Negative space

Hi all
On one of my posts GB1 mentioned that he thought it needed more "negative space". I assume that this is area(s) in the image with little in the way of interest. Are there rules or guidelines for this or is it just whatever suits the image?
Pete

Can you post a link to the thread where that comment was made? Seeing it in context might help, but you have the right idea.

Negative space is where your subject is the king of the image. Think of a white wall with a postage stamp frame hanging on it. Where will your eye be drawn?

I remember mentioning this in a critique. Negative space is hard to describe and even harder to calculate. So I checked out what ol' wikipedia says @

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_space

Their article is quite brief, but consider these:

- comfortable vs cramped, meaning some open space between the subject and other stuff. This isn't just art and photography - it is probably also important in music, writing, architecture, and so on.

- good contrast against the background. If there's a clear and consistent neutral color back there, that makes the subject stand out better. Versus a tree or three people walking behind and intersecting the subject's shape (the wiki article mentions this)

Calculating it is hard - it's easier to look at a shot and say it needs more or needs less rather than come up with a rule or an equation. But as J mentioned, there are many examples of it with frames and mats. With a mat, I'd guess that it would need to be ~ 1/5 the average length of the image.

Sounds like more research is in order. I used to go to the library for 2-3 hrs on occasion and pull out a bunch of books on art and design. The authors almost always had 2 or 3 original ideas or insightful observations that helped me with composition and creativity, or technical execution. I need to do that again ..

I saw a trick someplace where you turn the image upside down. This lessens the influence on your thinking of what the image is and gets it closer to just positive and negative space. Helps me a little... - TF