What Is Minimalist Photography?
Minimalist photography is characterized by its starkness, and simplicity. It tells a story by intentionally using fewer elements. It may be simple, however it is anything but boring.
There is simple elegance in Minimalist Photography. The photos are bold, beautiful, and intriguing.
Minimalism began as an artistic movement in the late 1960’s. It was known for its extreme simplicity of form. This style emphasizes the use of shape, lines, textures, and color as compositional elements.
We use minimalism the same way in photography. Simplicity is emphasized by using as few elements as possible in our compositions.
In this minimalist photography guide, we will walk you through the elements and techniques that make up an image using minimalism.
Getting started with minimalistic photography
Opportunities for minimalist photographs are all around us. All you have to do is become more observant. Look for clean open spaces and simple backgrounds, lines, patterns, and textures. These all work well in minimalist photography.
Simple images are powerful. The key to minimalist photography is simplicity.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Leonardo da Vinci
Simplicity
Start with a strong focal point for your subject. Think about the elements you want to include in your composition. What do you need to exclude from your frame. Which are distractions that need to be excluded from your frame?
Choosing what elements to keep or eliminate is not always easy. Experiment with different shots to see what works best. Zooming in or moving closer to your subject may help get rid of unneeded elements.
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Choose a Strong Focal Point
The subject you choose is important. A strong focal point will put the entire scene in context, and will draw the viewer’s eye to the main subject in your photo. Your focal point shouldn’t doesn’t dominate the frame. A minimalist image needs to include plenty of negative space.
Some subjects and locations work better than others for minimalist photography. Landscapes tend to work nicely with minimalism. Deserts, mountains, and coastal areas provide a clean sky, clear foregrounds, horizons, and clouds to work with.
Your main subject should be free of distractions. Lone trees, silhouettes of people, buildings, lines and patterns are great subjects to use for minimalist photography.
Isolate Your Subject
Think about how you will isolate your subject to create the most impact. Where will you position the subject in the frame. Which elements distract from the story, and need to be eliminated? Your viewers should be able to connect with the image.
Eliminate Distractions
Removing distractions gives your main subject prominence. Your subject should not be competing for attention with distracting elements. Try to change angles, zoom in, or get up closer to provide the empty space around your main subject.
Create a Strong Composition
Creating a strong composition is something you should be striving for in any genre of photography, however it is essential for creating powerful minimalist images. You are using very few elements in your images, so choose them wisely.
Multiple styles of composition can be used in minimalist photography, but the rules of thirds works particularly well when you are trying to figure out where to place your main subject.
Negative Space
Negative space creates the breathing space in a minimalist image. It’s the empty space around the main subject. Properly used, this space draws attention to what is most important in the photo. It emphasizes and defines your main subject.
The sky, the ground, simple backgrounds, and walls all create negative space in your images.
Symmetry
Symmetrical images are visually pleasing to the eye. They are equally balanced on both sides. If you were to split the image down the center, each side would appear to be a mirror image of each other.
Symmetry creates order in compositions. Use it to bring simplicity, harmony, proportion and balance to your images.
Lines
Lines are a compositional technique in minimalist photography. Use them to draw the viewer’s eye to your focal point and give your image structure.
You can use lines in a number of ways. Lines can convey distance, separation, connection, and depth. Vertical or horizontal lines are used to direct the viewer’s attention.
Contrast
Incorporating contrast into your photos is an effective way to evoke emotional responses from your viewers. Strong contrasts between your main subject and the negative space create images with a much greater impact.
Whether your minimalist image is color or black and white, contrast provides definition and helps emphasize your focal point. Use contrasting lines, patterns, textures, and colors to capture the viewer’s attention.
Textures and Patterns
Texture and Patterns are elements you can use in minimalist photography. Repeating patterns are frequently used in minimalist photography. You can feature texture or color as the key components in your compositions.
You can find interesting geometric patterns and textures in nature, and in architecture. Sand, staircases, bridges, and brick walls are a few examples of where you can find these elements.
Color
Bright colors are eye catching and add a strong impact to your image. Try using contrasting colors between your subject and the rest of your image to make it pop.
Integrating different colors and creating strong contrasts, is a powerful method for creating a stunning minimalist image.
Black and White
Black and white is a favored genre for minimalist photographs. What’s more minimalist than stripping an image of all color distractions. That alone eliminates one unnecessary distraction.
Without color as a distraction, the viewers focus is on the differences in contrasts and tone of the image.
Silhouettes
Silhouettes add a sense of mystery, drama, mood, and emotion into your images, and work well with minimalist photography. They generally are featureless, and leave a lot to the imagination of the viewer.
To create a silhouette, choose a subject that has a well defined and recognizable shape, frame your image, and make sure you have a strong light source behind it. Shooting against a bright sky is one way to capture a beautiful silhouette.
Long Exposures and Minimalism
Long exposure photography uses slower shutters speeds to blur movement against stationary subjects.
Using it with minimalist photography will give your images a haunting, dreamy, and surreal look.
Experiment with slow shutter speeds to remove unwanted distractions. A slow shutter speed gives clouds, water, and fog a silky smooth, blurry, dreamy appearance.
A sturdy tripod
Tell a story
Minimalist photography works well with storytelling, because it isn’t filled with distractions.
A minimalist image gives your audience the space to imagine what is happening. It enables them to create a story than resonates with their own experiences.
Your job as a minimalist photographer is to create an image powerful enough to connect to their emotions by including only the most important elements in your frame.
Depth of Field
By shooting with a wide aperture you create a shallow depth of field which blurs out distracting elements. This technique separates your subject from the background and helps it to stand out.
Best Lens to Use
There is no perfect lens to use for minimalist photography. Each type will have strengths, weaknesses and limitations. You just need one that can capture and isolate your subject.
Wide Angle Lens
Wide angle lenses
Telephoto Lens
Telephoto lenses
Conclusion
Have you tried minimalist photography? If not, start looking for opportunities to incorporate minimalism into your photos. Challenge yourself to learn this photography style, and start creating some powerful images.
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