Lens-Artists Photo Challange 114: Negative Space

This week we will explore negative space in photography.

Negative space is the area around the main subject of your photograph. This space is empty or unoccupied. Spencer Cox at Photography Life explains,”Photos with high amounts of negative space are: empty, subdued, peaceful, calm, and isolated”.

When I take photos, most of the time I tend to fill them with positive space. The first time I learned about negative space in photography was from my blogging friends- thanks to Mary and Raj. I haven’t seen them for a while.

The image below was taken while traveling Ireland and Scotland in 2018. Notice the big negative space in the sky.

“I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.”

– Wayne Miller

This image below was captured with a large aperture setting. Wide aperture can eliminate distractions around the subject and create a nice negative space for the image.

“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” – Katie Thurmes

Also, using Photoshop, you can clean up some of the unwanted features around the subject. For the image below, I simply cropped out the distracting elements on the top and bottom of the image.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

— Dorothea Lange

I had no idea how this image would turn out, until I saw the result on my laptop. The negative space isolated the bird as the subject of the image.

“Photography is a love affair with life.” – Burk Uzzle

I’m looking forward to learning more about negative space from everyone who participates this theme.

Join us and share your fun photography experience and photos of negative space. Please remember to link them to the link here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you.

Special thanks to Rusha for hosting last week’s Labor of Love. Rusha took us to the places she and her husband have traveled, She also introduced stories illustrating how “…people pour themselves into their work — paid or unpaid — with commitment, ingenuity, and a sincere desire to make a difference.“

Have you seen these?

TravTrails: “Sharing from my album snapshots of people who ‘carry on’ irrespective of plaudits….”

One letter UP: Take a look of this beautiful and very special quilt work.

Anne (Slow Shutter Speed) takes us to the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

Siobhan (BEND BRANCHES) gives a special tour of Plateau Indian beaded moccasins.

Be sure to check out Tina’s Travels and Trifles post next week as she hosts Challenge #115.

Tags: LENS-ARTISTS, negative space

• September 12, 2020
• LENS-ARTISTS
• 254 Comments