Eden Photographers Club Meeting - Tuesday, September 20th @ 7 pm EDT (Topic: Using negative space to your advantage)

I'll be honest, I'd love to give you an example of a truly great image of mine that uses negative space to tell a beautiful story or capture your minds, but I don't post my absolute best photos on EdenFantasys so I can keep them for the books I'm working on. I'm not saying that to gloat, but rather to point out that many of my best photos are actually my "best photos" because they use negative space so well to capture the situation.

Oftentimes your subject (e.g., a dog, a child, a tree) can make a great image in and of itself, but sometimes you will want to say more about your subject. Sometimes you will want to express an emotion such as loneliness or desperation or put your subject in context (e.g., desolation, enormity, insignificance). Negative space can convey these emotions and contexts. It can make your photo more than merely a capture of the subject of your moment, but also the mood. And when your photo can capture a mood effectively, you are almost assured of capturing the hearts of your viewer.

I know this was a shorter tutorial than usual, but I wanted to make sure we have enough time to critique. That said, if anyone has any questions about negative space, please do not hesitate to ask them now. less

I'll be honest, I'd love to give you an example of a truly great image of mine that uses negative space to tell a beautiful story or capture your minds, but I don't post my absolute best photos on EdenFantasys so I can keep them for the books I'm working on. I'm not saying that to gloat, but rather to point out that many of my best photos are actually my "best photos" because they use negative space so well to capture the situation.

Oftentimes your subject (e.g., a dog, a child, a tree) can make a great image in and of itself, but sometimes you will want to say more about your subject. Sometimes you will want to express an emotion such as loneliness or desperation or put your subject in context (e.g., desolation, enormity, insignificance). Negative space can convey these emotions and contexts. It can make your photo more than merely a capture of the subject of your moment, but also the mood. And when your photo can capture a mood effectively, you are almost assured of capturing the hearts of your viewer.

I know this was a shorter tutorial than usual, but I wanted to make sure we have enough time to critique. That said, if anyone has any questions about negative space, please do not hesitate to ask them now. less

It's subjective, to be sure. It really depends on the photo. I'd say that as long as your subject is recognizable, the amount of negative space doesn't matter that much.....as long as the negative space tells a story about the subject. Too little negative space is good for photos where there is no story to tell, but if you are trying to tell a story, too little won't do it justice. I know that's probably talking around your question, but it is a difficult one to answer. Good question, though. less