How to pose for a model – hands
Posing for a model may or may not come naturally. Some models are great with knowing what to do with every part of their body, while others really seems to struggle and the shot ends up looking staged or unnatural.
Learning what to do with you hands is a big step to learning how to pose. No matter how great your face looks, if your hands are awkward, the shot will not work.
Models need to look graceful and hands have a lot to do with whether a model looks graceful or clunky. Models can begin by first seeing what people do with their hands naturally and then pose in a mirror to practice.
So what do people do with hands?
hands on hips
arms folded on chest
hands inserted into pockets
hands holding an object
hands just dangling
hands playing with hair
hands playing with clothing
pointing at something
hand gesture such as come here or goodbye
hands clenched behind back
hands working, such as typing, sewing, etc.
Those are just a few of the things you can do with your hands. The trick to posing well is making your hands look natural and almost unnoticeable. The easiest shots are the ones where a model is doing something such as petting a dog or holding a baby. We all know what to do with out hands there. It gets tricky when you are doing nothing and still need to have natural hands.
Practice all the different hand poses in front of a mirror. Work on making your hands look as natural and unnoticeable as possible. Unless you are a hand model, your hands will not be the focus of the shot. Make sure that they are not. When we meet someone in person, we rarely notice their hands first, so make sure that your hands do not stand out and never look awkward and posed.
A few things that look awkward and you may want to avoid:
Hiding your hands
While sometimes and in some shots a hand behind your may may look OK, mostly it will not. In the 2D realm of print, a hidden hand has the effect of amputation and will ultimately draw the eyes attention to the “weird” body part.
Pointing straight
Again, the 2D part of print makes it difficult to work with your hands pointing straight ahead. The lack of depth will give your arms a distorted look. In modeling, most want to extend their limbs, not shorten them. If you need to point straight ahead, make sure that it is done on a bit of an angle.