This month Share Six is focusing on one of my favourite compositional tools, {negative space}.
Negative space in art – photography or indeed any other art form – is often as important as positive space in terms of composition. Creatively, we can find a balance between positive space (the subject) and the negative space (the space surrounding the subject). Too much positive space and the image can feel cluttered, whereas negative space give the viewer space and time for their eyes to breathe. Pushing negative space to an extreme allows us to create a minimalist feel and draw attention to the subject in a more dramatic way.
Feeling reflective, I decided to start by looking back at my archives. Here are just a few of my recent (and not-so-recent) favourites where negative space has made for a more dramatic composition:
This final image was taken just a few days ago. It is half term in England – a week off school during the summer term – and we went camping in South Wales. This trip was booked over 18 months ago for last year but had been postponed due to the pandemic. This is the view of Three Cliffs Bay from our campsite on the Gower Peninsula. It was so worth the wait!
Thanks for joining us again this month. Don’t forget, post your {negative space} images on our Facebook page SHARE SIX or to our Instagram gallery by using #sharesix_negativespace. A new theme will be posted on 6th July.
Up next in our blog circle is my lovely friend and extremely talented photographer, Janet Douglas. Click here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!
Until next time, stay safe,
Ceri xx
Loved them all but last one is breathtaking! Beautiful work!
Thank you, Michèle!
Ceri, these are beautiful. I love how you show negative space so well. I love the vibrancy of the pencil crayons, and the last image on of the cliffs is just stunning. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much, Sharleen
Wow wow wow!! Such an incredible talent you have Ceri to turn the mundane into works of art! Fabulous images!