Beware the hand-to-chin cliche.

Photographers who ask people to "do something" with their hands for the sake of a picture, often ask for trouble. Cliches result: pointing fingers, folded arms, and the most forced pose of all - the "thoughtful" hand-to-chin gesture.

I prefer unposed pictures, where hands are used naturally and spontaneously. In posed pictures, hands often are placed awkwardly. If you must pose people, at least let them, and not the photographer, determine hand placement.

Here are three variations of the dangerous hand-to-chin pose. They are all from the employee publication of the Frank Russel Co. (Box 1616, 909 A. St., Tacoma, Wash.). Editor John Draper boldly sizes them to make his point. The less obvious the posing, the more effective the result.

The first shot features an awkward hand-to-chin gesture, playing against a sly smile. The man ponders a tough decision. The complex chart behind him adds important context. Instead of asking the man to put hand to chin, the photographer could have just talked with him about the chart to capture a less strained response.

The second photo relates the subject to a computer. The posed hand to chin symbolizes a relaxed, positive attitude. The gesture is more casual than the first example. If she had placed both hands, instead of just one on top of the computer, she would seem even more confident.

In the third example, the woman's hand is placed beside her chin. The pose seems less forced than the others, more natural. The wide angle lens effectively relates her to an office environment, with details adding context that define her personality for the viewer. There is less posing here, and as a result the picture communicates more naturally and thus more effectively.

Draper's images succeed largely because of the human values they communicate. They would be even more successful if fewer fingers stroked fewer chins.

Philip N. Douglis, ABC, director of The Douglis Visual Workshops and widely known photographic consultant and critic, now offers his introductory Communicating with Pictures workshops twice each year in Sedona, Ariz. He also continues to present special seminars on photographic communication on a sponsored, in-house basis to companies, associations and IABC chapters. For information, call 602-284-0604. Douglis also welcomes tearsheets for possible use in the column. Send to The Douglis Visual Workshops, 76 Ridge Rock Road, Sedona, AZ 86351.