{"id":40087,"date":"2017-02-21T21:55:02","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T05:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?page_id=40087"},"modified":"2017-02-21T22:30:32","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T06:30:32","slug":"spacing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/spacing\/","title":{"rendered":"Spacing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Silhouette of the subject and top of the frame outlined in red. Blue shows spacing between subject’s head and the top of the frame.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good spacing: another important part of good composition.<\/p>\n

1. Let your subjects breathe<\/h2>\n

You can see how important having ‘good spacing’ is — which allows the subject in your frame to have some ‘breathing room’.<\/p>\n

For example, in this photo, I have some spacing between the man’s head and the top of the frame. Not too much, not too little:<\/p>\n

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Obviously there is no science behind spacing, you just have to follow your gut.<\/p>\n

2. White space around the head of your subject<\/h2>\n

Another photo of Cindy, here the spacing is a little tighter, but still enough to give her head some ‘white space’ around the frame:<\/p>\n

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Spacing in a photo I shot of Cindy, next to a windmill. Note the spacing in-between her body, and the legs of the windmill:<\/p>\n

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3. Spacing between multiple-subjects<\/h2>\n

Here is a frame from the movie ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ — note how all the subjects have good spacing:<\/p>\n

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Kiss Me Deadly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"KissMeDeadly02<\/p>\n

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In the film: “Journey into fear”, I love the scene of the non-overlapping heads of the subjects<\/strong>, as well as the spacing between the heads, and their hands:<\/p>\n

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More good spacing in Citizen Kane:<\/p>\n

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Another scene from Citizen Kane, note how there is depth in the photograph, and distance and spacing between the 3 main elements in the frame:<\/p>\n

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Another scene from Shanghai, with multiple characters– note how their heads have good separation:<\/p>\n

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4. Spacing for depth<\/h2>\n

One of my all-time favorite scenes from Citizen Kane, note the depth in the photograph, as well as the spacing between the characters:<\/p>\n

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5. Spacing with reflections<\/h2>\n

The film noir movie: ‘The lady from shanghai’ also gives us phenomenal examples. The spacing here blows my mind:<\/p>\n

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Conclusion<\/h2>\n

With spacing, you want to let your subjects have breathing room.<\/p>\n

The biggest spacing tip is this: don’t overlap your figures.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your subject is dark, give them white space around their head.<\/p>\n

If your subject is white, give them dark space around their head.<\/p>\n

To better understand spacing, I also recommend looking the photos of Alex Webb<\/a> and Constantine Manos<\/a>, who allow good spacing between their subjects.<\/p>\n

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Composition lessons<\/h2>\n