On the Blank in Photography

A good-looking photo has many factors, such as light and shadow, tone and composition, which complement each other. In addition to various composition elements such as nine squares, diagonal lines, points, lines and surfaces, composition can also learn from traditional aesthetics techniques such as blank space and surprise. Counting white as black is a traditional aesthetic thought, which has aftertaste and Zhang Chi degree, and can give viewers more imagination.

In photos, white places are mostly in the background, and the role of the background in photography is to set off and highlight the subject, so it is better to be natural and concise. A white place is blank, and the same black place can also be used as a white place. Other monochrome backgrounds are blank, or harmonious and unified similar colors are adjacent. Places that are too natural to blend in can also be used as blank spaces, and any empty place can be used as blank spaces.

Blank, not simply empty, an empty wall, an empty space, there are things in it, which are made up of relatively small things arranged in order. In visual psychology, the orderly and repeated scenes will be regarded as a whole, and the neatly arranged trees and squares on the parade ground will be regarded as a whole. Continuous and orderly repetition will form visual unity and make our vision ignore it. So on the whole, such a wall made of bricks and stones, a beach made of sand, and grass have formed a grassland, which is empty.

If there is a chaotic background, each scene has its own visual direction line, which will naturally guide people's eyes to look around and walk back and forth. You can't miss it, and people can't focus on the subject, which makes people feel at a loss and naturally makes them unhappy. This chaotic background can't be counted as blank space, so you should avoid it when taking pictures.

Fuzzy obscurity can also be regarded as emptiness, which forms a simple background after blurring, so as to better highlight the main characters, which is why people like to blur the background with a large aperture in portrait photography.

Let's talk about blank surprises. Counting white as black will leave a aftertaste, but if it is only a large blank, it will make people's eyes wander, so you need a point to break this blank, such as a white cloud, a rock, a figure, or a casual chapter.

The old man Baishi painted shrimp, and there was a big blank. Three or two shrimps swim in it, and the shrimps move and flow. Because of the vivid existence of shrimp, this blank will let the viewer know that the blank is running water, and the vacuum is wonderful.

As for how many blanks to leave and where to create surprises, everyone has different opinions and can play freely for each different scene.