Photo: From the reviewed book - © Elliott Erwitt Metropolitan 1988
Minimalist photography contains fifty simple techniques to create beautiful, bold and unique photos. It offers practical tips for anyone who wants to try a different photography style or wants more followers on Instagram.
The reader is provided with expert advice on matters such as composition, balance, form and texture. A handy guide to minimalist photography, for every level.
With this introduction to minimalist photography, you'll discover how to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Using striking examples by photographers including Imogen Cunningham, Saul Leiter, Michael Kenna, Berenice Abbott, William Eggleston and Horst P. Horst, Minimalist photography explains in accessible language the essential techniques behind photographs that stand out through their simplicity.
Antony Zacharias is an art photographer with a great interest in minimalism. He specializes in architectural photography and long exposure photography.
He previously published Mastering Long Exposure Photography and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Taking Better Photographs.
In addition to his work as an author, speaker and lecturer on photography in general, he has carried out assignments for numerous companies. His work has been published by the BBC, Guardian, Time, CBS and numerous photo magazines.
He was a finalist in the Hasselblad Masters for architectural photography in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2023 he was shortlisted for the British Photography Awards. In 2024 he won the ND Award for Architecture Photographer of the Year for a series of photographs from Minimalist Photography.
"We are constantly bombarded with images and visual media all vying for our attention. This invites photographers to create work that is captivating but not flashy. We need to create images that forge a powerful bond with our audience and encourage reflection [...]. At first glance, such images may appear compositionally simple [...], but in fact they can tell complex stories and reveal emotional details." ~ Antony Zacharias
Practising minimalist photography: start by leaving things out
Minimalist photography is not about empty images, but about conscious choices. When looking at it, ask yourself which element carries the image: a line, shape, area of color, shadow, gesture or repetition. Everything that does not add anything to this can be removed from the frame.
That is why the subject is closely related to composition. Not because you have to follow rules rigidly, but because you learn to direct where the viewer looks first. structures and abstract subjects also fit this way of working: the less recognizable context you show, the more important rhythm, texture and form become.
Minimalist photography. 50 techniques to capture the essence - Antony Zacharias
Pages: 144
Price: € 18.95
Publisher: Thoth Publishers
