I assume anyone who is into photography is aware of the negative space – having a vast empty expanse near or around the subject. Now we go to the opposite extreme – filling the entire frame with the subject. That’s easy, you just zoom in on the subject or crop the image in post-processing. No sweat. But there’s a decision factor involved. Not all photographic situations and subjects call for a “fill-the-frame” shot. Some subjects are better presented in relation to other elements, while others are effectively emphasized with close-in shots. Photography instructor Lucas Martling explains the technique in his article Fill the Frame in Photography. Though this technique can be applied in all genres of photography, knowing when and how to use it will guide us over matters of composition. In the left photo, a tiny leaf landed near the center of the flower, and my decision was an easy one: go macro and fill the frame.
Filling
the frame