In his images, American photographer Gregory Crewdson draws out the American vernacular and anxieties of suburbia. Working with large crews and built sets, the artist constructs chilling scenes akin to movie stills that bridge truth and fiction, emphasizing isolation and loneliness.

Crewdson’s photographic process is one akin to cinematography and movie sets, yet condensed into a single frame. His ambiguous and cinematic scenes often blur the lines between reality and fiction. Crewdson’s photographs provide the viewer with hyperrealistic narratives, yet in reality are completely staged and constructed.

Often working with a crew of around 30 people, Crewdson’s photographs are carefully planned with the help of lighting directors, storyboard artists, technicians, location scouts, and actors. The process of making his ‘Beneath the Roses’ (2003—2008) series involved closing off streets of small towns in Vermont and Massachusetts, as well as a collaboration with art directors to construct elaborate settings in sound stages.

Crewdson uses a Phase One camera and has previously operated large-format film cameras to capture intense detail for his large-scale prints. In 2012, Ben Shapiro directed, produced, and shot Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, a documentary about the artist’s process and practice over the span of ten years.