenes. What do you notice about them?
Is there negative space in these images? Which photo has more negative space?
As you can see, the first picture is very busy, right? There are so many people and so much detail that your eye doesn’t know where to look first. It’s like a Where’s Waldo book! That doesn’t mean it’s a bad photo, that just means that the photographer wanted you to feel how busy the beach was that day.
In the second picture, the photographer used negative space (the water and the empty parts of sand) to draw your eyes directly to those umbrellas and people on the beach. You know instantly where to look! How do you think that helps to tell the story? Is it a busy day at the beach? Does it feel more calm?
negative space adds to the story
Similar to the photos above, here are some more examples of how negative space is used to tell a story. What story do you think is being told in each picture with the use of empty space?
Sometimes, a photographer will use negative space to make the environment seem HUGE or to make the subject seem alone or isolated.
We know that a sailboat and an airplane are really really big, right? But in these photos, they look tiny.
Why do you think that is?
Yes!! Because of NEGATIVE SPACE.
How does this add to the story in the picture?
Negative space helps define the positive
The negative space surrounds the subject creates almost an outline that allows the subject in the picture to be more easily seen.
This makes the subject the FOCAL POINT of the picture. This means your eyes know EXACTLY what to look at first. Just like the second beach scene in number 5.
Take this rubber ducky, for example. When you look at it, you can see that the white soapy water surrounding it creates an outline around the subject (the rubber ducky).
Frame subject and draw your eye to the subject
Think about the main character in the picture above. How do you know the rubber ducky is the main character? Your eyes are drawn to it when you look at the image. Whether it is a person, a dog, or a stack of books, the blank space around it helps guide your eyes to the FOCAL POINT and eliminates distractions in the photo.
so that you know exactly who the main character is!
Look at the beach photos in number 5 again. Can you identify a focal point in each picture? Is it easier to find the focal point in the first picture or the second?
Always remember there can be more than one main character. Think back to the raspberries and the blackberry at the beginning of this lesson. The blackberry was the main character, but the raspberries are also characters in the story of that picture.
