louky

I hope this is the most appropriate forum for this question. I see so many wonderful photos, and series of photos of bikes on this and other forums on bike forums. Every time I try to take photos of the bikes I finish I come up short (very short) of matching these shots. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Could anyone give me some tips on how to improve my bike photos? Has anyone discussed this before? Thanks in advance?

cb400bill

Clear, uncluttered background

Outdoor lighting

Focus!

P!N20

Photos from the drive side only.

Drive side crank to point forward aligned with the chain stay.

Get down to the bike’s level - handlebar level is good.

Chain on the big ring

Avoid distracting shadows and backgrounds

xiaoman1 

louky,
There are a number of things that you can look at regarding composition. (no-technical/more artistic)....BUT I would say that there is no formula that one can follow that will guarantee a perfect photo. Rules for composition in my estimation are only a guide to help you develop an "eye" for what works and what doesn't.
However, I do have a few suggestions, when shooting a subject, you do not always have to put the subject in the center of the image...to my eye, this creates a static scene,,,,The other is to think about how to use the rule of thirds when composing.
As I mentioned these "rules" are not hard and fast and will only help you in your quest.
Then there are the technical elements......lighting exposure etc. etc.
Good luck on your journey, and post some pictures!
Best, Ben
https://blog.depositphotos.com/back-...otography.html

P.S. Technical shots of details of anything will require a different style of composition.....perhaps detail/s in the center etc. IMO,, artistic and detail shots can often be combined to create beautiful images.....see what others have done, looking at at the work of others is a great tool.

Some good, some better...you decide
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...your-bike.html

teejaywhy

General suggestions can be offered but for specific feedback, you should post some examples of the photos you are not happy with for some more directed advice.

SurferRosa

Could be the bike.

xiaoman1 

OK, that's getting close, and I appreciate the humor........
Bedt, Beb

Aardwolf

I use an ancient Canon 7D (mark 1) with a tripod and remote shutter relase,
but I hear tell the kids have phones in their pockets these days that take passable images if they can stop moving long enough.

obrentharris 

In addition to the good advice above I will add these three which have served me well:

It's much easier to get interesting photos at sunrise, sunset, cloudy or foggy days. Mid day in direct sunshine is more difficult, but not always impossible.

Look carefully at photos you admire. Analyze them. What is the light like? What is the height of the camera relative to the bike? How is the bike located within the frame of the photo? Is the background crisp or blurred? From what angle is the photo taken, from the front, the back, the side, somewhere in between?

Practice, practice, practice.

Brent

rccardr 

Do a little Googling about photo composition, lighting, and taking pics in natural light.

The Golden Boy 

I've taken like 7 good pix in the past 40 years.

majmt 

in the interest of cross-pollination of cycle forums, this is some good guidance……
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=1288

Bianchi84

GCN might say: biggie smalls, no chimney (for non-quill stem only), cranks lined up, picture straight shot on drive-side, clean background, little to no accessories on bike. (Possible super-nice.)

daviddavieboy

Like all things some people have the natural ability to do things well and some have to work at it and still have mediocre results. I fall in the later category as in 40 years I might have taken 50 really nice photos out of a 1000 and I try hard to take nice photos.

jamesdak 

Well...when I'm trying for the beauty shots it does take the right conditions. Light is everything, harsh midday light is usually a no go unless you can diffuse it under a tree or something.

My normal setup for the "good" shots is an old Canon 5D with a Leica R 60/2,8 macro lens. Unfortunately I usually do it in the morning on the shadow side of the house so background is not the best. In a perfect world I'd have a clean evenly lit backgroud to keep from distracting from the bike.

I shoot a 2.8 or stepped down once just to keep a decent bokeh for the background while getting the bike sharp.

Then when I do the close up work of the various details it's pretty much the same. Wide open macro lens, soft, even lighting, subject on as much as a single plane as possible to maintain sharpness, etc.


Even lighting

Creamy bokeh


If shooting during the ride it's usually a little P&S camera or my crappy cellphone. I have a few doors on my route that make a decent background to show off the bikes.

Aardwolf

Forgot to mention - I do pack the mobile phone in the saddle bag for shots on the road, it's an old Motorola Moto G6.

It hasn't got a great camera but I found better camera app - Open Camera
That produces much better images than the built in software.

Pompiere

You can get good pictures from basic cameras, if you learn how to work within their limitations.
The default setting for most cameras tends to make the classic white garage door appear grey, thus making the bike look darker than it really is. Setting the camera to "snow" or "beach" scene will help correct that.
Autofocus sensors usually look at the center of the picture, so on a (drive) side shot of the bike, it looks right through the center of the frame to the background. Watch for the focus indicators or use manual focus to make sure the bike is in focus. Shooting in wide open spaces with portrait mode makes it easier to focus on the subject.
A tripod and a remote shutter release or self timer will eliminate camera shake for sharper pictures. Image stabilization is great, but can only do so much.

Aardwolf

Being an old git I have a Kodak Gray Card: https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/page/gray-cards
You include that in a test shot and then use software to set that as grey in the picture and all your colours come out correct
Worth every penny.

Software that can use gray card images: Raw Therapee (free and damn good).

curbtender

You have a couple of pictures you can post to give us an idea of what you are trying to capture? I find when I take quick shots I need to crop and adjust more to correct the ratios of subject to background.

Bogester 

The light and focus make a huge difference. Bright afternoon light is bad.. evening/morning makes big impact…wildfire smoke really makes things look awesome😟. A big help is editing when finished…pretty easy to do on an iPhone. Level things off, crop, zoom, and move the object around, play with different coloring/lighting adjustments…auto adjust works good most of the time. Also, take a bunch and delete the bad ones…I delete probably 90 percent.

curbtender

How about afternoon light with some fog?

Always grateful when the camera catches the moment.

madpogue 

All of the above is useful. Of all the points made, to me, the highlights are:
* Get level with the bike. Any photo you see of a bike taken from standing eye level looks like an aerial shot. Lots of perspective distortion, focus is difficult (requires more depth of field), etc
* If using auto-focus, pay attention to WHAT the AF sensors are focusing on. Experiment with the shutter release "half-press" (the usual option) feature, and learn how to take advantage of it. Especially with component close-ups, watch the background for good bokeh
* Centering of subject - depends on your purpose. For insurance records or the "primary" shot for a sale ad, I prefer a simple centered shot, cropped pretty close to the tires, a little overhead above the bike for background but not much. For more dramatic "mise en scene" shots, there's the slightly cryptic "rule of thirds" (zillions of pages on this topic).

etherhuffer 

1. Look up ‘Rule of 1/3rds
2. learn depth of focus by choosing an aperture
3. frame a shot by walking closer or further away
4. look up the effect of “compression” created by telephoto lenses
5. understand where the light direction is from

Those basics rule all of photography