Hand Photography

Hands can speak volumes about love – the love between lovers, a mother and infant, or a grandfather and young child. It can tell the story of grace, of hard work, or time that has passed.

© Mia Rose

Tension, uncertainty, complexity, sensuality, and drama are all contained in the arrangement of fingers. I’m fascinated by the intricate emotional dialogue in hands that master photographers are able to portray.

© Mia Rose

2. Study your model’s hands as if you’ve never seen a hand before. Explore the shapes of the hands and arms against the body or chosen background. Emphasize the lines flowing through the image and play with different compositions. Explore different views for example, take photos palm-up, as well as photos of the back of the hand so that you can decide what is most pleasing during post-processing.

3. Keep the background simple, for example black cloth to isolate the hands.

4. Decide on a story that you would like to portray. For example, if your models are a grandmother and her grand-daughter, you may want to tell the story of openness, trust and safety. Allow the young one to naturally play with her grandmother’s hand – and focus in on the details. What needs to stand out is the contrast of the older person’s weathered hands against the baby’s smooth, glowing skin. In the accompanying photos the story was simply the love and trust between a mother and infant. 5. Black and white images of hands can look particurly stunning.

In the end, the question that needs to be answered is, Are the hands the heroes of the picture? If the answer is yes, you have done well.

Related Pages

(From Hand Photography back to Portrait Innovations) (From Hand Photography back to Basic Photography Tips Home Page)

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