Author Topic: "Hands," Weekly Photography Assignment for 16 - 22 May 2011  (Read 1509 times)

keithsnell

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Quick, name the three most expressive features of the human body.  Our mouths, our eyes and....... our hands.  So much so, that I know several people that cannot talk without moving their hands.  If you force them to hold their hands still, their speech becomes stilted and unnatural.  Yet, hands are often an afterthought in our portrait photography.  

Subconsciously, we can look at an image and the hands will immediately convey whether the subject was relaxed or ill at ease.  Photographer Darren Rowse tells a story about photographing a wedding where "the groom's hands gave it away."  Darren says "On the day itself I thought the bride and groom were very relaxed and enjoying the day, but on getting the photos back I was immediately drawn to the hands of the groom. In virtually every shot they were clenched or grasping at the sleeves of his suit coat.  In showing the photos to others I found that quite a few of them noticed the same thing while others thought he looked stressed but couldn’t quite put their finger (no pun intended) on why.  I later found out that the groom was having second thoughts about what he was doing all day long. His hands told the story."

Hands can also convey much about the character of the subject.  Are they well manicured?  Covered with motor oil?  Skinny and frail?  Hands are a worthy portrait subject in and of themselves, and a portrait of a parent's hands softly touching their child or holding their hand can convey much about their relationship.  

Hands are a critical component of a successful portrait, yet often we don't pay enough attention to the hands, or simply don't know how to pose them in a flattering manner.  I won't pretend to be an expert at photographing hands, but I can share a few helpful hints and suggestions that are a synthesis of what I have learned about photographing hands.

Simple guidelines for posing hands:  Photograph the sides of the hands, avoiding the palms and back of the hands as much as possible. (A photograph of the "broad side" of a hand will usually make the hand much too prominent in your images, and just isn't flattering for most people.  Make the hand appear more slender and attractive by posing it so that you are photographing the slender side of the hand, and not the broad palm or back of the hand.)  You can pose a woman's hands so they look graceful by eliminating sharp bends and positioning them to form smooth, natural, flowing curves.  Don't "break" the hands with an unnatural looking sharp bend.  Don't amputate the fingers (by hiding them in pockets or behind other body parts, or by cropping them abruptly from the frame).  Don't have one person's hands poking out of another person's body.  Keep most of the fingers together, but relaxed.  Spreading the fingers just slightly can convey a more relaxed mood, but avoid spreading the fingers out wide.  Recognize that hands and fingers (and arms) are great "leading lines" and should lead the viewers gaze appropriately.  (Don't "lead" them to an unflattering part of your portrait subject's body.)  Reduce contrast/lighting on the hands as much as possible so that they don't attract too much attention (unless the hands are the primary subject).  Don't place the hands closer to the camera than the face or body, since this will give them more prominence (unless the subject is the hands).  The most effective way to pose "natural" looking hands is to give them something to hold.

A good reference is the Amherst book titled Posing Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios.  (You can find it with an online search.)  In addition, the following two links provide examples of effective (and not so effective) hand positions:  http://www.mac-on-campus.com/LearningCenter/EducationalArticlesandBookExcerpts/15744.aspx
and http://www.pixiq.com/article/posing-hands-to-define-character-and-mood-in-a-portrait

The assignment for the week of 16 - 22 May 2011 is "Hands."  You should strive to compose a portrait where the subject's hands play a key role in defining their mood, relationship or character, or help to flatter the subject (such as framing the face, etc.).  Your composition can be a portrait of just the person's hands, or a portrait that includes more of their body, with their hands being a primary contributor to the success of the image.  Please upload your images to the "Hands" album in the Weekly Assignment category of the gallery no-later-than midnight Mountain time on Sunday, 22 May 2011.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing your images.

Keith