

Keep it Simple – A Guide to Minimalist Photography - jonphillips06
http://contrastly.com/minimalist-photography/

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lsdafjklsd
Minimalism != Simple

This is a highly stylistic aesthetic, and the 'technique' seems gimicky. For
better photographs, learn the basics of compositions and how color / size
influence weight in a picture.

Two hours with this book and you will be most of the way there!
[http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-Index-Jim-
Krause/dp/1581...](http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-Index-Jim-
Krause/dp/1581805012/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405027135&sr=1-4&keywords=graphic+design+composition)

~~~
msutherl
Indeed these photos and the techniques are gimmicky – basically
amateur/advertising-level work, or a kind of soulless copy of mid-20th century
minimalism. If you want to take good photographs, study actual fine artists,
not blogs. Stay away from Flickr. Follow actual contemporary artists on
Instagram. However, if you want to make backdrops for hipster startup home
pages, then by all means.

Some resources:

\- any 'History of Western Art' book

\- any 'History of Photography' book

\-
[http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/category/exhibitions/](http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/category/exhibitions/)

\- [http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/photography/](http://we-make-
money-not-art.com/archives/photography/)

\- [http://www.art21.org/artists](http://www.art21.org/artists)

\- [http://www.vvork.com/](http://www.vvork.com/)

~~~
jchrome
If I seriously wanted to learn about photography, I wouldn't look at instagram
(over-saturation, higher contrast... in other words, a lack of subtlety). That
sounds much more akin to backdrops for hipster startup home pages and blogs.

If I wanted to take good photographs, I would practice photography a whole
lot. Then read a little bit. Then practice a whole lot. Then read a little
bit.

Reading about photography can never match the practice of photography (but it
can help... a little bit). I would also shoot film (many in photography school
talk about the "film mindset"). You need to believe that your photos are a
limited resource and therefore save each shot for the best moments. "Spraying
and praying" with digital rarely comes out with anything good.

And now for some shameless self promotion: www.stillthrill.com

~~~
Kluny
> If I seriously wanted to learn about photography, I wouldn't look at
> instagram (over-saturation, higher contrast... in other words, a lack of
> subtlety). That sounds much more akin to backdrops for hipster startup home
> pages and blogs.

I won't argue that there's a lack of subtlety in Instagram, but I wish you
wouldn't brush it off so contemptuously. I don't consider myself much of a
photographer, mainly due to lack of practice/desire to practice. But I like
Instagram because I can take a picture of something my friends will find
funny, a car that another friend will find interesting, or something I can
tell a story about. I find that my Instagrams end up being higher quality
pictures, more consistenly, than pictures I take just for the sake of taking a
picture. So for me Instagram isn't just pictures, it's pictures that I can
tell a story about, when I whip my phone out at a party. A different art form
altogether.

~~~
jchrome
I could agree with that. I use instagram as well and like it for the reasons
you mentioned. But what your hitting upon is that it's not necessarily
photography, but more a social experience. As you put it:

>A different art form altogether.

So I don't think it should be categorized as photography. And you mentioned
that looking at it was a good way to learn how to be a photographer. Which I
still don't think it is.

The greatest photographers (those who we should be studying) did not use
instagram. And for the highly skilled contemporaries that do use instagram, I
highly doubt they post their best on the service.

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scdna
Could not agree more! Even if this is not easy to achieve you always need to
repeat that KISS motto in your head while looking through the viewfinder. I
believe so much in this principle that this great quote from Charles Mingus is
the first sentence of my artist statement [1]: "Making the simple complicated
is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s
creativity". And the photographer author of that article nailed it when she
wrote: "Minimalist photography attempts to explore how much information can be
taken away from a composition, before it loses its impact".

[1] [http://www.jeffmerlet.com/resume](http://www.jeffmerlet.com/resume)

~~~
exgrv
I also like this quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "Il semble que la
perfection soit atteinte non quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il
n'y a plus rien à retrancher", which can be translated as: "Perfection is
finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there
is no longer anything to take away".

~~~
phkahler
I feel that way about code too. I love getting rid of stuff that's overly
complex or unnecessary without compromising useful functionality.

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keithpeter
Nice pictures, but these are highly constructed.

Have a look at William Christenberry's Box Brownie photographs [1] (and his
subsequent models of the buildings).

Also Tartovksy's [2] and Evans' [3] Polaroid photos. Not Tartovsky's portraits
but the building details.

I imagine it is a question of definitions.

Meta: trying to pass on a Google Image search string results in epic URLs.

[1]
[https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...](https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client=iceweasel-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6Pi-U6zdAYqN7QbnnIH4CQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1021&bih=689#channel=np&q=William+Christenberry+Box+Brownie&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&tbm=isch)

[2]
[https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...](https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client=iceweasel-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6Pi-U6zdAYqN7QbnnIH4CQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1021&bih=689#channel=np&q=Tarkovsky+polaroids&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&spell=1&tbm=isch)

[3]
[https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client...](https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Christenberry&client=iceweasel-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6Pi-U6zdAYqN7QbnnIH4CQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1021&bih=689#channel=np&q=Walker+Evans+polaroids&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:unofficial&tbm=isch)

~~~
disputin
*Tarkovsky.

~~~
keithpeter
Damn that Google spelling correction. I can't edit the original now either.
Thanks

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blt
So much of the difference between a great photo and an OK photo is simplicity.
Even in a casual snapshot, walk around a little and try to block undesirable
background details with desirable foreground. Try to surround faces with a
solid area of color. I often find that, by the time I have put the subject in
good light and found an angle that blocks background noise, my photo has
composed itself.

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neumann
Most of these seem like classic stock photos. They are certainly technically
competent, but the collection (and the instructions) are more about style than
the art of minimalism.

Then again, a blog would be hard pressed to teach the art.

For inspiration and a guide, I prefer to browse through collections of great
photographers than from random flickr users. For this I love sites like
[http://triangletriangle.com](http://triangletriangle.com), which often
features photographers that are excellent at minimalist composition.

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80
"The goal of minimalist art, or photography, is to convey a concept – or an
idea – provoke an emotional response, or provide a unique visual experience.
Compositional elements must be kept to a minimum, and the ones that are left
should be essential for conveying the overall idea, or symbolism, of the
photo."

My understanding was always that capital M Minimalism (which this article
refers to) was about the objective exploration of form and material - ie
specifically _free_ of symbolism, representation and implied meaning

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localhost
A photographer friend of mine once told me that "photography is the art of
subtraction". Some on this thread may argue that the reference to minimalism
in the title of the blog post is not accurate. However, when compared to the
vast majority of photos that you see "real people" create, they could almost
always benefit from some of the ideas shown in this post.

Edit: some really great ideas about photography can be found in Galen Rowell's
excellent Inner Game of Outdoor Photography collection of essays.

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aaronbrethorst
The headline made me think I was going to read something about cell phone
photography, or maybe carrying around a 35mm film camera loaded with a roll of
black and white film. But, instead, the word "minimalist" is being used to
describe considerations you should have with every photograph you make. And
the photos are not what I'd select to demonstrate the concepts described.

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wtracy
The very second photo--the one of the stairs--I instantly wanted to re-crop. I
want to crop it in a portrait format with the side walls almost if not
completely removed.

I agree with the other commentors who question the decision to call these
images "minimalist".

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asakura89
In my opinion, it's much like a photographer's style rather than photograph
technique. Say, I'm more interested in colorful object and crowded object. How
can crowded is minimal?

