Most of Todd Hido photographs of suburban landscapes are taken during solitary, long drives. The main subject of his work is the quality of natural and artificial light in the American landscape, as in reflected sunrays or the illumination of a television pouring from an anonymous window.

Hido takes his pictures in a 'fairly undirected way', he says, but edits his negatives together and manipulates them until he produces an image that represents his encounter with a place. In describing his process, Hido says, 'I shoot sort of like a documentarian, but I print like a painter.' He has also produced a number of interior shots featuring human figures; his models include his wife and former girlfriends.