{"id":865,"date":"2015-03-24T12:07:54","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T12:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/?p=865"},"modified":"2015-03-24T12:07:54","modified_gmt":"2015-03-24T12:07:54","slug":"including-hands-in-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/including-hands-in-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"Including Hands in Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I am shooting portraits, I like to include the subject’s hands in the composition. If you follow my blog, you know that I shoot my portraits with a (somewhat) wide angle lens. This means that including the hands in the foreground will make the person’s hands look a little larger than normal and draw attention to them. Not everyone likes this, but I think it adds interest in certain types of portraits.<\/p>\n

The picture below is of a super-cool Malawian guy. Here, I’ve used the hands and arms in the foreground to frame the picture.<\/p>\n

\"africa,african,black,environmental<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Cool Malawian<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Super cool Malawian guy in an alley in Lilongwe.<\/p>\n

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In some cases, it works really well if the person is doing something with their hands. I am not suggesting that holding a machete works in every situation. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, I wouldn’t suggest this one. But the farmer below had a machete and it works great in this picture.<\/p>\n

\"asia,asian,environmental<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Stand Tall and Hold a Machete<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Indonesian man holding a machete with the rising sun behind him.<\/p>\n

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One last example from another Malawian… this time a woman. Here she is simple grabbing her arm with her hand. Notice her hand looks bigger than normal, due to the wide angle lens I used.<\/p>\n

\"africa,african,baby,black,child,daughter,environmental<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Portrait of a Malawian Woman<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

A young Malawian woman poses for the camera in early evening sunlight.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I am shooting portraits, I like to include the subject’s hands in the composition. If you follow my blog, you know that I shoot my portraits with a (somewhat) wide angle lens. This means that including the hands in the foreground will make the person’s hands look a little larger than normal and draw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-composition"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t