TOP TIP GO MINIMAL

When you are composing a shot that has very few details within it and lots of plain white space, how you arrange the few elements you have takes on even greater significance. Minimalism is a branch of landscape photography that relies on large areas of space to create impact – and it’s easy to explore, because you can take shots anywhere!

1 EMPTY SPACE

Stark, winter days with snow or foggy conditions are perfect for starting your minimalist adventure. In this shot, the bright white sky and snowy foreground have very little detail in them. The main space has been positioned to the left of the tree because the branches are leaning in that direction. This gives the shape of the tree room to breathe and balances the composition.

2 MAIN FOCAL POINT

Even in a minimialist image, contrast is essential to separate the subject from the emptiness surrounding it. Here, the dark winter tree is the main focal point, and although the left-hand side is relatively empty, the branches cross into it to connect the subject with the space. Also, because it breaks the horizon and occupies a large part of the sky, it anchors the entire frame.

3 EXPOSURE CHOICES

The wisps of snow-covered grass and slim fencing inject detail into the scene to offer context, but don’t overpower the main subject. Shooting images with a lot of light-toned areas can fool your camera’s metering system into underexposing the photo. To avoid this, use exposure compensation and dial in a value of around +1.5 to +2. Take a test shot and bring up your camera’s histogram display. If the graph is not stacked over to the right, add a little more exposure compensation and reshoot.