Minimalism

Minimalism

Minimalism is the art of exclusion, restricting the composition of the shot to the bare minimum of elements. It is all too tempting to stuff as many things into a shot as possible, but this can lead to cluttered and therefore confusing images that lack coherence. (All photographers have made this mistake at one time or another, so it is nothing to be ashamed of.) This can happen when using a wide-angle lens, as they inevitably include a large proportion of the scene in front of the camera. 

Minimalism is far easier to achieve when shooting with a standard or even telephoto lens. This helps you to keep unwanted elements out of a shot, and concentrate on your minimalist composition. Another technique to consider is using a dense ND filter, such as a 10-stop. This will reduce any movement to an impressionistic blur. 

When you select a subject take a good look at its background too. Is the background visually busy? If so, can you move your subject so that the background is less distracting? If you can, then this will help to create a simple, but hopefully, still interesting composition.