Simplicity in landscape photography: simplicity of subject & composition

IN the next few blogs we're looking at one of the most important pillars in my 'Ten Pillars of Great Landscape Photography'; Simplicity. It's a topic that I've covered briefly before (see this blog) but as I gave a talk on this this topic to a local photography group recently, I thought I would cover it in a little more detail.

What is simplicity and why does it matter?

Simplicity in landscape photography is all about making images that are immediately readable. Instead of cramming lots of competing elements into the frame, you build the photograph around one clear idea.

You reduce the scene to its essentials so the viewer instantly understands what the picture is about, without being distracted by visual clutter. Put simply, it’s less, but better: fewer elements, a cleaner structure, and usually a single, strong subject.

Why does this matter? Simple images tend to be stronger and more enjoyable to look at. With fewer distractions, your main subject carries more weight, your story is clearer, and the photo has greater impact.

They’re also easier on the eye. Our brains work hard to untangle busy, chaotic scenes; clean, uncluttered images feel calmer and more inviting, which makes them stick in the memory for longer.

Finally, learning to simplify makes you a better photographer. It forces you to decide what really matters in the scene and to organise everything else around that choice. That’s why so many outstanding landscape photographs come down to one clear idea, shown cleanly, rather than an attempt to squeeze everything you saw into a single frame.

Ways to achieve simplicity

So how do we actually achieve simplicity in landscape photography? The encouraging thing is that there isn’t just one way to do it. You don’t need to use every possible technique – even a couple of well‑chosen approaches can make a big difference to your images.

I tend to think in terms of eight main ways to create simpler, stronger photos, ranging from decisions you make in the field through to choices you make later in editing. Some are very straightforward – such as picking a clean, uncomplicated subject or using the weather to your advantage. Others rely on more specific camera techniques, like long exposures or intentional camera movement.

The important thing is to see these as tools in your toolkit. Depending on the scene and the story you want to tell, you might use one approach or combine several; there’s no single “correct” recipe. In this blog we’ll focus on the first two of these methods, with the others to follow in future blogs.

Simplicity of subject and composition

The first – and probably most important – way to create simplicity is through what you choose to photograph and how you compose it.

Start with a simple subject

The easiest route to a simple image is to pick a subject that’s already uncomplicated: a lone tree, a single rock, an isolated building. They’re naturally easy to read.

Over the years I’ve hunted out locations like these close to home – a lone tree in a bluebell field with an open view to the west, or a hilltop church surrounded only by rolling Dartmoor. No telegraph poles, no houses, just clean shapes in the landscape. I return to these spots in different conditions because I know they work photographically, largely thanks to their simplicity.

Strip the scene down

Of course, many locations aren’t simple to begin with. That’s where composition comes in. The aim is to remove anything that doesn’t support your main subject.

A few practical ways to do that:

• Move your feet – Shift left or right, crouch, or find a higher viewpoint. Small changes in position can hide distractions or simplify the background.

• Use your zoom – Zoom in to isolate the subject and trim away clutter, or go wider and move closer if that gives you a cleaner arrangement.

• Look for clean backgrounds – Open sky, distant hills, mist or calm water usually work better than tangled woodland or busy horizons.

• Use negative space – Don’t feel you have to fill the frame. Empty areas of sky, water or grass around the subject give it room to breathe.

• Check the edges – Before you press the shutter, scan all four edges for stray branches, bright highlights or other distractions.

  
  

In short, be as deliberate about what you leave out as you are about what you include.

The shot of the Daymark near Kingswear (below) is a good example of starting with a naturally simple subject. From this viewpoint the tower is surrounded only by grass and sky, with no buildings, trees or telegraph poles creeping into the frame. There’s a single, unmistakable subject, a clean sky as the background, and plenty of negative space, all of which give the image a calm, uncluttered feel. By shooting from the back of the field and slightly lower down, I’ve avoided lanes, hedges and distant clutter, so in good light – like this warm sunset – the composition almost takes care of itself.

Simplicity of subject and composition at the Daymark Tower, Kingswear

Simplicity through shallow depth of field

The second way to create simplicity is by using aperture to control how much of the scene is sharp – in other words, your depth of field. By choosing a wide aperture (a small f‑number such as f/2.8 or f/4), you create a shallow depth of field, where only a narrow plane is in focus and everything in front of or behind it falls into soft blur.

You’ll know the effect from “portrait mode” on smartphones, where the subject is sharp and the background is blurred. The same idea works brilliantly in landscape photography too.

This is useful because it lets you isolate your subject and tone down distractions. Even in a busy environment, you can blur the clutter and guide attention straight to what matters. Most of the time in landscapes we do the opposite – using smaller apertures like f/11 or f/16 to keep everything sharp – but there are plenty of situations where a shallow depth of field is the more creative choice: perhaps you want to emphasise foreground wildflowers, the texture of a rock, or patterns in sand, while the wider scene dissolves gently into blur, or flip it and keep the distant landscape sharp while the foreground softens.

Used deliberately, depth of field becomes a powerful way to simplify your compositions and lead the viewer’s eye. In the next section we’ll look at a couple of examples of how this works in practice.

The image of Colmer’s Hill near Bridport (below) – with its distinctive clump of trees on the summit – was shot from a bluebell‑covered slope opposite. The hill and trees were my main subject, but I also wanted the bluebells in the frame to add colour and a sense of season.

If I’d kept the foreground sharp, every stem, gap and tuft of grass would have shown up, creating a busy, distracting foreground. So instead I chose a wide aperture (around f/4) and focused on the distant hill. That pushed the bluebells completely out of focus, turning them into soft bands of colour rather than a detailed tangle.

The result is that your eye goes straight to the crisp outline of the hill and trees, while the blurred flowers provide colour and atmosphere without competing for attention. It’s a simple, calm image, even though there are hundreds of individual flowers in the foreground – a good example of using shallow depth of field when you want the foreground for context, but not as the main event.

Final words

If there’s one thing I’d love you to take from this article, it’s that simplicity isn’t an accident – it’s something you can actively build into your images. The two approaches we’ve looked at here are a great place to start: choosing simple subjects and cleaner compositions, and using depth of field to guide the eye.

On your next outing, try setting yourself a couple of small, focused challenges. First, look specifically for “easy‑to‑read” subjects – lone trees, isolated rocks, simple horizons – and work the scene until you’ve stripped out as many distractions as you can. Then, experiment with aperture: shoot a scene at your usual f/11, and then again at something like f/4, paying attention to how the feel of the image changes as the background or foreground softens.

The more you practice these two techniques, the more instinctive they’ll become, and you’ll start to see opportunities for simpler, stronger compositions everywhere. In next week’s article we’ll carry on this theme, exploring three more ways to simplify your landscapes and give your images even greater clarity and impact.

Want help learning how to simplify your photos?

If you’d like to develop your eye for simplicity — and learn how to strip clutter from your images using composition and depth‑of‑field — I cover all of this and more on my 1‑2‑1 and residential photography workshops here in Devon. We’ll work through real‑world landscapes together, from choosing clean, simple subjects to using aperture and viewpoint to create calmer, more focused compositions, all with your own camera and at your own pace, whatever your current level.

About Gary Holpin Photography

As a professional photographer based in Devon, my journey began along the stunning South West Coast Path. Disappointed with my initial attempts to capture its beauty, I embarked on a second 630-mile journey, this time dedicated to mastering photography. Today, I'm a nationally acclaimed photographer with award-winning landscape photos.

I specialize in providing top-notch property photography, business photography, and drone photography services to businesses across the South West. Additionally, I offer comprehensive photography training courses tailored for both businesses and individuals. Whether you're looking to enhance your corporate image or improve your personal photography skills, my training programs are designed to help you capture stunning images.

As an award-winning and widely published photographer, I frequently share my passion for photography and Devon through engaging talks at local camera clubs and community groups. My expertise spans the entire South West region, ensuring that clients from Devon, Dorset & Somerset benefit from high-quality photography services and training.