The position of the hands influences a lot, more than you imagine, in the quality of the portraits. It is surprising, but when working with an inexperienced model, the confusion of “What am I doing with my hands?” Where should I put them? . . ”Something as simple and obvious as hands can spoil the whole portrait, no matter how beautiful or beautiful our subject is.
And it is that many times we do not realize it until the end of the session, or when we are already reviewing the photos on the computer and it is already late ¡Ajjjjj, what frustration! But wait, it can be even worse – sometimes we are not happy with the portrait and we don’t even know why. We know something is wrong but we are not aware that it is the hands.
- In today’s article I bring you some brief but very effective tips to avoid falling into this common mistake.
- That of underestimating the power of both hands of your subject.
The best way to achieve a correct and correct posture of the hands is to assign them a mission or objective in the photo. They cannot appear like this in the photo because yes, they have to serve a purpose, convey a message, draw attention to something, etc. They can hold a glass, lean against the subject’s face, direct the viewer’s attention to an element of the composition, or lie parallel to the body to reflect tranquility and peace. The point is that they have to contribute something. You know, what doesn’t add subtracts. So wait to get your hands on the topic to reinforce an idea.
Before each stroke, observe the position of the hands. Ask the subject to keep his hands loose, relaxed, and his fingers slightly apart. Too bad if the subject is a little nervous and can’t relax his hands (which is normal) try to compose images where his hands don’t come out at all. This advice can be useful at the beginning of the session, then your subject will gradually relax and now you can quietly insert your hands into the frame.
There are times when it’s best to keep our model’s hands busy. Did you hold an object, an orange, for example, a file or a book, a glass with a drink?Oh, and most importantly, make it look natural.
Make sure your fingers aren’t pointing directly at the camera lens unless you want to (like in the photo) on purpose. If you are going to photograph the hands of a man, ask him to slightly clench his fist, it will give the hand more roundness and three-dimensionality. In the case of female portraits, it is recommended that the fist is less closed.
When a person crosses his arms for a photographic pose, it is important not to hold his arms too tightly against his chest, as this will make him feel cold and look for warmth. On the other hand, it is advisable to separate the crossed arms very slightly from the chest (without showing too much) because otherwise the tight arms may appear larger than normal.
Important rule: If you plan to include your hand in a portrait, make it look complete. Don’t let a part of your hand stand out. Either we include it in its entirety, or it’s better to leave it hidden.
Paying attention to these details is critical to successful portrait photography. At first, it will be difficult to notice, but over time, you will exercise and learn to detect, almost instinctively, these incorrect postures of the hands.
I hope you enjoyed this reading.