The Minimalist Photographer
Can photographers also apply the minimalist concept?
Anyone else interested in having a simplier life? I just love the feeling of being light and mobile. How does a photographer apply this concept? This is what I’m obsessed with at the moment…
Don’t be gear heavy
Although I still prefer my big camera (Canon 5D mark İİİ) and haven’t been able to make the switch to a lighter mirrorless. I usually shoot with my camera and a reflector which is also what I travel with so that lightens and simplifies things. Not that I won’t rent flash lights for a pro shoot but I don’t own them myself. With the exception of continuous lighting that stays at our studio at The House of Arts and Crafts for our workshops.
Living Lightweight
Owning less is a easy way to simply your life. For example, I made a rule about 2 years ago to only buy clothes if they can be used for a photo shoot. Unless I can take it off and put it on a model or be photographed in it myself, I don’t want to buy it. In the photo above my favourite yellow jacket adds a pop of color in the behind the scenes pic of The Natural Light Workshop taken by David Papp. On this note I also avoid owning too many prints as these can be distracting in the photos.
Minimal Time
How can we use our spare time most efficently for photography? I like joining produced events like fashion week or approach interesting looking people on the street, if I’m in the mood to shoot but don’t have time to create a production hire a model, stylist and all that jazz I do for workshops like Real Shoot Experience and Natural Light Portraits. I invite you to join one of these workshops if you want some killer shots with me doing the legwork 🙂
Consumable Gifts
Whether it’s an experience gift like my bday gift going to the movies to see “A Star is Born” or a consumable like the killer almond butter paste at Alchemist Garden. I find experience and consumable gifts more exciting and inspiring. In the spirit of experience gifts we’ve designed gift certificates for all our courses and workshops.
Remember Your Goals
Lots of people think of owning less when they think of minimalism but the end goal is to get rid of unnessary things in your life in order to make room for what’s important.
My current goals are: more time for family and friends, keep learning new things and discovering more about myself. Meaning I want to discover what makes my perspective unique, this is an interesting theme for me and something we focus on in our Advanced Photography Course.
What would you minimize to make space for?