Negative space is the background of your photo. It is everything that surrounds the main subject of your photograph.

Review the examples from today’s class topics page to see some of the ways to use negative space.

Find an object to work with.

Working on the tables with seamless background:

  • Shoot 3 close up photos of the object so it fills frame and divides the background into shapes
  • Shoot 5 photos of object so background is a dominant element. Shoot 1 photo with object in center. Shoot remaining 4 placing object in each of the 4 quadrants of the rule of thirds

By moving your subject around in the frame and varying how much or how little background there is, you can change the mood of your photo as well as the composition.

Select your best from each group and post to OpenLab. Include a few thoughts on how negative space works in the two photos. What helped you create a more dynamic composition?

Post to student posts / lab4 Positive / negative

Post all images to flickr Album lab4 figure ground