Negative Space

  (click on photos to enlarge)

There are those who might look at the images above and below and ask why I left so much space around each subject.

I often shoot images where the subject - human, animal, or object - is significantly smaller than the empty space surrounding it. I define “empty space” as either the absence of everything (for example, a completely white area) or a continuation of the subject’s environment. This uninhabited area can greatly affect how the subject is perceived by the viewer.

“Empty space” is not wasted space. However, I’ve heard it suggested that photographers should crop these areas from an image, thereby making the subject more important. For certain pictures, that might work well. But for lots of images, this misses the true intent of empty space. Nothingness can positively affect an image. Empty space can, for example, emphasize the picture’s location, help define the image’s mood, and lead the viewer’s eye directly to the person or object that is the true subject of the photograph. To that last point, empty space lets the viewer know precisely where their eyes should go, thus actually increasing the subject’s importance.

The empty space must be set up with the same care that goes into posing the person or positioning the object. You should do one or more of the following to anything in the empty space that doesn't belong:

• Physically remove it
• Reframe the shot to avoid seeing it
• Remove it later using an editing program

Remember that even the smallest distraction may destroy what the photographer is trying to create.

I’ve seen and made many pictures where the size of the subject, relative to the total area, is very small - the empty space takes up most of the image’s real estate. If done well, having the subject so small in the picture actually delivers a lot more artistic impact. It seems that as the object gets smaller, its importance can grow.

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