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Wk 4 - Positive and Negative Space

Positive and Negative Space

What is positive space?
It is the part of your photo which is the central focus, it is your subject.
What is negative space?
This is the space which surrounds your subject.  The purpose of negative space is to direct your eye/attention to the subject.


f/29, 1/160, ISO 1600
Negative space can be anything such as a surface, patterns, faces, clothing etc...  Above and below are my examples of positive and negative space.  The negative space is the wood chips, i position my subject (the mushrooms) on an intersecting line to reinforce its focus.  I like the contrast in shapes and forms the wood chips being linear while the mushrooms are circular.

f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 200
My subject is the two little green plant matter.  The use of leading lines and the solid red directs right to the little plants.  This is a photo of the rear lights of my car.

Self directed:

Here are some shots i took using positive and negative space -
f/36, 1/250, ISO 400
 This is a shot of mt Wellington.  I framed the branches around the mount, i focused on the midground to give the photo some texture.  There is few textural elements in the photo, the different shapes of the leaves some are straight edged where on others their is more furry looking leaves.  The sand is has some flat areas and wavy parts which lead your eye to the ripples in the water. 
f/36, 1/320, ISO 400
This is another shot, i moved over positioning mt Wellington on an intersecting line.  These shots look as though they were shot in black and white, i deliberately didn't adjust my settings to bring in more light to highlight how negative space can be used to reinforce the subject.

f/20, 1/250, ISO 400
This was taken at the MIT Game of the Week rugby game.  The sign is the main subject, it dominates the photo by its size and because it is in the foreground.  By including the grass and roof top in the background i reinforced the colours of the sign.  The colour of the sky and clouds also add a boost of colour to complement the sign

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