Explore Negative Space

James Paterson explains how to think positively about the empty areas of your photographs, and so make your compositions more interesting.

- James Paterson

Your Nikon’s sensor is a blank canvas onto which you can position your subject wherever you like. The typical approach is to fill the frame, but sometimes it might be more effective to leave certain areas empty.

We call the empty parts of a frame ‘negative space’. This is typically anywhere that is either lacking in detail, blurred or otherwise plain and unformed. By contrast, the ‘positive space’ in an image will be areas of interest, such as your subject or other notable details in the frame. Just because the rest is ‘negative’, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.