Nick Fancher

Nick Fancher is a photographer, author, and educator who specialises in creating in-camera effects with vibrant colours and dramatic lighting. He is well renowned for his efficient working style, which involves using minimal equipment and frequently working in unusual locations. Nick earned a BFA in photography from Ohio State University in 2005 and has written several books about his processes, including Studio Anywhere 1&2 and Chroma. While he is best known for his editorial portraits and work in the music industry, he also does architectural photography, photojournalism, ecommerce (product, on-figure, and flat-lay), stock and food photography, corporate, lifestyle, fashion, and video. Nick Fancher is situated in Columbus and Los Angeles and is available for photography.

STRATA II, Nick Francher, May 2019

The black-and-white composition immediately grabs our attention, providing a feeling of contrast and intensity. The usage of black and white emphasises the visual impact and gives the image a classic, sleek feel.The photograph shows these intriguing drips in front of the face. They create a mesmerising visual effect, as if they are floating in mid-air. The positioning of the drips in front of the face creates depth and dimension in the picture.These drips create a focal point, capturing our attention and provoking questions about their meaning. They might represent a variety of things, including the passage of time, emotions, or even the freedom of identity. The contrast between the natural shape of the face and the abstract look of the drips offers a compelling visual contrast.Overall, Nick Fancher's photograph invites us to consider the link between human beings and the conceptual objects that surround us. It sparks our interest and pushes us to investigate the deeper meaning behind the image.

In response, my aim is to try get as close to Nicks work as possible, i will attempt to do this by using a simalr teqnique to him, using a glass or plastic sheet infront of the objects face but instead of usig oil and honey like he has done i will use hand sanitiser.

My responses

B&W - Textured

Canon, ISO-200, f/10, Shutter speed- 1/13

Canon, ISO-200, f/8.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Canon, ISO-200, f/10, Shutter speed- 1/13

Canon, ISO-200, f/8.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Colour - Drip

Canon, ISO-200, f/8.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Canon, ISO-200, f/8.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

B&W - Drip

Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/20

Black backdrop - Drip

(Experimental)

Canon, ISO-200, f/7.1, Shutter speed- 1/25

Digital editing process

Before editing (Raw image)

After editing

To begin with, I opened the unedited picture in camera raw, here I began to edit the temperature (4600) and tint (-16)of the photograph. This allowed me to alter the overall colour of the image, making it a pale washed out green, slightly replicating some of Nick’s photographs. Following this I began to play around with the global settings of the photo, increasing the exposure (+0.30) and contrast (+21), this made the overall image brighter and made the now greenish photo more vibrant. Decreasing the highlights slightly (-2) and increasing the shadows (+13) added colour depth back into the image, depth I had lost when increasing the contrast and exposure.

Finally increasing all the texture (+4), clarity(+16) and dehaze (+3), allowed me to add more contrast in specific areas like the drip and the subjects face, making the image overall look sharper.

Moving on, I began by selecting remove chromatic aberration and profile corrections, this ultimately corrects the image perspective and any lens flaws automatically. Changing the Geometry, increasing the vertical (+11) and rotating (-0.1) made the image look more flat and again helped with the image perspective. The final part of this stage in the editing process, was adding a slight vintaging (-5) affect to the photo, this darkened the corners surrounding the subject very subtly creating a shadow. I found this added a lot of character to the overall look of the photo.

Still in camera raw, I masked the subject witch allowed me to alter the settings on her slightly without interrupting the already edited background. Decreasing the contrast(-9) ,increasing the highlights(+12) and whites(+18), allowed me to brighten the subjects complexion exaggerating the light that was used to brighten up her face.

Changing the temperature (+5) , tint(+4) and saturation(-9) of the subjects, enabled me to add more neutral tones yet still incorporating that greenish tint. In the affects section, decreasing both the texture(-2) and dehaze(-2), allowed me to subtract the earlier increases on the subjects face, but not affecting the whole image. Increasing the clarity(+8), added more dimension to the subjects features ,like her collarbones jawline, and shoulders. Not only this, but it also helped exaggerated the drip affect.

Finally in camera raw, I created a radial mask over the subjects face, replicating where light would hit from a light source. Here I increased the exposure (+0.45), contrast(+13), highlights(+19) and whites(+7), this like I stated before, was to replicate what a light hitting the subjects face would do, so brighten it and brighten the drips Infront of her face.

Then I opened the image in adobe photoshop, here I cropped the image making the subject more central and moved onto making the drips look slightly more dramatic. I did this by selecting the dodge tool in the side bar, I altered the opacity of the tool and began by painting over the reflective areas of each drip. By doing this I was able to make the drips look so much more predominant and eye caching.

THE SET-UP

I conducted this photoshoot in the stables at collage. I used an old COVID-19 plastic divider to put the drips on, and created the drips with hand sanitiser as I found this was the easiest to clean up and also allowed me to be creative and it held its shape for a few seconds. Also I did experiment with a black background but not for long as I preferred the white as it enhanced the drips and the subject behind the plastic.

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