Bride’s Hands: Feelings, Anticipation and Emotions

I was at a wedding in Colorado. There were professional photographers clicking non-stop from every angle, all the time. I had my 1970s Nikkor 105mm lens on my camera and wanted to capture a different story from that of the wedding itself.

So, I decided to focus on the left hand of the bride at the moments leading to the groom sliding the ring on her finger. It should be one of the more memorable yet tense moments. It is beyond the words exchanged until that point. It is concrete. A precious metal ring will soon circle that finger indicating that all is now real. That moment is a life changer.

I have always been fascinated by body posture during street photography. Small moves and bends express the feelings of the subject (https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2017/01/aesthetics-that-tell-story-fluidity-of.html ). One of my projects that has generated many comments was my attempt looking at people from a dog’s perspective. Not surprisingly I captured a lot of legs from that angle of view (https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/09/street-photography-from-dogs-perspective.html ).

Hands are even more special. In most parts of the globe our first impression of the other person comes after a handshake. It lasts a few seconds, but we can tell a lot about the person. The handshake can be dominant, submissive, accepting, imposing, suggestive or indifferent. A wet palm exposes the person immediately; a lingering handshake makes you wonder. If there is a slight squeeze you may get uncomfortable. If there is a tremor you may not know if to hold the hand or let it go..

So, I left the traditional pictures of the bride all radiant in joy to the other photographers. All I wanted is a few shots within a few seconds just before the groom slides the ring upon the finger of the bride.

I wanted to see if her hands show the feelings and an emotion her face may not, as it is customary to remain all radiant during the ceremony.

… At the moment leading to the best man producing the rings, the bride was all smiles but her hands were very tightly together. All anticipation for sure.

Then a slight comfort with the moment, although still tense.

And suddenly, all came together. It was the moment of truth as the groom held her ring between his index and thumb. At this second, the bride’s left hand ascended with grace as if trout to the surface of the stream.

And there is the hand that says “all is well”!

… Alea jecta est. Happy trails young couple.

February 27, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017

PS/ Since I took these photos from 20 yards with a fixed lens, I had to crop extensively. Of course that means sacrificing the quality of the photos, but my goal was more about describing the psychology of the moment and not the technical quality of the product.