Minimalist Car Photography

By: j.wilder

Porsche

What is minimalist car photography?

According to Wikipedia minimalism in photography is:

"...a form of photography that is distinguished by extreme, austere simplicity. It emphasizes spareness and focuses solely on the smallest number of objects in the composition process. Minimalist photographers usually focus solely on one particular subject, rather than an abundance of color, patterns and information."

What is the least amount of image necessary to make a captivating car photo?

I prefer low gear everyday carry photography and my personal Genre is Parked Photography which is somewhat related to street photography. Therefore, I find the idea of minimalist car photography intriguing.

When composing a photo, I usually find a car that's interesting and incorporate background and foreground elements to enhance the composition. But what if the approach would be to remove as much as possible and only focus on the car? I suppose this would be similar to the composition technique of isolation.

Maybe it's shooting in high contrast black and white with no background objects.

Maybe it's deemphasizing the colors in the background and enhancing the color of the car?

Whatever it is, it sounds like a fun exercise. The point is to keep it fun and challenging.

For some examples, here's a Google image search for minimalist car photography:

www.google.com/search?q=minimalist+car+photography&t...

There is also a Minimalist Photography Award
minimalistphotographyawards.com/

Check out this great Ford Thunderbird hood shot.
minimalistphotographyawards.com/2019/07/03/hood-ford...