Although operating in different decades the work of Yousef Karsh and Nadav Kander, bear many similarities. Both of their careers as portrait photographers were based on their iconic photographs of activists, world leaders, and thinkers. Kander’s work is noticeably more modern, the aesthetics of his portraits break convention and push the boundaries much more than Karsh’s do. In many of Karsh’s portraits, the subject appears to be lit from one a single light and more often than not is not making eye contact with the camera but rather looking behind or away from it. This gives his photos a very pensive quality to capture the personality if those he photographed.

 Kander’s subjects are similar in that they also don’t typically make direct eye contact with the camera and are of similar status and intellect. But his lighting is much harsher, overall have more contrast to them, giving his subjects this elevated, almost heroic look. This can be seen in his portrait of Barack Obama, where Obama stands in profile and is lit using short lighting (which is almost close to rim lighting)