Enter the work of Nadav Kander.  I love the personality of the subject being infused throughout the portraits in the Solitary series.  Each is very telling to their attitude at time of the photograph and offers a glimpse at their personality.  I believe many of these photos, not all, follow a constructionist approach.  In such that they use body language to build a conveyed emotion and develop atmosphere.  There are so many to choose from here but I will focus on the Yorgos Lanthimos I portrait.  The contrast from his blackened silhouette to the white background is stark, but almost evokes the feel of a missing persons poster. That is until the slither of light that enters the frame, cuts directly across his face to reveal a single eye gazing at you. Mystery, suspense, and drama all immediately come to mind.  I would definitely like to replicate the use of a single “slithering” light in our portraits during lab.

Yousef Karsh has worked with some very polarizing figures.  After viewing the samples in his gallery, one could say his calling card aesthetic is that of black and white portraiture.  I elect to speak on the Ernest Hemmingway portrait.  I love the level of contrast all throughout this photograph. The striations in his hair, his forehead wrinkles, the fluff of his sweater, and heft of his beard, each adds another layer of texture to this photograph. These are definitely brought to light (pun intended) by the use of at least a key, and fill (light) to create then brighten the shadows. His body is positioned straight forward but his head turns slightly, yet not enough to re-create a three-quarters view.