Photography Tips | The Importance Of Negative Space in Composition

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Daily Life at Bario | Sarawak

Robert Capa once said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” It is about getting closer to the subject, get intimate with them, fills the frame , but then, every situation is difference. Sometimes you need to to get a little bit far away from your subject to tell the story better. Sometimes a distance subject, a smaller subject in the frame can makes a powerful looking photograph. Some people who saw this photograph might said that, why don’t I get closer to the man and the dog and just focus on him and the reflections on the water only. Well, that’s the beauty of a photograph, it depends on the story that you wanted to tell, here, I like to gives more room for a negative space. 

Now I’m going to write about negative space in photography . Negative space, by definition, is the empty space around the subject or focus of the photograph. it’s possible that just about every photo, even macro’s and tight portrait shots can have negative space. Negative space can be use to  draw your viewer’s attention to a subject, as well as invoke varying emotions. A small subject, like a lone fishing boat  in a vast ocean can easily be spot with the help of a negatives space, since there is nothing around but the boat.

 For the photograph above, my main focal point is the man with his dog there, the trees and the small hut there, help to put some content to the photograph above and the negative space there is actually a thick early morning mist. The mist is not my main subject but it is among the most important element here, in any photograph, we should have a focal point, a place, an object, or subject where viewers should focus after they wandering around within the frame.

So guys, next time, whenever you going out shooting, just keep in mind about allocating some space in your photograph, take tight shot, some loose shot and take a negative space also, the key point here in photography is try out different kind of composition, but before that, you also needs to know why you are doing that and you also need to know whether your composition will make your subject stand out better or you visual story stronger.

Bario Sarawak is known as a cool climate destination with an average of  20°C, it is situated at an altitude of about 1,100m above sea level  in the Kelabit Highlands and the early morning   thick mist is among Bario’s signature. 

If someone ask me, what’s Bario looks like in the morning, well, now you have the picture.