About
Douwe Krooshof (Eindhoven, 1983) is a concept-driven maker and photographer creating images that combine graphic design influences with female portraiture.
Inspired by well-known names such as Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, and Irving Penn, Douwe focuses on creating a strong minimalist aesthetic that celebrates female strength through carefully composed imagery. His process is characterised by an end-to-end workflow where all elements in the frame are designed and built by the artist. Douwe has a love for analogue processes and creates all images in camera, without digital manipulation.
Process
Douwe Krooshof is an artist continually seeking new ways to create elegant, well-balanced compositions. His portraiture often incorporates a level of abstraction through formal geometric shapes, natural objects, or light effects such as projections. He is particularly fascinated by the contrast between the female figure and the controlled conditions of the studio, a space he regards as the photographer’s tabula rasa, ripe for reinvention.
A skilled and hands-on maker, Douwe constructs many of the tools he uses in his work, including light modifiers, enlargers, projectors, and cameras. His approach is deliberately uncompromising: he prefers to shoot on film or Polaroid, crafting images in camera rather than through software. He develops and scans his own films, embracing the full photographic process from start to finish.
This technical fluency has enabled him to pursue unconventional and complex ideas with confidence, taking inspiration from nature, science and fashion. Douwe finds as much satisfaction in the planning and problem-solving that precedes a shoot as in the shoot itself. Yet despite all the preparation, he believes the essence of great photography lies in the connection with the model and trusting one’s instinct in the moment. To him the most rewarding days are when everything aligns: the concept, the techniques, and the rapport between model and photographer.
Exhibitions
2024 - May - Bonn - Xroid International Instant Art Exhibition
2024 - Oct - Bologna - ISO600 International Instant Exhibition
2025 - May - Milano - Uncensored International Instant Exhibition
2025 - May - Bonn - Xroid International Instant Art Exhibition
2025 - Aug - Arles - InstantArt Arles
2025 - Oct - Bologna - ISO600 International Instant Exhibition