Elements of Composition: Negative Space

Greetings and welcome to Hohenfels Volks, THE place for our place. As we begin another workweek here in Hohenfels, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’re working for. I extended the deadline for submitting to last week’s theme due to the holiday. I hope everyone gets submitting.

Today we’re going to talk about NEGATIVE SPACE. There’s a lot of ground to cover, it’s a wide topic, and there are a variety of views on the subject. We’re just going to touch on some of it today, with more about it another time. Of course, if you really want to, you can Google it for loads of information.

NEGATIVE SPACE is basically the area around the subject of your photo. NEGATIVE SPACE is used in all forms of art, from photography and painting to music and gardening. They even use it when designing logos and trademarks.

When we make photos we place our subject, generally following guidelines, where we feel it will create visual appeal. This subject becomes our positive space, for want of a better descriptor in today’s context. The remaining areas are your NEGATIVE SPACE used to balance the positive space, or to add context to an image. It's generally used in conjunction with other "rules" of composition, like the rule of thirds.

In the minimalist approach, NEGATIVE SPACE often refers to space that carries minimal detail, yet allows the image to work. Much like the photo below. Notice how the background is blown almost totally white or light shades of gray. Another side of this approach is not just monotone, but lacking detail. When most folks see NEGATIVE SPACE, they tend to think that any detail detracts, so like to blur it out. Bokeh comes from this, and makes for great images. You can use blur for effects, for subjects in and of itself, or to add context.


ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/60, 85mm
Notice the white NEGATIVE SPACE around the princess.

Another great use of NEGATIVE SPACE is to carry minor detail and add to the context of the image. In my Christmas shot, you can see the NEGATIVE SPACE is the background. It’s just a Christmas tree, but too little information creates a blurry mess, and too much creates a distraction. By selecting my f/stop and focus to allow enough detail to show up, it shows a time, Christmas, and creates a sense of being at home. Due to decorations on the tree, and their size, blurring beyond this becomes a distraction, as does greater DOF. You see now how NEGATIVE SPACE can convey time, place, and themes. Using snow-capped mountains would have felt like a ski lodge, a Christmas market would have left one with the feeling on being Nurnberg.


ISO 100, f/5.6, 2 seconds, 55mm
Merry Christmas, Hohenfels!

In both the images above, NEGATIVE SPACE has been used to create a composition that makes the image work. Don’t overlook the importance of your NEGATIVE SPACE when visualizing and composing your shots. Think about your intent and how to use NEGATIVE SPACE to aid your subject in fulfilling your intent. By knowing how to use NEGATIVE SPACE and how it affects your image, you can use it to carry some information or use it outline your subject creating an interesting image. If you use it to create a silhouette, remember the silhouette is generally your subject, not NEGATIVE SPACE.

Enjoy the rest of your evening, and remember to cast your vote for next week’s theme. Don’t forget to get your pics posted at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page. Of course, commenting on both Facebook and here is always appreciated, too!

Ride Along Shot

Welcome to Hohenfels Volks. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. The day is chilly, but the sky is blue, and the light is there. Today we’re going to try something new based on a suggestion by my friend Darris. We’re going to look at a photo and go over how and why it was made, and what kind of thoughts went into it.

I’m going to use a photo taken in Bamberg at the Residenz.

Here’s the image and the settings


ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60. Canon EF 28-135mm IS

The imperial hall is a magnificent room, from which you start your tour. It’s also the only room where flash photography is allowed. I wanted to capture something of that grandeur without taking it to the point where there is too much of the room,

Choosing something that would be pleasing and have a point led to this image. Visualizing something with the windows leading to the door gave several possibilities. I liked having something lead to an interesting and mysterious item or subject. The door was the way to go, as it increased interest and curiosity.

By moving around the room, and visualizing several ways of getting the picture I thought placing the door at one of the thirds, and leading in with the chairs would be a great way to draw the viewer in. I set my flash to cast a small amount of light to toward the entry into the main part of the palace. I thought that including some of the windows would be a nice touch, but realized that closing in the window frames toward each other added another way of leading the eyes into the door.The contrast between window light and the dark chairs creates more interest in where they lead.

Creating diagonals with the chairs, I’ve created one set of leading lines. By closing the windows together, the converging parallels created another set of diagonals. All the diagonals converge at the door, leading one into the apartments. What’s in there, what is the light, and where does the door lead? These questions can be created with placement of the subject and leading lines. Keeping it in glorious color helped show the glory and majesty of the hall and increase some curiosity and tension.

The short focal length allowed me to shoot at f/5.6 and keep the DOF needed to bag the shot I visualized and keep the shutter speed high enough to handhold the camera. I knew that a large aperture would be need to get the light from the flash to record properly, and somewhat slower shutter speed to get the ambient light. 1/60 allowed the ambient to record at the desired level, while f/5.6 allowed the flash exposed areas to match the ambient levels.

When shooting manual with a flash, your shutter speed controls the ambient exposure and the aperture controls your flash exposure. This will allow you to adjust either part, as ambient lighting often cannot be changed, and running between your flash and camera can make things tricky.

Remember, with shots like this, you have to include the negative lighting and added lighting in visualization. Include the impact of your counters to the poor lighting, and see the end result. If you know your camera and your exposures, you'll get the shot you want.

Painted beautifully with wonderful scenes and colors, I’ve included a pic of the ceiling.


ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60

I love the color, detail, and majesty of this painting.

I hope this post can be of some help. Enjoy your weekend. Today’s golden hour begins at 4 pm, so get out and get shooting! That golden light will make your shots, and you surely can find any number of subjects to photograph in it! Remember to share your pics and post your questions at the Hohenfels Volks Facebook page, and or by commenting here!

Intro to Composition

Today we’re going to talk about COMPOSITION.

Simply put, COMPOSITION is bringing the image you’ve just visualized to life in a pleasing and attractive fashion. Pretty straight forward, isn’t it? Like many things related to photography, it goes deeper than that, simple- yes, easy - no.

Diving into the subject on a basic level, we’re going to cover some basics today.

First, there is subject and object placement to consider. Then there are color, exposure, DOF, weight, balance, and various other considerations.

The tips I’m outlining are not hard and fast rules! While often called rules, you can break them anytime. The trick is to know when and why to break them. That takes some time and practice.

The most commonly discussed is the “rule of thirds.” This rule states that your subject, or subjects, should be placed along an imaginary line dividing the image into thirds. For a more powerful composition, intersections of horizontal and vertical thirds are used. I’ve included a chart showing this and a sample using it below.


This is just a basic chart to show where things line up.


This is an example using a photo I recently took. Notice how the right line runs through the middle of her eye and the bottom right intersection is right about on the corner of her smile. Also, notice the diagonal lines formed by her eyes, smile, and head.

Another rule is the “Golden Spiral.” This one seems to have several names. This is placing your subject near one of the points of intersection in the thirds, and using a nautilus type spiral to lead the eye through the image to the subject. There is some mathematics behind this using the Fibonacci sequence and the “Golden Ratio” of 1.618 to 1. This can be more appealing than a simple rule of thirds, as this more natural. It just takes some practice and patience. I’ve included a link to a site that shows an applet demonstrating this and several others.

Java Adjuster A cool applet that shows the effects and use of the rules regarding composition.
Golden Section and the Rule of Thirds An informative sight covering more about using these rules.

Place your subjects and objects according to how you visualized their importance to the scene. A subject that is important to the overall composition can be placed on one the intersections, or in the center of your “Golden Spiral,” while objects of lower importance can be placed along either a vertical or horizontal third only. Giving each object or subject a weight or ranking based on how you visualize the scene can help in using, and breaking, the rules.

Another important element in COMPOSITION is lines. By having lines in your image, you can lead your viewer through your vision and tell a story in your work.

Diagonal lines add a dynamic and powerful element to an image. C and S shaped lines create a sense of grace and harmony. Vertical and horizontal lines are static. Including a graceful element, like a river, and ensuring that is either C or S shaped, gives the viewer a sense of calm and grace. Use your leading lines, and you will see a change in how you look at a scene and how you start to visualize your images.

Here's a link to a nice little page about COMPOSITION. It's short, simple, and very helpful! 10 Top Photography Composition Rules

Well enough for today. We’ll dive more into COMPOSITION in another post.

Try this out and let me know how it works for you! There are a large number of places that will help you feel more at ease with your COMPOSITIONS around Hohenfels! I’d love to know if it helps! If you have a question, post it to our Facebook account. Also post it here as a comment on the related post, I’ll review it and get back to you! If you have a photo you’d like to share, add it to our wall on Facebook, and I’ll get it posted here.