Sometimes you might find that an otherwise beautiful photograph is ruined because of awkwardly placed hands. It is important that hands be relaxed so as to add to the photograph. Another alternative might be to give the the subject an object to hold to complete the picture. Alternatively, the hands can be removed from the frame in totality. However, instead of hands accentuating the picture, I want to talk about hands being the sole subject of the picture. Photographing hands can be a great alternative to doing a portrait since it can be very telling of a person’s life.
Photograph/Sarang Naik
Photographing hands can be easy. It is important to pay close attention to the background and foreground to ensure that there are no distracting elements in the frame. As far as lighting goes, side lighting works best to bring out the cracks and lines. For younger hands, soft and diffused light works best. Hands can be a great study of line, shape, texture and form.
Photograph/Saurabh Bhatia
Black and white is well suited to capture texture and capturing the audience’s attention. Try and be a little creative in clicking hands. This picture (above) does an excellent job of making the viewer feel the chill in the air, trying to warm up on the clothesline. Hands can be shot in action to convey a feeling about the process that they are trying to complete.
Photograph/ Ashwini V
Another area that could be explored in the area of hand photography is playing with shadows. Shadows convey action and add a dramatic effect to the composition.
Photograph/Sara Cath http://instagram.com/sara_cath
Hands can be used to show love and togetherness as well especially in wedding photography. The photographs can also be markers of getting married, like mehndi or bangles.
Photograph/ Natasha Desai
Thus, experimenting with hand photography can help in creating a story around the person you are shooting and also help you develop an eye for detail.
This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of Better Photography.