What is Minimalist Photography?

The Question is, What is Minimalist Photography?

Minimalist Photography is basically Photography done using as few elements as possible within a frame and leaving out clutter or that which is not required. This, in turn gives the subject amplified attention and helps in creating clean, less busy and visually soothing to look at Minimalist Photographs.

Minimalist Photography takes its inspiration directly from Minimalism. 

I am not going to make you deep-dive into the History of Minimalism but here is how it started in-short.

Minimalism that literally means "Minimum" or Reduced to Bare Essentials, started as a Reductive Art Movement in the 1950's in United States lead by Minimalist Painter "Frank Stella", who once famously said about his paintings "What you see is what you see."

We can conclude, Minimalism anchors Simplicity at its core and It is based on the principle: "That which is less complicated is better understood."

In Minimalist Photography, we follow this core Philosophy.

We must Keep in mind, that the resulting Photograph must ensure Tremendous Visual clarity and Enhanced or Amplified attention to the core subject.

We can use a combination of One or More of the following Key Elements of a Minimalist Photograph to achieve our goal.

• Lines
• Shapes
• Patterns
• Symmetry
• Geometry
• Isolated Subjects
• Strong Colors
• Sharp Color Contrasts
• Negative Space
• Repetition

Another way to look at Minimalist Photography could be simply:

Minimalist Photography = Minimalism (as a concept) + Visual Art (the art of making something visually appealing within a particular landscape/frame).

OK, Enough of Theory, Now, lets take an Example of a Minimalist Photograph that I took, with the use of  some basic Minimalist Photography principles and Negative Space.

Minimalist Photography by © Prakash Ghai
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If you see above, the subject Pieces of Broken Glass on a boundary wall is placed in the bottom 1/3rd of the frame, while 2/3rd of the frame (top) is left empty. That empty space is Negative Space and it is used primarily to make the eyes lead to the subject.

Minimalist Photography Camera Gear

A lot of people ask me as to what Camera Gear I use to capture Minimalist Photos and what Camera Gear they should use for it.

To be honest, you do not need a Special Camera Gear, your regular Camera Kit or even your Phone Camera is enough to capture Minimalist Photographs.

Sure, one thing you do need is the Eye to See and see things in a different manner.

Anyways, I currently use a Canon 6D Mark II Full frame Camera and 50 mm prime and 100 mm prime lens to capture most of my Minimalist Photographs.

To view the complete list of all the equipment I use, click here: Camera Gear

- Not all Minimalist Photos use Negative Space as shown above. There are different Types of Minimalism in Minimalist Photography which I shall explain in my coming posts.

-- I also have a Visual Representation of some of my Minimalist Photographs in the form of a Slideshow that I have posted on my YouTube Channel. Click here to view --> Minimalist Video

-- Minimalist Photographs are "Simple" to look at but very difficult to make. You need to change your perspective to compose nice Minimalist Frames. It also requires some change of perspective to see things from the Minimalist Photographer's perspective. To train your eyes and start seeing subjects in term of shapes, please read Train your Eyes for Minimalist Photography article.

-- It is also possible that Minimalist Photography as a genre is not meant for you, as you are currently in a very different phase of life than me or other Minimalist Photographers. Find out which Phase of Life you are currently in, that could also help you find the best suited Photography Genre you.

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Now you can also enroll for Online Classes on Minimalist Photography. Click here: Online Classes

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