Recent Work
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Recent Work

I have fallen behind when it comes to blogging, but still wanted to update it periodically. Here’s some of my favorite work from the last six weeks…

Read More
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 January's Creative Portrait Workshop
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Images From January's Creative Portrait Workshop

Here are a handful of my favorite images from January’s Creative Portrait workshop. I’ve been teaching workshops since 2011 and have been slightly modifying the format each time until I found the current iteration. I now cap the two-day class at five students, which allows for more hands-on time and exploration of each technique. Since there are endless variations that can be created from any one of the techniques that I teach, I start by showing the class three iterations, and then I guide them, one at a time, in helping them fold it into their own visual style. This allows students to really retain the knowledge, as well as work it into their personal style.

Read More
Tutorial and Preset For Sale!
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Tutorial and Preset For Sale!

If you’re interested in learning how to create these in-camera effects, I have three video tutorials that detail my entire process. Each episode covers a wide range of techniques and includes everything from coming up with a concept and subject direction to camera settings and how I color grade the files in Lightroom. More info here

Read More
Cyberpunk Photo Shoot for Unsplash+
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Cyberpunk Photo Shoot for Unsplash+

I was recently commissioned by Unsplash to create a series of cyberpunk-inspired images. Though the cyberpunk aesthetic is especially trendy as of late, it has held a spot near to my heart ever since I was a teen in the nineties…

Read More
My Colorful Portrait Shoot for Tech Industry's Sidebar
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

My Colorful Portrait Shoot for Tech Industry's Sidebar

Back in January I had the privilege of working with Sidebar to create a library of images for their new website launch. I’m so grateful for such a wonderful opportunity and true collaboration with the team at Sidebar as well as the designers and creatives at Mackey Saturday that developed the campaign. Big thanks to @elizabethcareysmith for art directing, @kyleameeks for assisting, @xixstudios for hosting, and all the subjects for bringing power and joy to the shoot.

Read More
Images From the Previous Icon Session and New Event Announcement
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Images From the Previous Icon Session and New Event Announcement

Back in October I opened up my studio to host a day of portraits, which I call Icon Sessions. The idea behind it was to have a reduced session fee, making it more accessible for people to have creative images of themselves. Sessions are limited to 15 minutes, which allows for two outfits and lighting scenarios. Below you can get an idea of the range of portraits that were created that day…

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

Images From Latest Creative Portrait Workshop

This past weekend I taught a 2-day Creative Portrait workshop at my Columbus, Ohio studio. Students came in from Utah, Arizona, Texas, and New York. It was an intimate time of learning, experimentation, and creativity…

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

Images From My Latest Creative Portrait Workshop

Last week I taught a two-day photography workshop called The Creative Portrait. I taught my students a range of innovative camera and lighting techniques that allow them to capture subjects in creative ways. Here are a few of my favorite images from the weekend.

Read More
Images From the Creative Portrait Workshop: April 2022
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Images From the Creative Portrait Workshop: April 2022

This past weekend I taught a Creative Portrait workshop to five students, at my Columbus studio. I’ve been teaching workshops for over a decade now, and each time I teach one I tweak the format a bit, which keeps it interesting for me and my students. My work is constantly evolving and so I like to work a couple of my newer techniques into each workshop. I typically teach 8 core techniques, each of which can be executed in a number of different ways, each producing radically different results. Here’s what I taught, this time…

Read More
Using a Fungus-Filled Lens with Long Exposure and Prisms to Create Psychedelic In-Camera Effects
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Using a Fungus-Filled Lens with Long Exposure and Prisms to Create Psychedelic In-Camera Effects

Whenever I’m doing a personal shoot I try to make at least one small change to a tried-and-true technique in an effort to see how the resulting images differ from previous sessions. For example, let’s say I’m shooting long exposures in a darkened room while my subject is wrapped in strands of LED lights and moving around the room. Each image is different based on their movement, which creates unique light trails. In the following shoot I might have the subject and camera stationary as I swing the strand of LEDs around the room, thus framing the subject in light. Another session might involve me moving my camera while the subject and lights are unmoving. Each tweak of the formula creates dramatically different results and I frequently discover new techniques through these experiments…

Read More
Why We Choose to Suffer: Conceptual Portrait for Wall Street Journal
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Why We Choose to Suffer: Conceptual Portrait for Wall Street Journal

I was recently commissioned to create a conceptual portrait to accompany the @wsj article, “Why We Choose to Suffer.” The essay is an excerpt from Paul Bloom’s upcoming book, The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning, which touches on why we humans often choose things that create unpleasant moments for ourselves, and how these moments can ultimately lead to growth and even pleasure…

Read More
Bold Colors and Shapes with Ballet Dancer Kristie Latham
Nick Fancher Nick Fancher

Bold Colors and Shapes with Ballet Dancer Kristie Latham

My latest shoot with dancing queen, Kristie Latham. We’ve been shooting together for over a decade now and it’s fun to look back at how our work together has evolved over the years. I started off with a simple color and shape study with the Lindsay Adler Optical Spot (Kristie styled her wardrobe). Then I finished the shoot with some long exposure work (I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this technique).

Read More