Nigel Barker's pretty face doesn't need ANTM or Tyra

Nigel Barker isn't letting being fired from America's Next Top Model bring him down. Rather than speak ill of his former gig and Tyra Banks, the photographer has found a silver lining: More free time to make the most of his beautiful face!

"I'm friends with Tyra and the producers," Nigel Barker commented to E! News. "It wasn't a shock ... There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen."

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It turns out this wasn't even the first time the ANTM regular's position had been in jeopardy. Barker shared, "There had been previous years where discussions about me being eliminated from the show had happened and I had actually survived the chopping block before."

"We had an incredible run and there aren't any hard feelings," Nigel Barker went on to say. "This isn't a Tyra thing. This is a network thing."

So what's next for the 39-year-old, pictured here with wife Cristen? Time on his hands to pursue a show of his own, as well as launching a cosmetics line and a skin care line for men.

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"My contract was so exclusive that it was holding me back from other projects," Barker said. "I'm looking very much forward to creating my own show that focuses on some of my passions like photography. We're looking at producing and directing a number of projects. There are several scripts we're looking at right now."

Image via WENN