If you were the fly on the wall listening to a group of photographers discuss their trade secrets, you might hear someone say that the difference between a snapshot and a photograph is often a result of how the photographer treats the negative space. Upon first consideration the saying might leave you scratching your head while pondering the photographer’s point. But with just a little explanation and evaluation most photographers will quickly see the value of this photographic insight.
Negative space is a term used to describe the part of a photographic frame that is not the subject. In other words, in a photograph of a frogfish, the negative space is everything except the frogfish itself. The negative space might consist of a sponge or coral head where the fish is resting, the water surrounding the frogfish and the resting place, and a silhouetted diver swimming in the distant background if the image is a wide-angle shot.
When used well, negative space will complement, not compete with, your subject. In subtle ways good negative space will enhance the overall frame and not draw attention away from the subject. You should not feel forced to include colorful sponges, corals and the like in your shot. Often saturated blue, or green water, or even the black water from a night dive can be terrific negative space, making your subject stand out in the frame. That said, it is equally true that experienced underwater shooters routinely try to compose their macro shots so that colorful elements in a reef setting are used to create complimentary negative space, but they are careful that the negative space in their images does not overpower or compete with their subjects and draw attention away from their subjects.
When creating wide-angle images, underwater photographers often will position themselves below their subjects so they can shoot at a slight to strong upward angle. An upward orientation will enable you to compose images with subjects such as turtles, dolphins, sea lions, shipwrecks, sharks and manta rays framed against backgrounds of properly exposed blue-to-green ocean water as opposed to framing these subjects against reef or kelp. The point is, despite their size, many larger marine species are amazingly adept at blending into their backgrounds. Composing images of relatively large marine animals so that the animals stand out against an immediately surrounding background of water instead of reef, even when the reef is in the distant background, can make all the difference between just another image and a jaw-dropping photograph.
A challenge of underwater photographers is not only finding great subjects but also composing their shots so that other elements in the frame complement the subject and help transform the frame into a winning photo. Try it, and you’ll find the negative space in your images make a positive impression.
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