“We meet ourselves time and time again in a thousand disguises in the path of life.”
— Carl Jung
Some photographers capture what they see. Adrienne Anbinder captures what she feels. Her work blurs the line between photography and painting, between reality and abstraction. Whether obscuring the faces of women in her portraits or capturing the delicate decay of a flower, she uses chiaroscuro—the dramatic interplay of light and shadow—to make her images feel alive.
Deep blacks. Glowing highlights. A sense of mystery. Inspired by the Dutch Masters, Anbinder’s art feels almost sculptural, as if emerging from darkness. And it all begins with a photograph.
Chiaroscuro: The Power of Light and Shadow
For Anbinder, light isn’t just an element of photography—it’s the foundation of storytelling. She is drawn to black backgrounds because they make her subjects pop, creating a sense of depth and drama reminiscent of Rembrandt and Caravaggio.
“In the Dutch Masters’ paintings, light isn’t just hitting the subject—it’s shaping it,” she explains. “That’s what I try to do with my work.”
She doesn’t use bright, flat lighting. Instead, she carefully times her shots for when the light pours in through her window at just the right angle. She takes many images, chasing that perfect moment when the interplay of light and shadow transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary.
And even after she captures the shot, her control over lighting isn’t finished. In post-production, she enhances and sculpts the light even further, deepening shadows, adding subtle highlights, and fine-tuning the mood. She laughs and says, “But if it works, it works.”
Obscuring to Reveal: The Women Series
Anbinder’s Women Series was born out of a desire to highlight the invisibility many women feel in today’s world. She pixelates, blurs, and abstracts her female subjects, stripping away defining facial features. The result?
“If you can’t see her face, you can imagine yourself in her place,” she says. “It becomes personal.”
This approach is rooted in her past. Growing up, her mother collected antique plates adorned with painted faces— frozen in time. Anbinder’s work takes the opposite approach, making identity fluid, mutable, and open to interpretation.
The Beauty of Aging: Photographing Flowers in Transition
A perfect flower is easy to admire. But Anbinder is drawn to flowers in their later stages—the ones with curling petals, deepened colors, and unexpected textures.
“As they age, flowers become more interesting,” she explains. “They let go of their petals. They reveal new layers.”
Using chiaroscuro techniques, she isolates the flowers against black backgrounds, emphasizing their structure and form. Some resemble paintings, others look almost sculptural.
The Process: From iPhone to Digital Painting
Anbinder’s images are not just photographs—they’re compositions built through layers of shooting, editing, and digital manipulation.
- Shooting with Intention: She begins with her iPhone 13, capturing hundreds of images in natural light. She times her shots carefully, waiting for the golden hour when light streams through her window at just the right angle.
- Initial Editing on iPad: Her first round of edits happens in Snapseed, where she adjusts contrast, exposure, and highlights, enhancing the light and dark balance.
- Digital Enhancements in iColorama: She uses many layers, textures, refines colors, and sometimes alters hues entirely. A tulip that was originally red might become deep blue. She experiments, adding backgrounds that feel otherworldly.
- Adding Depth with Layers and Masks: She incorporates antique imagery, textures, and elements from antique photos that her mother collected, blending past and present into a seamless visual narrative.
- Fine-Tuning for Print: When an image is ready, she collaborates closely with a specialist printer to bring it to life. “Printing is part of the process,” she says. “It’s not just about getting an image on paper—it’s about making sure the blacks are deep, the highlights glow, and the details hold up at large scales.” She refuses to send images off to an anonymous lab. Every print is personally overseen to ensure it translates exactly as she envisions.
Beyond the Image: Storytelling in Art
Anbinder’s background in art direction informs her approach to composition. Early in her career, she designed a floral campaign for her client, The Kroger Company, turning grocery store bouquets into carefully composed, emotionally resonant images. That ability to find depth in everyday subjects carries through in her work today.
She also responds to the world around her. During COVID, she created Pins and Needles, a layered, anxious piece printed on metal that reflected the uncertainty of the time. “It wasn’t just about what I saw—it was about what I felt,” she explains.
From Personal to Universal: The Influence of Her Mother
One of Anbinder’s most profound memories is from her mother’s final days in hospice. A woman who had spent her life collecting porcelain figurines and antiques suddenly found no value in them. To elicit a response, Adrienne placed one of her mother’s prized figurines in her hand, there was surprisingly no response. However, when she placed a red rose in her hand, her mother’s face brightened. She whispered “it’s so beautiful.”
That moment reinforced Adrienne’s idea of beauty. Art isn’t about perfection. It’s about emotion. It’s about what moves us.
Her Work in the Art World
Anbinder’s fine art is featured in collections across the country, from Atlanta to New York to Palm Beach. Her work, often mistaken for paintings, can be seen on Shopify, IG, and her website: adrienneanbinder.com.
Adrienne’s art has been featured at Gallery104 and 1st dibs Design Showroom in NYC, as well as The Morton Gallery in PA. Currently, her art is exhibited at Laguna Art in Laguna Beach, as well as internationally, at Nicolata Gallery in Berlin, Andakulova Gallery in Dubai, and Casa del Arte Palma, in Spain.
Additionally, Adrienne’s art has been featured at several of Serenbe’s Design Showhouses. In addition, she has exhibited for nearly 10 years at The Chatt Hills Gallery in the Serenbe Community in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia.
Practical Advice for Photographers and Artists
For those looking to elevate their photography into something more artistic, Anbinder offers this advice:
- Master light and shadow. A black background and dramatic lighting can turn a simple subject into something extraordinary.
- Experiment with post-production. Whether you use Snapseed, iColorama, or Photoshop, don’t be afraid to manipulate light, color, and texture.
- Look beyond the “perfect” moment. Sometimes, a flower past its prime tells a more compelling story.
- Take more photos than you think you need. The right shot often comes after many- many captures.
- Control the final print. Work closely with a printer who understands your vision. The difference between a good print and a great one is in the details.
Seeing beyond the Image
Adrienne Anbinder’s work is a testament to the power of seeing—really seeing. Whether through chiaroscuro techniques, digital enhancements, or emotional storytelling, she reminds us that photography isn’t just about capturing an image. It’s about creating one.
So, the next time you’re behind the camera, ask yourself: Where is the light? Where is the shadow? What story am I telling?
To explore more of Adrienne Anbinder’s work, visit her website at adrienneanbinder.com, follow her on Instagram at Instagram.com/AdrienneAnbinder, or reach out via email at adrienne@adrienneanbinder.com.
Elevate Your Vision
You may also like
