Digital Cameras Canon Eos-10d

Photography has many different compositional aspects to it. There's the usual "rule of thirds" guidelines and other guidelines as well. A very useful guideline for taking good pictures is the use of the space in the photograph. Using the space accordingly in a picture can make for much better pictures. Improper use of space can make for amateur looking pictures that are uninteresting and don't catch the eye.

Negative space is in reference to the subject of the image. All images have a particular subject and that subject takes up a certain amount of space. All the other space is negative space. It really isn't necessary to have that space to show the subject but having the space can make for better photos.

The other type of space that is used in photography is positive space. As described earlier, the space that the subject is on is the positive space of the image. It is where you will be having the viewer pay the most attention to.

Although you may not have realized that they had names, if you have taken even simple pictures of your friends during social events you will have utilized negative and positive space. The negative space is the space surrounding them and the positive space is them, usually their face.

Negative space may seem unimportant but it is extremely important. The negative space is what covers and holds the subject of interest. Having too little negative space can make for very "trapped" images where the subject looks confined. Having lots of negative space can make the subject look free or lost.

Finding the right amount of space to use for your subject is something that takes some practice. Not the right balance can make your photo look less than it could if it were balanced.

Just because it's negative space don't simply take a picture of your subject without paying close attention to the background used. The background can have a very large impact. If you have the negative space actually contributing to the subject of interest and providing more detail to the actual meaning of the photograph it can be a much better photo.

Negative space is like all other compositional techniques in photography. It's something that makes a photo work and without the proper use of it your pictures can seem wrong and good but not great. Even slight changes in compositional form, whether negative space or some other compositional technique, can make a photo change.

Al Sanez has a great program that teaches you how to take better photos. He also teaches people how to sell photos online.