People 185

EXERCISEHandsAssignment: Photograph hands inexpressive postures or engaged in in-teresting activities.

You may photograph one hand byitself, both hands of one person, or thehands of several people together. Donot include a full face with the hands,though part of a face is acceptable.

Goal: Hands have attitudes, moods,habits. Look for hands that say some-thing about a person or what that per-son is doing, thinking or feeling.

Tips: Look for people you knowwho have a particular gesture that istheir "signature." Alternatively, lookfor the various attitudes of hands(resigned, strong, casual, engaged insome task, at rest, tense) or for theirposition in relation to the body(behind the back, part way in apocket, scratching the head, holdingup the chin). Look also for howhands relate to their surroundings:hands reaching for something; in-teracting with someone else's hands;placed on somebody's shoulder;holding a baseball bat, a steeringwheel, a chess piece; opening a cardoor.

In general, unless the context is im-portant, the hands should be largewithin the frame.

Student photograph.

Student photograph by Esther Suarez.

186 The Photographic Eye