When I am taking a photograph, I am, essentially, composing through the viewfinder what will eventually end up in print. I think about where I want my subject in regard to the overall composition of the photo. One of my favorite things to do when photographing a subject is to play with the space around it. I absolutely love to play with negative spacing (the empty space around shapes and forms). It can create more depth and more emotion in a photo, and it can capture the moment better than centralizing the photo or using positive space.

For this photo challenge I asked Kayla R. to join me in utilizing negative space. I was thrilled when she agreed and I love what she came up with. For her first photograph she utilized negative space by leaving it open to the left of her subject. You can use negative space in many different ways; in this photo Kayla used the negative space to create a sense of wonder and of movement. You literally find your eye moving from the subject to her pointed finger and out into the negative space!

When I opened up Kayla's second photo I was immediately drawn into the couple's emotions, and the sense of love in the photo. Using the negative space around them brings the eye straight to them. I love the stark negative space to their left, as it adds more drama to the photo.

For my first photo I wanted to focus more on the hysterical laughter and girly goofiness of my three subjects. While I wanted to focus on their faces, I also wanted to utilize the negative space around them to give it a fun and funky feel. A slight tilt of the camera and a large negative space above them brings out the playfulness and fun of the moment.

My second photo utilizes negative space as well, but not in such drastic amounts. While I wanted the main focus to be on the beautiful flowers and vibrant yellow color, I also wanted to include the soft white of the other flowers included in the bouquet. Composing my photo with slight negative space to the left of the bouquet accomplished that.

Tips for Utilizing Negative Space:

1. Try setting your aperture as low as you can. 2.0, 1.8 or 1.4 usually work the best for blurring your negative space. Blurring the space will really bring your subject out!
   
2. Try 'tucking' your subject entirely to one side. This works really well when doing portrait-type shots in a landscape format.

Now I challenge you to play with negative space when composing your photos! It can feel a bit strange or "off" at first, but once you start utilizing it more you will find that it gives your subject and your photo a unique and fun twist!