Voice in the Frame
4 WEEK Small Group Workshop
image by Molly Carstater
image by Rebecca Congleton
image by D'Ann Boal
image by Tandra Hull
WORKSHOP LESSONS WEEK BY WEEK
Week 01
Photography Style vs. Photographic Voice
Learn about elements of style and identify those that resonate with you. You'll also discover how to deconstruct images for denotation and connotation, plus gain an understanding of how style applies to voice.
Week 02
Voice Development, Evolution & Experimentation
Dive into the evolving nature of voice, the role of criticism, and the influence of technology. You'll gain techniques to foster self-confidence and learn how to experiment and grow while strengthening artistic voice.
Break Week
Mini-Collections Review
(Optional) You are encouraged to use the break week to engage in mini-collection review with fellow students as part of a guided collaborative exercise that benefits all participants.
Week 03
Controlling the Impact of External Influences
Examine how external influences can impact artistic voice and how to use external influences in a way that strengthens our unique work, rather than detracting from authentic voice.
Week 04
Signature Images and Visual Narratives
In this final week, you'll discover the power of signature images through an exploration of iconic photographers, discuss photographing with a purpose, and create a signature image of your own. You'll also learn about tools to amplify and refine your artistic voice going forward.
Post-Workshop
Continuing Development
You'll leave the workshop with two additional self-guided assignments designed to continue to help you to develop and refine your unique, authentic artistic voice.
Voice in the Frame by Krista Cox is a must-do for photographers of all levels. I’ve known Krista for years and she’s an artist who stays very true to her voice, as she continues to develop it in beautiful, colorful, storytelling documentary images. One of her main points in the course is that “voice is not stagnant.” Krista goes into many deep-dives in this content-heavy course. She offers worksheets filled with detailed examples of what to look for when analyzing your own voice. Her PDFs are full of thoughtful questions and her videos include interviews with fellow artists and a comparison video of three famous artists, all in an in-depth exploration of “what does voice mean?” Krista offers honest commentary from her photographic journey, creative assignments and lots of encouragement. I absolutely recommend this course!
I absolutely love this class. I have had so many aha moments during class. Kristas materials are topnotch quality and I will keep coming back to this. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I do, why I do it and how I do it. This was a process that I needed to go through and I feel that I have come out stronger. Krista is very supportive and thoughtful in her responses, and very generous with her time. I loved the challenge of deeply thinking of my work and seeing it from a different angle. So helpful. I recommend this class and feel sad that it is coming to an end.
This course was super helpful! Krista’s materials and assignments helped me further identify my voice and help me realize how impactful Knowing my voice will help me capture better pictures. The more you know your voice, the easier it will be to know what you are looking for to capture behind the viewfinder. She helps you understand and identify your voice by connecting your past experiences and who you are as a person. This course not only helps you identify your voice but reminds you of who you are as a person. By the end of the course, you will see how much you’ve learned about your voice after submitting one of the last assignment which is redoing and finalizing your portfolio that you start at the beginning of the class. I highly recommend this class!
I also want to add that I find myself more conscious of identifying what to include and not include in the frame and my anxiety of comparing with other photographers and hindering me from thinking twice before taking the picture has subsided because I have realized these are my pictures, my voice and no one else’s.
This course is really good. I thought I had already analyzed my reasoning behind why I take photos but Krista got me to dive even deeper. She really helps you see your photography from multiple perspectives which is immensely helpful. Once this course is over, I will definitely have to go through the information again because there is so much content to think through.
Thank you to Krista for a great class. The material and assignments kept me thinking throughout the whole 5 weeks about what and why I like what I like. I really appreciated the break week that gave me some space to digest the first two weeks before launching into the second part. This is a course that gets you analysing your work and reflecting on it. It helps you dig into your archives as well as create new work that helps you hone your style and voice. Krista has created brilliant assignments that are full and comprehensive, but so helpful in helping you to fine tune what you like in your own work and in others. The break week was great for encouraging us to support one another and I felt that was a great balance to the introspection of looking at my own work. I would recommend it for anyone feeling like their work is directionless, stuck in a rut, or feeling like they might be heading in a new direction they are unsure about. Great class, thank you Krista.
I am so glad I signed up for this class! I was a little nervous, because I have never been able to separate voice from style. With all the class materials, including guides, interviews with other photographers, and Krista herself, this became much clearer. It has given me a good start on identifying what I want to shoot, and how to include elements of my own voice in the shot.
This class is definitely a deep dive, but there is ample opportunity for classmates to contribute their thoughts, and Krista’s feedback is kind and gently guiding. Thanks so much, Krista and classmates!
As I started “Voice in the Frame”, I honestly didn’t think I had a voice. Krista’s course has shown me what I couldn’t see before. This has been one of the most challenging and productive courses I’ve ever taken. It has required a deep dive into my own work and a careful analysis of what I’m shooting and why. Realizing what each of my photos has that makes it mine has taken me from blindly shooting a scene to taking the photo I want, a photo that reflects me. It has also helped me realize I don’t need to take a picture because I feel I should, but I can take the picture that I truly want to take. Krista’s pdfs are packed full of amazing content and the weekly assignments truly challenged me. Her feedback was incredibly valuable – she’s honest, encouraging, and helped me see ideas and themes I missed. I wish this class could keep going!
Krista says rather than “find” our voice, we need to identify, develop/strengthen, and then refine our voice. Week by week that’s exactly what the PDFs, interviews and homework assignments helped me do in Voice in the Frame.
Week 1, I tentatively submitted a mini-collection of my fave images and a new image that I felt was me and listed why. Krista agreed and suggested more similarities in the images.
Week 2, I had a list of “semi-requirements” that I knew needed to be in the image to make it mine. What an ah-ha moment.
Week 3, I could walk into any situation and find “my” shot. Which I did…but then she tasked us with taking 4 more images in that same location or of that same subject. Uh-oh. Again, I turned to my list and was able to create more images that hit the criteria I’d established as important to my work.
Week 4, I went to a location where I’ve been dying to shoot but the obvious shot fell flat for me. Literally and figuratively, it had no depth. And depth is on my list. So I figured out how to give the image depth. I changed my perspective and added foreground. Before this course, I would have taken the obvious shot and been disappointed but not known why. Now I can pinpoint what’s missing and fix it. So empowering! I can confidently shoot every image in a way that speaks to my eye.
Krista’s packed a ton of information into each week and the homework assignments require a lot of shooting, but if you put in the work, your photography will stand out in a crowd of images and shooting will fill you with creative energy again.
Highly, highly recommend Voice in the Frame
The Voice in the Frame is a really unique and impactful class that helped me discover the path I am walking as an artist. Krista puts words to the ideas floating just below the surface in my soul – my longing to tell stories that reflect my values and speak deeply to me. She helped me discover and focus what I was already doing in my work that reflected who I am as a person and artist, but more than that, she pushed me to examine and refine the stylistic elements I use for even greater clarity and impact in my body of work. I think this class will be a turning point in my journey that gives me permission to shoot more of what I love, shed what I no longer need, and move towards my emerging voice that might be different from another photographer’s work. During the course of this class the work I’m creating feels increasingly focused and helps me prioritize what else I want to learn to keep moving forward. Krista is very gentle and leads as one who herself has done the hard work and knows how to guide others as a mentor. I loved the class!
I have absolutely loved Voice in the Frame. I have often wondered about “finding my voice,” and felt that was something I needed to explore. As soon as I learned about this course, I knew I would take it once it was offered. Within the first week, I started seeing elements of photography that I was drawn to, thanks to Krista’s detailed assignment that had us analyze our work. I could also see how to use these elements to tell a story better with my photography. I was blown away by this assignment and how much it helped me…in Week 1!!
The assignments have all been challenging but worth going through. I debated taking the Study Along approach, but I am so glad I did the Full Participation because it motivated me to do all the assignments. Krista’s feedback and suggestions have also been outstanding. She is so encouraging and gives you other options to consider. You can tell she is passionate about this topic and has put time and effort into creating this course.
I cannot tell you how much I have learned through Voice in the Frame! It really amazes me. I highly recommend it if you have ever wondered about your voice as a photographer or are just looking for a course to take. You will learn not only so much about yourself as a photographer but also about yourself as a person and why you are drawn to other forms of art. I feel like I better understand my voice as a photographer, which has made me more confident.
Krista is a very thoughtful teacher. She has clearly thought through this path of discovery, in which she we don’t necessarily ‘find’ our voice, as it is evolving and changing, but we recognize where our current voice takes us in our photography. The course is very easy to follow and it does encourage you to dig deep and what stories you want to tell and what elements you are drawn to in telling your story. I had never seen the different elements and their meanings lined out so clearly, and this has helped me find clarity in what my unique body of work looks like and how to achieve that consistently. So many courses I have taken have encouraged me to try new things, but this course is the one that has tied all of that together. Experimentation is wonderful, but incorporating your voice into that experimentation is what brings your work to life. I have loved working with Krista and her feedback is genuine and thorough.
Krista is a wonderful teacher and guide. Voice in the Frame delivers exactly what it promises. A challenging adventure that helped me see who I am as an artist and more clearly define what I want to say in my work. Step-by-step Krista clearly distinguishes between style and voice. Her class materials are generous and rich in examples from other artists’ work and lives. Each week we dove deeper into the process of defining our own voice by looking at past images, creating new images, and sharing our images with each other. I felt very supported in defining my path and voice. Krista understands that it’s a process that takes time to unfold. She’s an inspiring cheerleader who champions uniqueness and originality. I loved working with her!