Photo Shoot with Ballerina Dancer
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Photo Shoot with Ballerina Dancer

I rarely go into a shoot with a fixed notion of how I want it to go, or how I want the images to look. I often base my techniques, color palette, and post processing on what the moment dictates…

Read More
Images From My Creative Portrait Workshop
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Images From My Creative Portrait Workshop

This past weekend I hosted a 2-day Creative Portrait workshop at my studio. In an effort to keep the atmosphere intimate and allow for a lot of hands-on time for students, I capped the workshop at 5 students. We covered a range of techniques such as using flags to shape light; color theory; making and using snoots; long exposure portraits; and lighting with projectors. We packed a lot in, as you can see below…

Read More
A Window to the Soul: Long Exposures of Ballet Dancers
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

A Window to the Soul: Long Exposures of Ballet Dancers

Sometimes all you need is time. I photographed Caitlin and Karen last week, two dancers from Ballet Met. The sessions were deceptively simple. A dancer, a window, and a tripod. For some of the shots I froze their movement, highlighting their pose and their poise. I also explored making long exposures in an effort to capture the grace and fluidity of their movements (for years I’ve struggled to adequately capture a dancer in a single frame). I also used my fungus-filled lens on a few of the long exposures, resulting in especially ghostly images. Here are some of my favorites:

Read More
Rae of Light
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Rae of Light

Rae is a dancer with Balletmet and a frequent collaborator with me. She’s as willing to experiment as she is talented, which means we always come away with a great range of images. We started off by creating fragmented portraits courtesy of my broken mirror, before moving on to creating golden images with slow shutter speeds and mylar reflections.

Read More
When You Move I Move
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

When You Move I Move

I love working with dancers, and Kristie in particular. There is so much power and calculation and precision in her movement (or even just her finger shape). We’ve shot together a dozen times by now, so there is almost no need for communication. She does her thing and I do my best to keep up. The hardest part for me is figuring out new ways to shoot her…

Read More