Photographer Beth Garrabrant has been behind Taylor Swift’s album photography since Folklore, tracking her evolution as an artist over the last four years. But Garrabrant’s latest project, a monograph titled Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard (Simon & Schuster), demonstrates her prowess telling the stories of young people across America between 2001 and 2017. Her images are striking in their ability to locate genuine beauty amid scenes of teen normalcy, and at a cultural moment fixated on girlhood—and when a serial sexual abuser can be elected president not once but twice—Garrabrant’s renderings of young women feel especially poignant.
This week, Vogue spoke to Garrabrant about choosing her book’s title, growing up in the Midwest, taking inspiration from Degrassi Junior High, and the long shadow of Britney Spears.
Photo: Beth Garrabrant
Vogue: Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard is such a vivid, memorable title; how did you arrive at it?
Beth Garrabrant: The title comes from a poem of the same name by Kay Ryan. My friend BJ, who designed the book, showed me the poem, which resonated with me. In it, Ryan writes about grooves and ruts, and that a life lived should leave all of these marks as proof of existence. Life leaves worn-in doorknobs and footprints going back and forth to the mailbox…this idea that every life is important and our grooves and ruts tell the story.
What draws you to capture young people in America through photography right now?