The photo itself looks like silence, but my direction was actually excited and funny! While they played a game and answered my questions on, “Who would rather…?”, I never payed attention to their faces. They thought I capture their reactions and laughter, but I actually payed attention to their silent communication: Their hands.
Hands have their own love language. And while J & M concentrated on the questions, they haven‘t payed attention to their hands at all. So I captured the language and the natural movements of their hands. I tried to capture the silence within all the spoken words.
Can you come a little bit closer to each other and hold your hands? I would love to play a game with you, if that‘s okay? I‘ll start to ask questions beginning with ‘Who would rather…?‘ and I want you to answer this question with your own or your partners name. I will count “one, two three” and then give me your answer! So. Who would rather…
Excited, Funny
I cropped it to a little bit off center, because I love the space around it and how it gives you slightly more dynamic than a center-cropped photo.
Off Center
Close UpIntimate Framing
The only troubles I had for focus, was when their hands disappeared behind their bodies. Since I haven‘t told them that I payed attention to their hands and not their faces, they sometimes lowered them or let them disappear behind their bodies. But patience was the key.
Continuous
Single Focus Point
the fingers
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
The light was very soft, so I had no difficulties with harsh shadows. But it was my first time shooting at a lake and I had to get to know what it means to have a reflecting surface in the background. Since we had no harsh sunlight it wasn‘t that bad but a surprise from how many directions it influenced the photo.
Natural Light
Soft
Afternoon
Overcast
One single word: cropping. I spoke about the love language of hands, how they communicate so much without saying a word at all. To support this non-spoken and intimate language (and since I haven‘t told them that I photograph their hands, so I stand a bit further away from them) I cropped quite a lot. Don‘t be afraid to straighten and crop a photo. Cropping = magic. Cropping = intimacy.
One challenge was to stand further away, distract them with questions/games and secretly capture their hands, although they sometimes lowered them or moved their bodies between the camera and their hands.
Patience is the key. I went on with my questions/games as long as possible to get a few shots of their hands. To support my idea of this shot I cropped it quite a lot.
Großer Viehofner See in St.Pölten
Dr. Adolf Schärf-Straße 21, 3107 St. Pölten
Lake
Austria
Don‘t be afraid to crop a photo! I repeat it: Don‘t be afraid to crop a photo! This can give your shot a completely different meaning and vibe. It often brings way more intimacy into a photo.
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