20 Examples of Minimalist Photography
Written 12 years ago by Lee
More and more people are looking to minimalism to improve their lives, getting rid of the clutter and stress and only keeping the things that are important. If minimalism can improve the way we live our lives, the way we work and the way we get things done, could it be used to improve our photography?
With so many different possible settings on today’s cameras, it can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for those just starting out in the field and when we are faced with so many options it can be tempting to just give up rather than going through the stress of getting everything wrong. Obviously doing that means we’re never going to learn which setting is the right one, so let’s take that stress away, remove the decision making process and concentrate on the one thing that is most important, taking the photograph.
Choose a Single Subject
It could also be a good idea to take your photography minimalism to another level by concentrating on just one subject. Find something or somewhere with one main focal point, no background clutter, no distractions, just the subject you’re going to photograph. When you’ve found it, shoot the **** out of it!
Concentrating on one main subject will allow you to try new things with the camera without getting overwhelmed. Take as many different photos of the same subject as you can, trying new angles, different camera settings, a range of filters, whatever you want!
The key is to just shoot without thinking so much. You’re not trying to create a masterpiece everytime you press the shutter, just trying to get new ideas and see the subject in ways that you wouldn’t normally see.
Learn New Skills by Slowing Down
When you get the photographs back, look through them all and you may be suprised that your best images aren’t the ones that you expected. If that’s the case, you will have learned something new.
Learning just one new skill doesn’t sound like much, but if you learn one new skill every day, week or month, you’ll be a much better photographer than if you just gave up because it was all too overwhelming.
Don’t try to learn everything at once, slow down and your photography will improve. Next time you get your camera out, think to yourself, what is the one main thing that I’m going to learn today?
Examples of Minimalism in Photography
Lonely Water photographs by German photographer, Bernhard Quade.
Iceburg Series by Canadian photographer, David Burdeny.
Minimal photographs from the world of Flickr.
Last land standing
France minimal
The trail
H13
nolineonthehorizon
The Pool
bandon
where land ends gently
Lough Erne Jetty
Broken Jetty at Lough Neagh
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Comments
Good tips, great photos. Keep up the good work!
Beautiful.
BEAUTIFUL!
Like all great photos, they make me wish I was actually there.
I wish life were that ‘simple.’
I’ll have to try this sometime, very nice!
Great pictures. Congratulations for this great website. Good luck. Thanks :)
Just very well thought of and well taken photos. Amazing.
Amazing! I love this photos :)
New wallpaper on the way :)
Wow, absolutely beautiful, thank you for this
Great Designs. Thank you for sharing. :)
There are indeed some beautiful photos amongst the 20, but “examples of ‘Minimalist’ Photography”? No. No such thing. There are some well framed shots with simple or single subject matter, but minimal. No…
Less is more! Great pictures!
Love the minimal, one of my favourit photografers is http://www.koba.se . A lot of minimal picture there
wow! it’s an amazing collection.
Great images set, always like to watch such kind of photography.
Simply love them! Thanks for this inspiration!
Love the collection!
Number 3 of the first set {Bernhard Quade} is strong but the others in that set are just OK.
I like the ship in the second set {David Burdeny}
And although it’s been done a million times, I like the last shot of the Flickr series – the one of the jetty.
With a cloning brush there is no dust on the internet.
OK – second comment, and I’d like some feedback if possible.
I’m not crazy about the second photo from the bottom.
It’s the one of the stone jetty called ‘Lough Erne Jetty’.
And I think the reason is that the end stone is lying across the frame, so it is like a stop sign that prevents my eye from feeling comfortable moving further into the frame.
Thoughts ? (Apart from ‘you pretentious idiot’)
another photographer that has similar work that you may want to check out is Marc Koegel.
http://www.silverlandscapes.com
he and i are both instructors @
http://www.vancouverphotoworkshops.com
Beautiful dreams come truth pictures, I wish I will be there!!!
A nice selection – I particularly like the Lonely Water series, never come across that guy’s work before. Also ‘The Pool’ (the shot of the jetty/steps rising out of the water) is really atmospheric.
Just recently I posted some minimalist images from Michael Kenna, take a look here:
http://eclectica.co.uk/00058
Great set!
Wow, cool minimalistic photos!
nice tips…may I link your pic to my blog?
thx bro..
Very useful article and beautiful Examples of Minimalism in Photography
Thanks a lot
These are amazing. May I use your prints for a 3 minute presentation on a powerpoint presentation for humanities?
Great pics
Great article! I’ll try this myself tommorow for a minimalism challenge!
awesome pics.
Whoa, man, this stuff, man. There’s like, nothing there, man.Yet, at the same time, it’s like everything is there. This changed the way I looked at photography, man. Power in a lack of numbers, as it were.
I’ve been searching for this kind of photos and glad to found it. It’s wonderful! I will now learn to take this kind of photos. Glad you share it with us.
Loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!
nice photos, thanks for sharing these. i love the first one
Taken up Photography in retirment, looking for positve evalution and insentive, thak you for this site, (top bookmark) – given me the knowledge I need, will recomend to others.
Excellent Photos. Thanks.
also see hiroshi sugimoto. very similar work to “THEATERS” & “SEASCAPES”. GREAT STUFF THANKS!
thanks…simple is beautiful
Excellent Photos. Thanks.
Less truly is more .
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