Week 10: Celebrity Portraits by Nadav Kander

Monday, September 22, 2014 Ching Lea Yee 0 Comments

Nadav Kander is one of the photographers that my lecturer, Ms Ho has recommended for me as a reference to portrait photography. As my Project 3 on "work" will consists of mostly people in the shots, I wanted to see how Nadav Kander takes portrait photography and how he brings out the mood of the person through the lighting, composition and other elements.

Nadav Kander is a London-based photographer, artist and director, famous for his portraiture and landscapes. He has over 80 solo and group shows to his name, his work has travelled to many parts of the world, yet this is the first time he is making a solo outing in South-east Asia. Kander began taking pictures when he was 13 on a Pentax camera. After being drafted into the South African Air Force, Kander worked in a darkroom printing aerial photographs. He moved to London in 1986, where he still resides with his wife Nicole and their three children.

This series of photographs feature celebrity portraits by Nadav Kander. From politicians to actors to celebrities, Nadav Kander has done unforgettable portraits of famous names. We were fortunate to have his gallery in our school Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Nadav Kander 49 Works, now in our school, features 49 of his photographs from five series, showing his range as a photographer equally at ease with portraits as well as documenting changing landscapes. 


What I love about his portraitures are how his restrained and articulate compositions have a clarity and calm that draw the viewer into zen-like states.

"I really like the connection that human beings have when there isn’t a great knowledge, like when you first meet people. I would find it very, very hard to photograph a friend well, or to photograph somebody that I knew well. I think that that tension when you first meet people allows you to communicate without speaking"~ Nadav Kander