If you’re a regular follower of my podcast, blogs or Twitter stream you may have surmised that I am a car guy. If I’m not taking photos or running my business I’m probably doing something car-related.
It may come as no surprise to you that I am a huge fan of the British television series Top Gear.
In order to share the point I want to make today, I need you to spend a few minutes watching a very compelling and beautiful video. Jeremy from Top Gear drives a rare Astin Martin Vantage V12.
Now here’s where the lesson is. Note the use of negative space in the video. The director of photography did a magnificent job. There are times when the car fills the screen as you would expect. But many times it doesn’t and there is an amazing amount of negative space.
That could end this lesson and many of you would get it. You’d benefit from it. The point is to use negative space in your photographs. But I want to take it a step further. Notice how the video features little dialog?
The director took the concept of quiet and did something amazing with it. He used it to help tell the story that Jeremy is sharing. The music and the dialog help, but the use of negative space in the visuals AND in the dialog help more.
The thing we can learn from this deeply moving film is simple. Sometimes less really is more. Sometimes you say more by saying nothing. As John Shaw used to say, the difference between a professional and an amateur photographer is that the professional knows what NOT to include in the picture.
Watch the video. Even if you aren’t a car guy (or girl) you will hopefully find it worth your time and just maybe you will be able to use this concept the next time you are designing a photograph.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
