FROM HANDS TO HANDS by THE CHRISTENING PHOTOGRAPHER PORTUGAL

The photos are of the baby being baptized, supported by his grandfather, who lovingly protects him at the celebration party

• Pode ler este artigo em Português. 

Good Hands to Guide the Baby at the Baptism Party

Hands. They’ve been honored in poems, songs, and often photographs. Hands are all different in shape and character. There are hands for holding, hands for caressing, hands for taking and hands for bringing, hands for giving, and others for receiving. Many times, I find myself observing hands for all these reasons, and because I have a camera in my own hands, I am a baptism photographer.

Miguel is certainly in good hands. Miguel still needs hands to support him, to follow his already wild sense of curiosity, which could lead him into danger if not for good hands to catch, hold, and guide him. The baptism photographer saw Miguel trying to leave his grandfather’s hands for his father’s, but he still didn’t know how to walk the path without hands. He knew, though, that they would go with him—and they did—until he found other hands that took care of him from that point on.

The Hands of the Baptism Photographer

Miguel won’t remember that journey, which felt enormous and difficult. But Miguel will be able to see the photographs of that day, taken by the baptism photographer for him and about him, so that one day, far ahead, he’ll know he was passed from hand to hand—hands that never stopped guiding and receiving him every day. Also present were the hands of the photographer, holding the camera that captured Miguel, his hands, and all the other hands with him. My hands were satisfied to have done that. So was I.

Point by Point:

• During a baptism, the photographer comes across the importance of hands:
  • They dress the child who is to be baptized
  • They hold them to help walk
  • They caress to calm
  • They transmit love
• Through the hands, a baby on their baptism day:
  • Feels the love around them
  • Feels safe when needed
  • Knows everything is okay, even without understanding what’s going on
• In baptism photos, we can notice:
  • That hands transmit different things to the child
    • The mother’s hands mean affection
    • The father’s means security
    • The grandfather’s playful mean playfulness
• The baptism photographer’s hands also know what to do:
  • Direct the camera at the right angle
  • Steadily maintain the framing
  • Take the photo at the perfect moment

You Must Know:

• Writing about the hands I encounter at events I attend as a baptism photographer could fill many pages. At weddings, they serve different purposes, though some are similar. But hands that help a bride into her wedding dress are very different—or rather, they feel and convey different things—compared to those caring for a small child about to be baptized.

• The hands involved in a baptism must be skillful and full of affection, sending a message to the child that everything is alright, that this is a special day, and balancing it all with the emotional nourishment children so eagerly receive.

• When the baptism photographer edits the images afterward, he always notices the number of hands involved in all these tasks: dressing, calming, holding, walking, rocking, caressing. They’re so skilled, doing it all at the right moment and in the right way.

• That’s why the baptism photographer always pays close attention to hands. He knows he can’t deliver photos that don’t include plenty of hands in their many roles, especially the most important: teaching. Through all these gestures, hands fundamentally teach the child what matters.

Hands will be an important part of my photos at your baptism. They’ll appear in almost all of them, performing essential roles for your child. Come and see how, in a meeting where we can talk about what you’ve planned for the day. I’m looking forward to it.

• You can see more christening photos: