Hands can be extremely expressive and can help to define the character and mood of the sitter. Equally, clumsily posed hands can ruin a potentially strong portrait—but luckily there are some simple guidelines that will help you get good results every time.
 |
| When an expressive portrait is required, a combination of slightly exaggerated hand gestures and facial expression gives a more animated quality to the portrait, allowing viewers to interpret the pose for themselves. |
Hands can make a portrait, giving animation to the pose and revealing something of your subject’s character. They can also totally destroy a portrait if they are too dominant or if they catch and reflect too much of the key light.
 |
| Here, the hands compete with the face for importance. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on the intention behind the portrait: if the hands are being used to show a theatrical expression, it is good; if they are simply part of the overall portrait, the highlights on the hands tend to dominate the image—especially against the black jumper. | | | | |
 |
| Be careful not to place the hand too far forward in the portrait, as this makes it too dominant. The position of the near hand in this portrait, with the wrist bent and the fingers elegantly spread, is generally considered more suitable for a female portrait. | |
Decide at the outset what part the hands will play. If they are not important, make sure they do not pick up any highlight—or even hide them from view behind the subject’s back or in a pocket. (However, leaving the thumbs out of the pockets, which shows more of the back of the hand, looks better than hiding them completely.)
 |
| It is always important to make sure that the hand does not appear too large in the portrait, particularly when it is near the face. To achieve this, simply turn it so that the camera can see the side of the hand and the subject’s chin can rest on the palm; avoid placing the chin too heavily on the hand, as this will distort both the hand and the face. |
If you want the hands to be visible, there is a very simple way of making them look elegant. If the hand is positioned above the subject’s waist level, the wrist should be bent slightly so that the hand points upward, as this looks more natural. When the hand is positioned below the waist, allow it to fall downward; this is the position our hands naturally adopt when we stand.
 |
| When the subject’s hands need to be separated from the trouser pocket, leave out the thumb so that a little more of the hand can be seen. |
The hand can become very dominant, especially when it is flat on to camera; this is why we usually show the side, rather than the palm or the back, of the hand, as it is always more pleasing to the eye and makes the hand look slimmer.
 |
| When the hand is below the waist, regardless of whether the subject is sitting down or not, the hand can naturally relax by allowing the wrist to bend downward. |
 |
| The classic hand pose can be enhanced by stacking the fingers one behind the otherto form a “staircase;” this can be achieved by placing the thumb behind the forefinger. |
 |
| When the hands are above the waist, the wrist can be bent upward to enhance the graceful shape of the side of the hand |
Marks Top Tips for Hands:
If your subjects find it hard to pose their hands, try getting them to hold a pen and then remove it, keeping their fingers in the same position.
 |
| A simple way of getting a pleasing position of the fingers is to get the sitter to pick up a pen and then slide it out, leaving the fingers in the same position. |
If you are not sure whether or not to include the hands, leave them out.
The side of the hand looks more attractive and slimmer in a portrait than the back of the hand or the palm.
