Spiral Stairs

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai

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Hello All !!

I am back with another Minimalist Photograph. I keep it easy these days and post Photographs only when I have some spare time. 

Back in 2014-15, I used to pressurize myself to do X number of blog posts / photographs a month. But, I realize that I am an artist and I should focus more on the purity of my expression and on the composition of the Photos that I click, rather than on "How to run a Blog". 

Focusing too much on the marketing aspect of the blog had started to affect my Photo Compositions. Therefore, I scaled back,  both on the number of posts and on Social Media marketing. 

PS: I do not publish all my photos here. I post Mobile Minimalism on my Instagram and some Canon DSLR(affiliate link) Photographs on my Facebook.  

A lot happened in the last few days. Donald Trump won the US elections, the Stock markets fell, Gold prices tumbled, there was a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in India etc etc.

Basically, a Minimalist like me ended up watching the Television for hours and got overloaded with News. 

Today,  to take a break from this, I decided to open my Photographs Folder, Edited a photo and started writing this blog post. A nice escape from all the noise.

Prior to writing this post, my Television was on. It is still on but No channel is displayed. I have pressed the TV/Av button to turn the screen Blank, Black and Silent. All that I can hear, is just the noise of the ceiling fan running. It is that peaceful, that calm. I am disconnected with the chaos of the world right now. Even my Mobile phone is a good two feet away from me for the last half an hour.

I am here, with you all and trust me it is blissful. 

"Less is more", "Silence is beautiful". are not just words. When you encounter such a state or feeling, you get immersed into it. You become a part of it.

By now it must be clear to you, that This post is my Escape from the "Noise of the world" today. And that is one of the major reasons I chose this "Spiral Stairs" photograph. It too, offers an escape.

Just look at how the stairs disappear to the top. Inviting you to climb up and Run away from the noise into open blue skies. To a place of "Peace and Calm", to a place of "Stillness".  

OK now, let back to the MINIMALIST Composition

The above photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category of Minimalist Photography.

As you can see above, the Spiral Stairs are positioned Diagonally and at the same time are also in the Center of the Frame. This is a way out from the regular rule of thirds. 

If the Spiral Stairs were not tilted and were vertically placed right in the center of the frame at 90 degrees, the composition would have looked odd. Centered compositions are less appealing to the human brain. 

Therefore, to avoid Center positioning, I tilted my Canon EOS 600D DSLR Camera(affiliate link) in my hand. 

The Tilt, made the top of the staircase bend towards the right, and the bottom of the Stairs fill the space on the left. This, kind of compensated for the rule of thirds and the subject is both, placed in the center and NOT.

Well, I hope some of you would accompany me to the staircase. 

Let's "Escape Together".

The Blue Square

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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A Lookup Minimalist Photograph of a Blue Square within a Yellow Wall.

As you can see above this Minimalist Photo is all about "The Blue Square" aka a Simple Geometric Shape. Squares are my favorite shape when it comes to Minimalism as Simple Geometry. 

Here, you can see a Blue Square. And I hope one day, I collect as many different colored Squares as I can. Ok, lets talk more about the Composition of the Minimalist Photograph.

Shall I? or it is very obvious?

This Photograph was taken right outside the exit gate of Jantar Mantar Jaipur. As you can see, I have used a lot of Negative Space in the photograph. I filled that space with the Blue Sky, and placed my subject at the extreme bottom right. 

This, is a perfect example of both: Minimalism as Less Elements and Minimalism as Simple Geometry Photography. It is a matter of choice as to which head you want to categorize this Minimalist Photograph under. 

This style of looking up in the sky and shooting is called Look-up or Looking-Up Photography. 

By that logic this is a Look-up Minimalist Photograph. Look-up Photography is really very interesting especially when it involves shooting Minimal Art. 

You wont find it out, until you try  Look-up Minimalist Photography yourself. Trust me, the results are going to impress you.  

If you have had clicked any Look-up Photos or Look-up Minimalist Photographs, make sure to leave a link to that Photograph below. It would be nice to have a look at your Creativity.

Don't worry about not having a zoom lens etc. I took this Photograph from a Canon 50mm Prime Lens. You can even try using the wide angle Mobile Phone Camera Lens, to Explore your Creativity.

Happy Clicking !

5 Minimalist Photos that Depict Less is More

A Photo Series of 5 Minimalist Photos that follow and depict the core principle of Minimalism i.e "Less is more" or more being said by the use of less.

Less is more is not a design or aesthetic principle I borrowed from somewhere, rather it is something I understood through the camera slowly, over years of shooting minimalist photos in Jaipur city.

When you strip a frame down to its bare essentials, something interesting happens. You stop scanning and start seeing and noticing things you miss out on and find them to be so much more meaningful.

A shadow on a wall becomes a statement. A brass knob on a blue door tells you everything about the building behind it without showing you the building. That is the power of minimalist photography done right.

The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said it best. He designed some of the most iconic modernist buildings of the 20th century and lived by one rule:

“Less is more.”

These 5 photographs are my attempt at practising exactly that. Each one is built on restraint.

Last Updated: April 2026

1. Walls and shadow at JKK

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai

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This shot was taken in the afternoon at Jawahar Kala Kendra. Jawahar Kala Kendra has this quality where the architecture does half the work for you. This particular part is the corner of two adjoining walls. The top half illuminated by sunlight and the bottom half covered in shadow creative a shadow triangle. This is Minimalist Photography as Simple Geometry.

2. Street lamp and three wires

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai

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This is look-up minimalist photography. I found this shot at Haathi Gaon, Jaipur where they keep Elephants. Location is near Amber Fort.

What I liked here was the clear sky and the electric wires creating three diagonal lines. To contrast and do away the monotony, I included a straight line on the right place according to rule of thirds. 

Also the subject (the lamp) is well isolated and on the left you see negative space. This is a very typical minimalist photograph that hits nearly all the checkboxes of minimalist photography including leading lines.

3. Long shadow of metal gate

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai

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The house gate looked pretty ordinary but what interested me was its shadow. So I placed the bottom end of the gate in the top row and let shadows fall in the bottom 2 rows (I always use the 3x3 grid).

The shadow was forming a pattern by repetition and the diagonal lines were such a treat to the eyes. This also falls in the "parts of the whole" minimalism category under types of minimalism in photography.

4. Geometric lines at building

 

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai

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I pointed the camera straight up at the corner of the building.  I placed the corner on the intersection of the left column and bottom row in the 3x3 grid, applying double rule of thirds and leaving empty space on the right, to redirect eye back to the left.

The intention is clear here I wanted to show architectural lines as simple geometry with a single tone color. A hint of light and shadow for extra pop.

 5. Brass knob on blue door 

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai

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Diggi Palace has these old blue doors that you walk past without thinking. I moved in close until the frame had nothing but the knob and that specific shade of blue.

This is subject isolation at work. The texture of the door becomes the negative space here and the photograph finds itself.​​​​​​​

Closing Note

If these photographs made you pause even for a second, then that pause is the point here. 

Minimalist photography is not about what is in the frame. It is about what you chose to leave out, which in turn gives amplified attention to what's left.

I have been shooting minimalism since 2012 and teaching it since 2015. If you want to understand how to see and shoot this way yourself, have a look at my minimalist photography workshops in Jaipur.

And if one of these photographs belongs on your wall, you can buy fine art prints directly on Fine Art America.

Also check:

• Misread
• The World Doesn’t Need More Photographs. It Needs Better Ones
• 30 Minimalist Photos taken by a Smart Phone

Find out more about Minimalism in Photography:

• What is Minimalism?
• Types of Minimalism

The Pink Curve

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai 
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Curves are beautiful and they are even more attractive when accompanied by the Pink color. 

Pink as a color, is also closely associated with: Freshness, Youth, Love, Beauty, Femininity etc.

Curves on the other hand find extensive use in Modern Design. They play an important role today in Automobile Design, Furniture Design, Glass-wear,  Product Design etc. 

A Combination of the two is way to tempting to ignore. For example the Pink iPhone 6s. That particular color of the iPhone had way too much demand and was quick to go out of stock at India's largest e-Tailer Flipkart

 

Composition of the Photo

The photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements category. There is only one element in the frame i.e The Pink Curve. This a look-up shot taken at a very close range via Canon 50mm F1.4 Lens. The closeness helped me eliminate any distracting elements from the frame and enabled me to achieve extremely narrowed focus on the subject and enhanced visual clarity. 

The One-tone Minimalism is one of the best kinds of Minimalism in Photography. It ends up being fairly soothing and appealing to the eye. Go find a large single colored wall, then look for geometry and shapes on it. Keep your eyes wide open. It is easy to ignore such plain simple walls. 

Even white walls are good and if you do not like the color, you could always convert the photo into black and white and thus add an artistic feel to it.

If you have any similar mono-tone Minimalist Photos with you, please do share a link to them in the comments section below.  Don't forget to subscribe to our blog posts. Enter your e-mail Id in the box on the top right corner.

Thank You ! 

Have a nice day Photographers / Readers.

Other Posts that include curves:

Twins from the Left

Repeating Curves

Reflection Of Street Lamp In A Water Puddle

Minimalism as Less Elements 

 

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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This shot was taken Post-rain, outside "Jal Dhara" recreation park at JLN Marg Jaipur. 

Finding Water Puddles otherwise is very tough, unless of course there is a pipeline leakage or cleaning going on somewhere. Once you spot a water puddle, judge it by the clarity of the reflection and the amount of light it is offering. A water puddle that is both muddy and reflects less light, is of no use. Choose one wisely, before you decide to put in your effort.

Once you've chosen a puddle, go down on your knees and try to find out, what is being reflected in the puddle. If you do not see anything worthwhile, change your position and look again. I would recommend you to do a full 360 degree review. That increases the chances of finding a good subject drastically. Once you spot something worthwhile, I suggest shooting RAW or using Exposure Bracketing on your camera. 

Getting the exposure right in such shots it a little tough. Post-processing definitely offers helps here. I am also sharing the EXIF Data of the photo below. Hope that helps too.

EXIF Data

• Camera Maker: Canon
• Camera Model: Canon 600D
• Lens: Canon 50mm f 1.4
• Camera Mode: Manual
• ISO speed: ISO-100
• F-stop: f/4
• Exposure time: 1/160 sec
• Exposure bias: 0 step

A word on the Composition:

This photo is Minimalism as Less Elements, where the only element in the frame is the Reflection of Street Lamp in the water puddle. The Subject is placed on top right, leaving negative space on the left. The footpath has been used in a way so as to form a diagonal line on the left. The line adds to the overall composition and balances the frame.

Let me also caution you a little. Shooting water puddles on streets with traffic is risky. One tends to get lost in the shot and forgets completely about the vehicles around. I would advise, not to take any undue risks. If it is risky to take a shot, then simple find another shot or subject. Subjects for Minimalist Photos are everywhere, observe closely and you will find many.

Remember: Safety first, photos later.

The positives of negative space

Minimalism as Less Elements

Photo By © Prakash Ghai
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This is a Look-up shot, taken on the streets from a side angle. The cut in the wall got highlighted in bold due to its shadow during the afternoon, thanks to the bright hot Sun. I zoomed right in from about a distance of 50 feet odd and placed to cut on the extreme left, leaving negative space on the right. Negative space Minimalism with singular subjects is the best example of Minimalism as Less Elements. Tough to edit but I think I managed it pretty well. The wall was yellow to begin with but when I tried it in monochrome, it looked much better.

The image here is used to convey an important message, and the is message is "Less clutter = Less Stress" and thus a more peaceful and calm state of mind. I have titled it "The positives of Negative Space" where negative space is the space created by doing away with the unused, unwanted or the unnecessary and the focus stays therefore, solely on what is important. For example, you have 30 mobile applications on your cellphone but you only use 5 of them actively. The ideal thing to do then is to remove the unwanted 25 apps from your phone or in other words de-clutter. You would hence get less irritated and would use your phone in some limits. This is just one example.

Similarly, you can do away with the unwanted clothes that you have in your wardrobe. You can also remove furniture that is used rarely from your room as well. So that way you can create some negative or empty space visually and get accustomed to it. This could well be a precursor for actual meditation of the mind. Some people are just not used to "No Thoughts". They think a lot and therefore they are never able to meditate. Once they get used to some open empty space in real life they would feel a bit more comfortable with lesser thoughts in their minds to begin with and eventually None. Meditation has huge benefits and they are very well known to everyone.

Middle Class

Minimalism as Less Elements

Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai
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He was the only earning member of the family and sadly he could not make it through to the big league. "Fortune favors the dishonest and not the hardworking" was the summary of his life experiences. He was born in Middle Class and he stayed that way for the rest of his life. The clothesline here narrates the story of thousands of middle class households, whose misfortunes are probably a result of rampant corruption.

The Composition

The Photo falls under the Minimalism as Less Elements Category. I treated all shadows combined as a single element. The photo therefore a a bit maximally minimal in nature as the shadows are spread across the frame. Rule of thirds is not necessarily required here but you can still apply it by leaving some empty space under the subject.

Other Minimalist Photos using Clothesline as a Subject:

 

• Knot in a Relationship

• The Lucky Shirt

• Loose Ends

• Together Yet Apart

Eight Squares

Minimalism as Simple Geometry

Photo by © Prakash Ghai
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A Minimalist Photograph of Eight squares of two windows, complimented by lines and split into two sets of four squares each by the center line.

The best part about Windows is the geometry and design they carry and these Eight Squares were just too good to ignore. I have shot a lot of windows in the past by clipping their corners etc but this time I decided to fill the entire frame with a close-up shot of this window and removing all other distractions, making for a clean Minimalist Frame.

To make the composition interesting, I shot the photograph in such a way that the vertical line formed by the closure of the panels of window, splits these Eight Squares into two sets of four squares each.

Hope you enjoyed the shot. 

In case you want to buy this Minimalist Photograph, click the Buy Now link right under it. If you want to browse the entire collection of Minimalist Wall Art then head over here: Buy Minimalist Photos