l have to play volleyball for the first time in many years and l realized when l was a kid l learned two ways to hold my hands for 'bumping' and I am wondering if one is now considered incorrect.

When l was very little l learned to make a fist with my right hand, wrap the fingers of my left hand around the right hand, and have my thumbs lined up side by side on top.

In highschool l was also taught to put my right hand out flat, palm up.Then lay my left hand on top of my right, also palm up.The thumb from the right hand can grip over the left fingers, and the right fingers can wrap upwards around the left hand a bit.This method makes the forearms slightly further apart than the fist method, and possibly flatter.

Does anyone know if one is preferred?Or have a link to a photo of what is now considered the proper position?

The main thing is to have ur wrists & arms together. As long as ur platform is straight, hand position is really preference.
There r the two u mentioned.
Fist in fist.
Palm in palm.
Prayer. (Not praying that u make a good pass, hands together like u r praying.)
The main thing is that ur the heels of ur hands r together & ur thumbs r together. l have even seen good passers that only do that & their hands r apart. But their arms r flat & even.

The only one that l highly discourage is the interlocking fingers all the way near the palm. Interlocking at the fingertips r not bad. If u lock the fingers near the palms, it causes the muscles to strain & one of the worst accidents l have ever seen. The player locked her fingers near the palm & someone tripped her. She landed fingers first.

The only two ways to pass that l would encourage r the two that u mentioned. Out of those two, it really depends on ur strength. l have found that when teaching younger players who r still small & not as strong, the fist version adds a little extra ''oomph'' to their passing because more of the bone in their arm contacts the ball & helps it go higher. On a flat handed pass, the platform is a little more padded & u need to use ur legs more to get the same height.

A flat handed pass seems to make a wider area for the ball to hit, & might give u more control & a better chance of making a good pass. But in certain situations u might be tempted to swing ur arms rather than pass using ur leg muscles on softer hit or hard to get to balls.

Either way is acceptable, & whichever gives u more accuracy is always going to be the best idea. Maybe take into consideration what position u play & if u r going to be hit hard at all the time & need a wider, padded platform to gain control (left back, middle back) or if u will be picking up tips & need the extra power to get softly hit balls all the way to the setter (front row players).

Neither r incorrect, but u need to decide which is best for u so that it becomes habit, & in the middle of rallies you're not trying to decide which platform to use.

l use the fist platform, & do relatively well with it, but l do shank a floater serve every now & then. :)

As for preferences, l would say most coaches prefer the fist platform. I've seen it a lot more than a flat platform.

as long as the surface hitting the ball is flat, you can control the balls direction. If you cross your fingers, the ball will go in some other direction, never cross your fingers (may cause unjury if you cross your fingers)
when bumping keep your hands close and together. when setting, look up and use your hands and make a ''superman'' symbol so hit the ball up. Never hit it to someone, hit it up so people can reach