Photo by Bruno Candiotto
Introducing A Minimalist’s Guide to Photography:
the weekly dose of inspiration for those who want to go beyond point & shoot photography
and began practicing minimalism.
A passion for eliminating the unnecessary led us to develop #Minimal&Pale visual code. Learning to stop and think about photography, colours, and our sensations, we reveal the five stages of the formation minimalist aesthetics, in photography and beyond.
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the Protagonist
Minimalism starts with the idea of refinement, of becoming better. Its pureness and obvious beauty inspires us to consider some aesthetic tactics of creating an impression of simplicity. But while simplicity and minimalism are not synonymous, they spring from the same impulse: to strip away the “noise” in order to reveal pure the essence. That’s why imagining yourself as a protagonist, as an actant, who is not just a central character of the story per se, but rather its active component, is a way to give a [visual] definition to your own life through the moment of confrontation with the overwhelming present state of the world. To strip away ‘everything that you are not” in order to reveal “everything you really are” – this is your turning point.
Words to practice:
“Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more, and all good things will be yours.” – Swedish proverb
“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” – Joshua Becker
Essential Reading:
Dieter Rams: As Little Design As Possible (buy)
Essential Object:
The Welles light by Gabriel Scott (buy)
Personal Experience:
“You have to feel the ‘minimal’. I don’t want to give technical advices about photography. First, let’s stop and think about the meaning of photography and about our sensations. Techniques are important, but to me, the most important part of photography is the feeling. Let’s just put the camera down for a moment and feeling everything: the noise, the smell, the temperature, the light. It’s pretty difficult, because the apparatus forces us to make photos (for the sake of not loosing them.)”
– Bruno Candiotto
Photographer & Art Director of Aé
“Minimalism is not just the way to find out what is the minimum needed to tell your story. I started ‘practicing’ minimalism after a very difficult period in my life, when I needed to redefine myself. That’s when I realised that new sensations, which minimalist photography gave me, really could cure the soul, revealing the essence of objects, light and space. So, I enjoy ‘chasing’ minimalism – as an idea, as a style, as a mindset.”
– Lily McFly
Editor-in-Chief of Aé
Next stage
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