A Minimalist Approach
Krista Cox and Jo Martindale
Stop shooting cluttered photos. Start creating clean, high-impact images.
Join Krista Cox + Jo Martindale as they show you how to eliminate distractions, simplify your compositions, and create minimalist photos you love. You’ll learn how to find shots in ordinary places, use negative space and geometric shadows to command attention, and apply specific editing techniques that turn busy frames into clean, professional, soul-stirring narratives.
let's talk about
what makes it different
From mindful observation to negative space, light, and intentional editing, this course teaches you to create powerful images with clarity and purpose. You’ll learn practical minimalist strategies, from subject isolation and geometric composition to refining your frame in post, that will shift your work from busy to intentional.
Created for the photographer who wants confidence in vision and execution, you’ll learn to slow down, see with intention, and design images that feel clean, confident, and distinctly your own, proving that less can truly say more.
COURSE TYPE
SELF PACED
SKILL TYPE
basics, editing, creativity, light, composition
PREREQUISITES
NONE
here's a look at
what you'll get
Across 7 thoughtfully structured modules, you’ll move through in-depth videos and pdf guides covering the following:
The core principles of minimalist photography, including mindful “Zen” observation and intentional composition techniques
A practical toolkit for isolating subjects, using negative space, and simplifying even the busiest environments
A light and shadow framework that helps you shape mood, form, and graphic impact with clarity
Color and monochrome strategies that refine your visual voice and strengthen emotional tone
Step-by-step editing guidance, including precise cropping, tonal control, and techniques to create clean, cohesive imagery
Guided exercises that help you train your eye and apply minimalist concepts immediately in your own work
During the interactive portion of the course, you can post questions for Jo and Krista which will be answered in a Q&A video posted one week after the conclusion of the interactive launch period.
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
check out what's in your classroom
19 INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS
Over 4.5 hours of video including discussion on what makes a minimalist photo impactful, behind-the-scenes and set up showing you how Jo and Krista incorporate the use of perspective, light, shadow, color, use of negative space, and more into their photography and the steps to take for you to do the same.
7 INSTRUCTIONAL PDFS
A 141-page guide, organized into 7 easy-to-follow lessons. Inside, you’ll learn the core principles of minimalist photography including visual simplicity, composition, light, shadow, and color. The guide is packed with creative prompts, editing techniques, and real-world examples to help you refine your eye, strengthen your storytelling, and develop a minimalist style that feels uniquely your own.
BITE SIZE LESSONS AND EXERCISES
You'll wrap up each lesson with a series of thought-provoking, practical exercises designed to directly apply what you've learned to your own photography. Share your photos with others in your class and chat about what you're learning.
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by the end of this course,
you’ll know how to design images that feel deliberate, polished, and visually strong.
meet your instructors
Krista Cox and Jo Martindale
Krista Cox - Krista Cox is a Click Community Mentor, Click Pro Elite, hobbyist, and published photographer who documents her children’s everyday moments in a documentary style and also captures their imaginations through collaborative projects. She is passionate about creating compelling storytelling images, often incorporating the use of pocket light and shadows in her work.
Jo Martindale - Jo Martindale is a ClickPro and a published photographer who documents her family’s adventures and everyday life. She has a strong focus on storytelling and environmental portraiture, and she often incorporates bold compositions and hard/directional light into her work.
This is the most comprehensive course and I can not get enough of it! Less really is more and Jo and Krista are the perfects artists to teach about this. I love how they see the world; looking at the people we love and the places we visist with this kind of intention makes all the difference. Jo and Krista really share so much of their expertise. I am loving going through all the videos and seeing for myself how they create their work. I am feeling this course so much and I can not wait to put this in to practice.
A Minimalist Approach is a masterclass in intention! Krista and Jo offer a refreshing perspective for photographers of all skill level and genre looking master the art of storytelling with less. The course provides exceptional guidance through both the PDFs and videos. The PDF guide is comprehensive, balancing clear written instruction with stunning visual examples. The video lessons bring the course’s concepts to life, offering a view into the instructor’s approach to their creative process. Mindful observation was always a strong element of my photography practice and I have always leaned towards clean frames. Krista and Jo’s insights served as an important reminder of how to slow down and move even more intentionally toward the exact images I want to create. If you are a photographer looking to create images with more intention and impact, this is the perfect course for you!
This course is SO packed with information and inspiration! It’s really made me stop and think about the way that I photograph and helped me to see things with a new perspective. I think for a lot of us photographers, the more we shoot, the more we tend to go on autopilot and sometimes lose our spark. Jo and Krista really encourage us to slow down and pay attention to the small things in life and celebrate the beauty in simplicity. I can’t wait to get out and practice these concepts, to stop chasing perfection and to open myself up to quiet moments and simple compositions.
Jo and Krista have an amazing gift of being able to drill down their photos to only the most essential elements, and yet convey a grand sense of story. Even though I consider myself an advanced photographer, reading through the classwork left me with my mind spinning as to how I could tell better stories with less, and differently than I normally do. It is a great class for growth, and it encompasses multiple techniques and locations. This class is jam packed with information and I highly recommend it to anyone needing a fresh perspective, no matter how long they have been using a camera. Despite being a class on minamilism, this is one of the most comprehensive classes self-paced classes I have seen at CPS. It is not to be missed.
This course is great. So often we expect to have to fill the whole frames with things because so many other photographers are do. But Krista and Jo walk you through how to see and say more with less. They have inspirational images and point you to other artists that you can be inspired by. They also work through what makes a strong story and how to see the world with fewer things. Its a great course no matter what type of photographer you call yourself.