Ever notice how pharma manufacturing floors and labs hum with activity, but it’s hands that tell the story. Gloved, steady, doing the delicate dance of healthcare production. I like to frame around those hands—the techs are supporting players. Here’s how I used hands to be a focus point on a recent shoot.

Kicks off with her hands prepping test materials, pipette poised mid-drop. Where’s the angle that will show the pipette, the bottle and the person? Pharm lab visuals need to show precision because drug development is exacting. I liked this low angle and lit it carefully so that the glass can be seen. Blurring the tech also helps to draw your eye to the hands.

Blue gloves cradling the test strip like it’s delicate. In a testing healthcare cleanroom, space is limited to the lighting had to highlight again without blowing out the detail of the test strip. This is a medium low angle so I could use the tech’s eye to direct the point of interest.

Floor action: hands inspecting that key piece, petri dish in hand. Went close on the grasp, using the colors in the lab and the soft focus to draw you to the hands. This upper angle helped to contrast the petri dish against the background. We wanted to capture the rhythm and precision for pharma manufacturing photography.

Hands transform sterile into human, and also get’s you right into the action without having to where the white coat!

Talk soon, ML