Photographing hands – the obsession has an explanation

As I'm writing this I'm sitting at the airport in Atlanta, waiting for my (already delayed) flight back to San Francisco. Altanta is just my city of layover – I was in Asheville, NC for my first a day in the life newborn session.

I took a small stroll in Asheville and got stuck at a used books store where I found Elliott Erwitt's Handbook – a book dedicated to his photographs of hands and gestures. The foreword said that hands are more expressive than our faces, and I agree that sometimes this is very true.

It was particularly peculiar that I happened on this book after doing a newborn session, since hands are something I find myself focusing on more and more especially around babies. Whether it's their tiny chubby fingers grabbing a dad's seemingly giant hand, a mom gently stroking their baby's head, or several sets of hands taking care of baby.

Hands do express so much!

They can convey affection, protection, and connection – things that I'm always on the lookout for during my newborn and family sessions.