Hi, there it has sure been a while, and April has just flown by!!! With all the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, we have all had to take on roles that we usually don’t need to do. In my case, as well as many of you, the children’s educator role has been the one that has been the hardest and most time-consuming. It has made me have to take a step back from teaching photography for a bit.
Since we skipped most of April I thought that I would combine the April and May challenge to cover both topics, negative space, and catchlights. The challenge is to try and capture images of negative space and/or images with catchlights. Let’s talk about both techniques and give you some examples.
Negative Space
Negative space photography is often called minimalist photography. It is when you intentionally leave lots of space in your photograph that is the same or similar to draw the eye to one object. The natural tendency in photography is to fill our frames with lots of objects and colors but when we step back and purposefully decide to focus on one object and leave the rest of the frame either void or monochromatic there can be a dramatic impact. This has to be done with intent for the proper effect. Here are some examples of negative space photos.
Catchlights
Catchlights are used in portrait photography and can greatly improve your portraits if you make sure you have catchlights in the eyes. Catchlights are the light spots you see in the eyes caused by the reflection of your light source (the sun or other external source). They give dimension and life to your subjects in the photo. Here is an article explaining catchlights, how to capture them, and what to avoid with catchlights.
So there you have it, get out there (with the proper social distancing of course), and get creative with these techniques. Picking up your camera every day is the way to improve your photography and maybe your soul as well. Stay safe out there!
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