"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". I love that quote by Leonardo da Vinci. Simplicity, a close cousin of minimalism, can be hard; there's nothing to hide behind.

Minimalism is defined as a style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity producing art or photographs made with an economy of means and reduced to the essentials where the work is set out to expose the essence or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts.

As my photographic tastes mature, the more I find myself leaning toward the "less is more" camp of imagery. Making elegant or whimsical portraits that feature the curve of a cat's back, the graceful lines of a horse's neck or the tilt of a dog's head and not much else. Capturing a beloved pet relaxing either in the studio, at home or outside, perhaps striking that pose that is unmistakably their own and creating a lifetime memory for the owner.