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
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Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai |
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
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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
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Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai |
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
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Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai |
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
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Minimalist Photography By © Prakash Ghai |
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.
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