“I tend not to spend a lot of time with the sitter beforehand.”

“When I meet them it’s when they sit down or stand up in front of the camera and I let it go from there.”

“I’ve always chosen some lighting that I think is appropriate for the way that I want to see that person, but I’m often wrong.”

“Very often what I thought would be appropriate really isn’t and I rethink it. That’s when it gets interesting.”

Nadav Kander’s website is (here).

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15 Comments

  1. Excellent, wonderful insight. Bravo.
    Thanks for putting this up!

  2. great insight. To show or not to show (monitor)… that is the question! I think it’s an interesting debate in this digital world. i know how i handle it, but it’s tricky at times.

  3. Brilliant. He’s in my top five favorite, and after watching this interview I like him and his work even more.

  4. His approach reminds me, very much, of an interview I read in which Bill Brandt described the way he approached his subjects. The idea being that not interacting with your subject allowed them to “find themselves” in front of the camera.

    I hadn’t thought of it before but now I can see the similarities in their work.

  5. No monitors for me, just trust between the subject and I…all the more simple.

  6. An incredible interview. I plan to share it and will most definitely watch it again. Thank you.

  7. What a poignant juxtaposition between this Nadav Kander interview and the Joe Klamar dust-up. Let’s hear it for thoughtful deliberate artists.

  8. I admire that Kander’s work is so varied in subject matter but also in market – fine art, editorial, advertising. And yet there is, as he notes, a common thread through all of them. Very aspirational to those of us with many interests.

    I also admire his introverted method of portraiture. I bet one could learn a lot from him.

  9. Great to see and hear some of the genius of Nadav Kander; has been to my mind for many years the most inspirational working photographer, who reinvigorates the spirit of all that is great about photography.

  10. After yesterday’s KlamerFest, thank God for Nadav Kander and thank God for Rob posting this video.

    Oh wait…I’m an atheist. Never mind…but I’m still glad I stopped by today.

  11. “I have no love for the actual thing I hold anymore when I do portraiture, which I certainly used to with a Hasselblad or my Linhof . . .” So true.


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