Negative space in pet photography
/Let’s talk about a technique which you can use to improve and add interest to your dog photography - Negative Space.
This is one of my favourite compositional techniques I use as a professional dog photographer based in Toronto and also one of my favourite suggestions to help improve your dog photography.
Negative space refers to the open space around the subject. It is commonly used in design, art and architecture as well as in photography. It is the breathing room that gives your eyes somewhere to rest and prevent your image from appearing cluttered.
Negative space allows your subject to be well defined while keeping the image simple. It is a way to emphasize and anchor your subject.
Negative space can be used to create a sense of mystery in a photo. It generally takes up more of the image than the positive space and this difference in size makes the viewer more curious about the main subject and as a result, will take more time to look at it. In a way, the smaller the subject is in relation to the negative space, the more noticeable it will become.
Negative space, also referred to as white space, does not necessarily have to be filled with white or any other colour. It can be filled with parts of an image but those parts are simple, or blurred, and do not incorporate any outstanding things that may be defined as the subjects. Some examples may be grass, sky, a field of flowers.
As pet photographers we often try to “fill the frame”, but a generous amount of space can make the subject stand out. It is a choice that a photographer will make when deciding on composition.
Here are some photos of rescue cats that I took at the Etobicoke Humane Society in Toronto. It is clear that the negative space is blank - there is no information there at all. However, as a viewer one can easily imagine that a wall would be in that space.
In this photo of Petra, everything other than the dog is blurred and that is the negative space bringing our full attention to the dog.
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Here is another photo from the Etobicoke Humane Society. I have placed the dog in the bottom corner allowing the background of a snowy day to become the negative space. Clearly the dog is the subject and is emphasized by the surrounding negative space.
Hopefully last week was the last of our snowy days in Toronto until next winter!!
In this photo of Brittany below, the green field in the background provides simplicity in the negative space,
Looking for more tips and ideas to improve your dog photography?
Here’s an article on the use of leading lines in dog photography, another one of my favourite pet photography tips..
And this tip on keeping it simple in pet photography may also be of interest.
