Negative Space

There are many ways to compose a photograph to make it appealing to the viewer.

With my street photography I like to place a single figure close to the edge of the frame. I feel that it adds drama and tension to the scene as a split second later, the figure would be gone and just the background would be left in shot. The image here makes use of negative space. This is the area that surrounds the main subject or focal point (the positive space) that can isolate and emphasise that subject and also give a sense of place. I also happen to like the colour of the background here. That blue sets off the straw hat. There is also something else going on here as regards the design. The majority of the space consists of verticals but this is broken up by the diagonals in the centrally placed service door and four horizontal hinge straps.

Negative space in art and photography is related to minimalist art. It simplifies an image and helps to direct the eye towards the main subject and is often a single colour with little detail but it can also have a design of its own as in my image here.

In this case I found the background doors and waited for a passing figure to complete the image before pressing the shutter button.

Steve Boyle

Find me on: instagram.com/shoreham_steve