21 Negative Space Photo Ideas for Your Samsung Galaxy

In negative space photography the background should be simple and uncluttered, and the subject should pop from the background.

The 21 negative space photography ideas below are divided by the type of negative space used, and there’s a quick explanation and starting Galaxy camera settings for each one.

All images here are for illustrative purposes only.

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Settings by type of empty space

Find the row that best describes your situation and use the suggested settings as a starting point (you may find it useful to nudge the exposure up or down a notch or two). To change it, tap the display to bring up the slider.

The reason for the wide range of exposures is that plain backgrounds can confuse the meter. The Samsung S26 manual describes matrix metering, which works by analysing brightness across the entire frame, so if most of the picture is bright, the camera will compensate accordingly, potentially rendering a white background as grey. Conversely, a predominantly dark background can result in the image being exposed too brightly. Our negative space guide explains the technique behind each setting.

21 negative space ideas

Sky

• A single bird in flight can look especially striking when set against a cloudless or uniformly grey sky. Try the 5x on Ultra models (3x on other Galaxy S-series handsets), dial in 1/1000s in Pro mode and swipe the shutter button to the edge of the screen to fire off a burst of pictures.
• A hot air balloon in a pale dawn sky will keep its muted hues better if you nudge the exposure down by around a third of a stop. Zooming to 3x will make the balloon appear larger without including any ground in the shot.
• A plane's contrail across blue sky provides a minimalist motif with barely any other elements in the frame. Capture it at 1x and revisit the shot later in Gallery’s editor, dropping the Luminance of the Blue in Color mix to make the sky even bluer.
• A kite or a paraglider can also make a nice subject if shot from underneath so that all you see around it is sky. Get in tight with the 3x and tap to focus on the subject before it wafts out of shot.
• A walker on a ridge can provide a great silhouette against a luminous sky. Again, shoot from underneath with the 3x and drop the exposure to around -0.7 until the walker is completely black.
• A lone tree on a hilltop can also make a good compositional element if there’s a uniformly overcast sky behind it. Try 1x or 3x and position the horizon low so that the sky dominates the shot.

Water

• A lone surfer in a flat sea can occupy a tiny portion of the frame and still hold it. Make sure to zoom in (3x or 5x) from the beach and try to line up the surfer with the lower third line.
• A boat on a misty lake is worth shooting while the mist hides the rest of the scene. Use 1x and increase your exposure slightly (+0.3 to +0.7 EV) to keep the mist bright and white.
• A buoy or a post in calm water makes for a minimal look. After shooting at 3x from the beach, crop to a square (1:1) using Ratio in the rotate and crop tool in Gallery.
• A swimmer seen from above looks great against the plain blue of a swimming pool. If you have access to a balcony or other vantage point above a pool, try shooting swimmers from above using 1x. To freeze splashing water, use 1/500s in Pro mode.
• A gull on a pier post looks best on a day when the water is calm and evenly lit. When composing, place the post in the frame close to one of the lower corners. Use 3x and tap on the bird to make sure it’s in focus.

Snow and fog

• A tree on a snow-covered hill can look striking against the white. Shoot on either the 1x or 3x camera and increase the exposure by +0.7 to +1.0 to stop the snow looking grey.
• A bench in fresh snow suits B&W. Try the Shade filter on the Galaxy S25 to see a preview of the monochrome effect. Our black and white guide covers the other mono options.
• Footprints across untouched snow or sand make an interesting subject. Get low with the 1x and use side lighting to emphasise shadows in the footsteps.
• A figure walking into fog can make an evocative image. Try taking a series of shots as they get further away. Use the 1x camera, position the person using the rule of thirds and increase the exposure by around +0.3 to +0.7.

City walls and streets

• A red door in a white wall needs the edges of the phone kept parallel to the edges of the door. Enable Composition guide > level and take the photo using 1x.
• A yellow umbrella on wet cobbles stands out when seen from a vantage point such as a bridge or window. Capture the photo using 1x. In Gallery, use Spot color to make everything grey except the umbrella.
• One lit window in a dark building makes an interesting photo of a small bright subject in a large dark frame. Use Night with 3x and reduce exposure to keep the building dark.
• A person's shadow on a plain wall can make a striking photo when the sun is low and behind you. Frame with 1x and expose for the wall so that the shadow has a well-defined edge.

Indoors

• A single object on a large table becomes a still life. Clear the table of everything else first, and take a photo looking straight down using the 1x camera.
• A portrait against a plain wall gives the face room. Shoot using Portrait mode so that Samsung’s Backdrop effect will grey out the background. Make sure to leave some empty space in the shot, on the side that your subject is looking towards.

Mistakes that spoil negative space

• Your subject is looking towards the closest edge of the picture rather than leaving space in front of them.
• Your exposure settings have resulted in an overexposed sky (completely white) or underexposed snow (looking grey rather than white).
• There’s a distracting element (for example the end of a branch) sitting in one of the corners of your picture.
• You’ve selected a busy background (for example bricks or patchy clouds) rather than something uncluttered.

Plain backgrounds work particularly well for images with a single subject. They also pair well with silhouettes, and the rule of thirds guide covers where the subject should be placed.