The "Hand On Face" Pose: A Retrospective

Last week, we solicited some of your “hand on face” pictures. And herewith, a definitive gallery of everyone’s favorite school pic/neck-flattering studio portrait pose:

The earliest known iteration of HoF. Commenter fatchickintheTARDIS writes, “I posed right after I came out of the womb.”

The classic!

While the HoF is frequently thought of as a woman’s pose, as commenter No Clever Name reminds us, it’s still en vogue amongst certain school photographers across the sex spectrum.

The high-fashion take: thanks for reminding us that Taylor Swift and Vogue are keeping it back-to-school.

Writes MJ, “I’m guessing this isn’t the hand-on-face you meant…” But this is a classic variation! She adds, “For sake of identification, I’m the oldest girl in that photo, but my sister deserves the spotlight.”

Says MmmKay, “I learned to double-fist at a young age.”

Writes Laurel, “I found not one but TWO in my HS pix folder – one senior year portrait…”

“…and one where I did it myself (while wearing a raspberry beret, oh, the 80’s) I’m not sure which is worse…”

The group HoF! Says Jenilane, “My friends and I popped one of these for Christmas this year… “

Maybe, as one dear reader suggested, all school photographers are just inspired by Ingres?

Lest you think the HoF is not alive and well, check out Suzanne’s lovely recent foray into Rona Barrett land: “I was video chatting yesterday and my friend thought the light was sooo pretty he insisted on some picture taking.”

Writes Amber of this gem, “This was March 1994, and I was 4 years old. My older sister (who was 20 at the time) chose that lovely dress, took me to get my hair done, and put that ridiculous bow in my hair. My mom hated that bow. In fact, my mom still complains about that bow.”

Sometimes, as Bridget points out, we just fall into HoF without even realizing it! “So apparently this is one of my favorite poses when I take photos with photobooth. I had a large selection to choose from!”

The original HoF grande dame, Rona Barrett.

As Becky Sharper pointed out, “Every lady of a certain age knows the “hand under the chin” look hides double chins and crepey necks. If you look at my family photos, my father’s sisters ALL do it. They look like they’re posing for Rodin.”