“I would definitely credit photoshop to where I flex my creative muscles most,” says Erin Grabowski to the Phoblographer. “I really enjoy compositing an image together into the final concept, being able to customize the light and the color in post is really fun to do. I try to plan my images to support what I want to do in post so photoshop is really where I have a lot of fun with my image-making.” Erin is the subject of most of her portraits, and makes composites that have a feeling exuding dark beauty.
All images by Erin Grabowski. Used with permission. For more, please visit her website. Follower her on Instagram: @erin.graboski.art
The Creative Side of Erin Grabowski
Erin got into photography during high school. She started out shooting landscapes and then moved on to basic editing. “After a while, I started getting introduced to and discovering other artists that were creating self portraits,” she tells us. “I found those so interesting. It allowed me to be able to conceptualize a thought or feeling into an image.” She’s been making fine art portraits ever since then.
To do her work, she keeps thing simple. Erin uses a Canon EOS M50 Mk II with a 50mm f1.8, 28-80mm, and 24mm along with a tripod and wireless remote. Of course, she also uses tons of outfits and props in addition to a laptop with Photoshop.
Curious about how Erin comes up with the concepts of her images, we were surprised to hear that she has a full worksheet document. “I write out where I want to shoot the image at, a description of my basic idea, the title (if I have a title already thought of), the kind of color palette and tones I want to use, and then I leave a space for any inspiration images and drawings that I’m using to get my creativity brewing,” she explains. This is far beyond any moodboard that other photographers make.
Much of her work is about juxtoposing things. Specifically she puts herself into scenes with things that are lacking livliness. “I’ve always correlated creating in nature that is more dead-looking because it creates an eerie atmosphere,” she tells us. “I’ve always strived to create dark-art because it’s always something I’ve enjoyed myself personally and artistically. It lets you express different things that you’re feeling or maybe even struggling with in a beautiful way.” Like so many others who urbex, she’s always looking for decay.
Thoughts on AI Imagery
Erin believes that AI is taking away from the authenticity of making images. “…there’s a very human element to it because you’re photographing real humans and capturing all the things that make them unique, she tells us. “As an artist, there’s a magic to the process of making art. Being able to plan out an image, executing that image, and then bringing it to life is one of a kind.” Erin beleives that all of that is gone with AI is being used. One time, she tried making an image with Photoshop generative fill; but found herself unimpressed because it wasn’t as seamless as they’ve advertised it to be.
“I think people use AI and it’s an easy way to create content quickly and without much thought and it’s the opposite for art. There’s so much thought and decision-making that goes into making an image that you just won’t have for AI photos.”
AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.