Beth Garrabrant’s New Photo Book, ‘Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard,’ Is a Subtly Stunning Meditation on American Teendom

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.

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?

I don’t think the book sets out to capture young Americans right now. Some of the work was made as early as 2001, when I was a teenager, and what you see in the book is me constantly returning to this project over 20-plus years. After years not working on this project or theme, I’d get nostalgic for the last time I had, pick up my camera, and attempt to relive that moment by photographing young people in places and situations that felt familiar to me.

Are there specific references or inspiration points that helped you devise a plan for this book?

As we were playing around with pairings, we kept seeing subtle repetitions: a ballerina with a high bun, a garden statue in a bone garden with a high bun. This set the tone for the book and guided the edit. Also, the color of the cover and the endpapers are my junior high school colors. Degrassi Junior High—the old show, not the newer one with Drake—was certainly an influence on the tone of the book. My sister and I used to watch it on PBS, and you could smell the classroom carpet through the television. And it was both funny and a little dreary. Maybe the latter part is because schools used to be dreary inside—so much beige and cinder block.

There’s been so much discourse about girlhood in pop culture lately, a theme that your work explores so deeply and thoroughly. What do you hope your photos can add to the conversation about young women’s lives and relationships?

I do want to be careful in saying that this book provides a broad view of American teenagers. It’s really a reflection of my experience growing up in Illinois, through re-creating scenes from that time. I did photograph subjects closer to today’s youth—but I didn’t notice much difference between photographing people 20 years ago, 15 years ago, five years ago. I found that many subjects wanted to be in the pictures but were just as ready to be in front of the camera now as they were decades before. Oftentimes, subjects ask to see the photos later, but there wasn’t an immediate need to post anything on social media. I think we now have this idea of the current generation being perpetually online and photographing themselves and wanting this and that, but actually people settle in for a portrait now as they did when I first started taking them. The exchange hasn’t changed that much.

This book contains so much of your work, but is there any one image you keep mentally returning to?

In the book, there’s a photograph depicting a dining scene at a family restaurant and a pen drawing of Britney Spears’s head floating above the table. The drawing is faded and looks like it’s been there for a long time. You’re seeing this artifact depicting a figure who is still very important to people but whose broad impact on young people reached its zenith in the early 2000s. It was so potent when it was happening that it felt like it would go on forever.

This conversation has been edited and condensed.