Watch the Bunny

Light Meter by Lisa K. Berton

What you are about to see will change your life forever. You’ll be amazed at how one little blog posesses such power or you’ll see right through my self-congratulatory journalism. Either way…you’ll be astounded.

When you are photographing people, places, and things, you can create various emotions and feelings simply by how and where you place your subject in the frame. Generally speaking, most amateur shutterbugs place their subject in the center. We’re going to branch out and explore other options and compare how each photo has a different feel from the next.

For this blog I found a new model, someone who is excellent at taking direction, doesn’t let direct sunlight bother him, and didn’t ask for a single break. As this was a one-time agreement, enjoy his modeling skills because it’s the only time he’ll be posing for me but you could certainly get him to work with you the next time you visit Disneyland.

At first we place Mr. Hunny Bunny in the top left-hand corner of the frame. There isn’t a great amount of space between his head and the top of the photo making it seem that whatever he’s looking at is directly above him. Having all that empty space behind him conjurs up the premise that he’s unaware of what’s behind him. With so much of the pillar base in the shot, projecting towards the lens, it feels like Mr. Hunny Bunny is close enough to touch.

What if Judge Doom snuck up behind him and clutched him in his hand with the intent of dropping him into a vat of Dip? Stop looking at me like I’m loca.

lkb-bunny-leftTop.jpg

By panning up and cutting back on how much of the base is shown we’ve given Mr. Hunny Bunny a new premise. He’s now looking up at something that’s further away. There’s space in front of him giving him room to hop away if need be. I’m just sayin’.

lkb-bunny-leftBT.jpg

Mr. Hunny Bunny sits off-center of the frame, blissfully looking up at something. He could easily move forward especially since we can view both feet. Due to so much headroom (space above one’s head), Mr. Hunny Bunny feels like he’s further away than he actually is and that there’s great distance between him and what he’s staring at.

I find that it looks as though he’s stretching his neck up more than in the other shots. Obviously there isn’t a hare of a chance of that happening but angles create various perspectives.

lkb-bunny-center.jpg

Sitting nice and tall centerstage, our furry friend appears to be closer, now that a bit more of the base is in the frame and the corner is just off-center. Another reason he seems to be closer is because there’s less headroom than in the last photo.

lkb-bunny-midCenter.jpg

Lastly, my supermodel, in the bottom righthand corner of the picture has the freedom to roam the area in front of him. Since he’s looking straight up and he’s got hardly any place to go behind him, I fear that his looking up and slightly back may lead him to fall backwards out of the photograph…leaving him with cartoon stars and birds circling above his bumped head.

lkb-bunny-lowerRT.jpg

You may get completely different and sane feelings than what I perceive from these photos and that’s alright. The next time you have time, try doing this yourself. Put those kids to work or get your spouse to model for you. Good luck gettin’ any of them to hold still as well as Mr. Hunny Bunny.

Useless info: I always listen to music when I write my blogs to get my creative energy flowing. This entry was written while listening to the album A Medio Vivir by Ricky Martin.

Happy Hanukkah! May all your dreidel spins land on Gimel, your gelt easy to unwrap, and your latkes be greaseless. Shalom!

Yes, I’m on facebook. I can be found by searching for Lisa K Berton. Don’t forget the middle initial.

Trending Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 Replies to “Watch the Bunny”

  1. Lisa:
    Thanks for the perspective advice. I have taken a few photo classes and they didn’t use their examples as well as you. I also sent you a friend request.

    Lisa responds: Cool, that’s a wonderful compliment. Maybe I can get a gig teaching.

  2. Excellent blog, Lisa. You really outlined the reasons for and logic behind alternate framing. I’m going to try some of these out next time!

    Lisa responds: Awesome! Thanks for writing in, I’m happy to hear my demonstartions work.

  3. As always a great blog….I like how you write in a funny way, it makes it easier to understand!!.
    But today, besides your blog, I must confess that I like (actually I love) what you were listening while you were writing jejeje

    Lisa responds: Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy my writing. Another Ricky fan! Wepaaaaaa!