Click on Any Image for Full-Size
______________________________
I recently got to spend a day with Australian singer/songwriter Nick Murphy, better known by his stage name, Chet Faker. The Sydney Morning Herald was doing a cover story for their Sunday magazine that talked about his new album and how he was going to use his real name after five years as Faker. Tegan Sadlier, the photo editor at the Herald, and I tossed around a bunch of ideas before deciding on “Will The Real Nick Murphy Please Stand Up?” as our cover headline. More on that later, but here’s how the shoot went…
I have long had Ruby Bird Studios in Greenpoint on my radar, but haven’t had the right subject to take advantage of the wonderful grunge they have to offer…Nick was that subject! The old warehouse on the Brooklyn waterfront was made for a day of rock star portraits…
While studio 520 can hardly be described as a daylight space, it does have a cool casement window…
…that with minimal lighting (one big umbrella directly over Nick’s head) made for a nice, moody start…
Just to the left of the window was a beat up old sliding metal door that I liked for some tight portraits…
To the right of the window was an even more interesting door, but this one was recessed in a brick wall that would make for a frame around Nick…
…and that furry green coat…perfect!!!
Finally, for our cover concept…I convinced Tegan I could do a multiple image photo of Nick in different positions, wearing different outfits, to illustrate the ‘Will The Real Nick Murphy Please Stand Up?’ idea…
This wall was our base…
Next, we had to place our ‘Nicks’ in different spots in the frame…
And when that was done, all that was left was for me to spend a day at the computer making a group shot…with the ‘real’ Nick standing up!
…and here’s our final cover…
Damn Ugly Photography 