Use Your Space Wisely

This week's blog circle theme is "negative space."  Since I have already covered this subject a few times, I have decided to look at how I use space when trying to make a statement with a photo.

I have admired old world type setter prints for many years, as we do have setters in our dog family.  Here's an example by Percival Leonard Rosseau painted in 1916 (his work can be found up until 1937, when he passed).

This particular painting inspired me to try and do a similar field photograph with our setter Lilah, and to leave quite a bit of space around her.  In the field, there are so many bushes and trees, branches and tall grasses, that you often lose sight of the dog, and I believe Percival's paintings bring your eye right to the dog(s) in the picture.  Below is my work inspired by his work.

Mine is a little more brash, and I've left quite a bit of light on Lilah which originally came from a break in the trees over her right shoulder.  There is a lot of negative space in this photo.  I have once again used the painting filter I talked about in the last blog.

Had Lilah been in the middle of the photo, I don't think it would have had the same impact.  So deciding how to ultimately use the space around your subject is an important decision to make.

Especially when you make your dog Queen for a day.

They don't call them Elizabethan RUFFS for nothing!

Again, a use of space, darkness and light, brings the eye to Billie and her quirkiness as a Queen.  In simple snapshots, if you use your space wisely, you will get a much better photograph.

Happy Friday the 13th! Have a great weekend!

To see more about space in your photos, visit the blog circle, starting with Susannah Maynard of Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide.