I used a black sheet on my dining room table as the back drop. The candle was the primary light source, I also used a halegon lamp 90 degrees offset from the camera to the right with a make shift tissue shade to soften the shadows. A thank you to my son's for their help and patience while I experimented with angles and lighting.
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The essence of faith and prayer is what this image conveys to me. Great religious shot...I love the way the light from the candle falls on the hands and also like the pitch black background and floating candle, which gives the photo a spiritual and even mystical feel. Because the face and hands are of different tones (face much more yellow and mask-like, and hands more red), there seems to be a dissociation between the two. Now, maybe this was done intentionally because from a philosophical point of view, the photographer could be stating that faith is not about the intellect, but about the heart. Can you comment on that?
Working with candles is a challenge in itself. The flame throws the auto exposure into chaos. But I like the idea and the slight flare adds to the atmosphere. If only there was a way to prevent the light from being so bright. Hmmm....
Like the composition very much. It´s very hard to get focus perfect but I think it´s acceptable here. The hands are the most important and they´re ok. I had probably mad it a little bit darker and perhaps in b&w. Overall well done!
Interesting composition. At first the brightness of the candle bothered me, but when I see the effect on the hands, I like it. The little edges of light around the fingers are nice. I think the way you've composed this makes my eyes rest more on the candle than the hands, but over time, after looking at the photo more, this seems appropriate.
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