This week’s theme is negative space. Negative space is essentially space that surrounds the subject of your image and is basically left unoccupied. It may draw your attention when looking at a photo from afar, but when you get close, your eye goes to the subject and the negative space itself isn’t very important. It can be a blank space, filled with a pattern or texture, or just be an out-of-focus scene that doesn’t grab your attention away from the subject.

Here are some tips on using negative space in photography:

  1. If you make the negative space much larger than the subject, like in my middle left image above, it can capture the viewer’s attention even more. That image intentionally breaks the rule of thirds and the lack of balance between background and subjects makes the eye want to linger on the subject.
  2. You can use the sky as a blank background, creating an effect like you’re using a photo studio (see the bottom left image above). Put the sun behind your subjects and expose for the subject. Usually if the sky is bright enough, your background will go white, creating the ultimate negative space.
  3. Putting your subjects into an empty negative space can create a dramatic composition, so pay attention to where you place your subject. Think of symmetry and rule of thirds.
  4. Be careful of random distracting objects in the background as the viewer’s eye will go right to them. You don’t want to draw the eye away from your subject.

If you have any questions, join us in the Facebook group. I’ll be checking in there daily to see your work and help you achieve the best results.

If you’re just finding this now, you can check out the full list and more information on the challenge here. You can follow me on Instagram at @documentyourdaytoday and use the hashtag #dtd52weeks so others doing the challenge can see your work.