Positive shapes are the shapes of actual objects. Negative shapes are the areas between these objects. The way positive and negative shapes act together creates the atmosphere of a composition.

The poor guy couldn’t catch a break! Here are some other examples of negative personality traits that can be viewed as positive, if you just look at things from a different angle. Nice can be ...

In Blackbird in Snow, the bird and branches take up positive space in the top half of the frame. The bottom half of the composition is almost entirely negative space. This creates a sense of ...