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Thank you, Elena, for this month’s challenge, not only to challenge our in-water practice but also our thinking about composition. Before going and purposefully trying this in water, I did a fair bit of research to get a better understanding. This article Positive Use Of Negative Space, from Luminous Landscapes(an excellent photography site and credible resource), is probably one of the most insightful I came across. I agree with the author about renaming” negative space”. He uses, and I quote -, “I much prefer to use the term “Accentuating Space.” And the reason I prefer the term ‘accentuating space” is that it more accurately reflects its purpose in an image, namely, to accentuate the primary subject.” I have been using the term complimentary space that supports your primary element. I think it frees our mind and opens creative options when we remove the negative connotation of the term “negative space.
I encourage you to have a read, it is very interesting.
https://luminous-landscape.com/positive-use-negative-space/
Enjoy, Ian