"How To Photograph Your Motorcycle"
Taking the right photos
can make your ride look great.
By Steve Bohn
Photography: Steve Bohn, Greg Friend
Bracketing
Bracketing is a photo technique where
you take one picture at proper exposure, one or more over-exposed, and one or
more under exposed. This technique allows you to get an exposure that will be
useable in most situations.
 Under
exposed one full stop. |
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Correct exposure. |
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 Over
exposed one full stop |
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Bars
Make certain the bars are not turned to
the side in any of your shots. They should be facing straight forward at all
times to keep an overall profile of the bike on the same angle. Make certain
the bars are not turned to the side in any of your shots. They should be facing
straight forward at all times to keep an overall profile of the bike on the
same angle.
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Tripods
There will be times when you need a
steady shot ... that's when a tripod comes in. Vary your tripod height to keep
the angles of your photos interesting.
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Using the kickstand
Sometimes it is necessary to put
something under the kickstand to get the bike to stand up a bit straighter and
get a better overall view. When you do this, look for some object that is small
and sturdy to fit under the kickstand that will not draw attention to itself,
and detract from your bike.
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Moving the bike
Most likely you will need to move the
bike around several times or more during the photo shoot to make sure the light
is hitting it properly (you'll want to keep shadows behind the bike).
Other times you may need to move your
bike in order to keep unwanted items from the background that will detract from
the picture.
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Beauty shots
Include the entire motorcycle, along
with some tasteful background (but not too much) in the photograph. Shoot at
least one full roll of film for each side of your motorcycle.
When shooting beauty shots move forward
and backwards from the center of the motorcycle. This will help create some
interesting angles.
This is an example of a three quarter
shot. Three quarter shots should be taken from both ends of the motorcycle.
These can be shot vertically as well as horizontally. When shooting vertically,
place the motorcycle slightly below the center of the
frame.
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Examples of what not to do.
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Nice statue, but we dont care about it. We want
to see your motorcycle, not your sports heroes. Fill the majority of the frame
with the bike. |
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We
like the fact that your neighbor takes out his trash but we dont need the
trash can in the photo. In addition, straighten the bars, and lose the truck
near the bike. |
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We
need to see the entire bike, here someone decided to crop out a portion of the
front tire, but to make up for it he/she included the front tire of another
bike. That just doesnt cut it; neither does the trailer in the
background. |
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The
worst part of this photo is the lighting. The bike is in shadows and the
cameras meter is picking up on the light streaming into the scene at the
top left. |
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