Lebanese photographer captures people's lives through their hands

Photographer Omar Reda wanted to tell the story of people’s lives in a different way

When thinking of a portrait, the image of someone's face comes to mind. Omar Reda, a Lebanese photographer, shatters this perception by exploring portraiture through people's hands. In a series of images, he tries to capture the beauty of human hands from around the world and from different walks of life.

Hands of barbers, musicians, tribal workers, of people from villages and cities have been photographed to showcase how much the palms of our hands can reveal about our ethnicity, age and profession.
"The hand is the main part that helps us to excel our skills across all the industries since the beginning of time. The palm lines in our hands unveil the underlying truth about our lives. They uncover our struggle, burden and life passage that we chose," Reda writes about the series.
Here we look at a series of photographs from the collection.

Tribal girl

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Holy man

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Holy man

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tribal boy

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Driver

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Farmer girl

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Soldier

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Hairdresser

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Blacksmith

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Gardener

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Pottery maker

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Mechanic

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Barber

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tribal women

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Plumber

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tribal elderly woman

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Baker

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tailor

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tribal Elderly Man

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Tribal elderly woman

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Carpenter

PHOTO: OMAR REDA

Holy man

PHOTO: OMAR REDA