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Making a portrait with a book

Explore the connection between hands, pages, gaze, and the surrounding setting.

Yenra Photography · Published October 15, 2026

A book offers a person something to hold, a shape to arrange, and a place to direct their gaze. Begin with a book your model would enjoy including and a comfortable way to hold it. One small variation can give you several relationships to explore together.

Begin with an open book

In this Tharja from Fire Emblem portrait, the book is open while the model looks toward the camera. The pages and decorated cover make a broad shape below the face. Hands support the book, connecting that shape with the figure.

Follow the book's upper edges, then look back toward the face. Notice the space between them and how the blue-and-gold costume continues around both. The book is one part of the portrait, with its own edges, colors, and details to discover.

For your own photograph, ask your model which book they would like to use and how they would enjoy holding it. Let them settle into a comfortable arrangement before making a starting picture. An open book, a visible cover, or a book resting beside them can each offer a beginning.

Explore hands and the cover

This closer view gives the hands and dark, gold-decorated cover more space in the picture. The cover sits at an angle, and part of the book extends beyond the left edge. Keep looking at the complete original frame to see how the hands, face, and book share the available space.

Compare the visible arrangement with the first example. The book presents a different outline, and the hands have a more prominent place. Each photograph offers a relationship to explore: follow an edge of the cover toward a hand, then see where your eye travels next.

Invite a small change in the angle of the book or the position of a hand. Your model can make the adjustment and decide whether it feels comfortable. Review a photograph together before choosing another variation. A slight change can be enough to show a cover detail or give the hands more room.

Gaze offers another possibility. Ask whether your model would enjoy looking toward the pages or toward the camera. Try the choice that appeals to them and notice where your attention travels through the resulting photograph.

Give the book and setting room

The wider profile portrait includes an open book beside a broad surface and a large curved decoration in the background. The model's gaze points toward the pages. The long costume, book, nearby surface, and background shapes all contribute to this view.

Take a moment with the space around the figure. The curved background and broad surface give the book a different setting from the first two examples. Follow the long outline of the costume, then return to the smaller area of the pages and hands.

For your own variation, include a little more of the setting if that interests you both. Notice what the surrounding space adds: a quiet surface, a strong shape, or a color that works with the book. Keep the hold comfortable and let your model choose where to place the book.

Look through the results together. Which arrangement do you both enjoy? What changed when the cover, hands, or gaze took a different position? Keep one idea you would like to explore again. If a portrait session is not available today, begin by describing the relationships in these examples; careful looking is useful practice too.

Look back with curiosity.

• What does the book's shape add to the portrait?
• How do hands and gaze connect the person and book?
• Which arrangement does your model most enjoy?

Keep exploring

Exploring props in a portrait · Exploring hand gestures in a portrait · Planning a portrait together

Browse the complete Otakon 2014 gallery.