Nadav Kander

Nadav Kander is a London based photographer, artist and director, and particularly known for his portraiture and landscapes and began taking pictures when he was 13 on a Pentax camera. A lot of his later work is included in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and other galleries and museums. After being drafted into the South African with his parent and going into the Air Force, Kander worked in a darkroom printing aerial photographs but moved to London in 1986.

One of Kander's most celebrated images is his 2009 portrait of Barack Obama photographed for The New York Times Magazine as a cover feature. Below you can see one of the images of Obama and Sir Ian McKellen.

On 18 January 2009 Nadav Kander had 52 full page colour portraits published in one issue of The New York Times Magazine. These portraits (from a series titled Obama's People) were of the people surrounding President Barack Obama, from Joe Biden (Vice President) to Eugene Kang (Special Assistant to The President). The same issue also included a series of cityscapes of Washington DC also taken by Kander. This is the largest portfolio of work by the same photographer The New York Times Magazine has ever showcased in one single issue.

As you can see above is some of the portraits that Kander has photogrpahed, these images particularly interest me and are something I am looking at in putting along side the still life images in my book. Putting portraits within the book will add some continuity and hopefully showcase my make up skills. The other reason for looking at Kander is looking at his style of portrait, how he uses lighting as well as using black and white to create mood. From looking at the portraits it is clear to see that it is Kander's work, moving on with my work I hope to do some test shoots for my portraits so I can see what works for me and start my own style to put in the book.