EMD has had some recent questions from readers on how best to photograph a motorcycle. (Something to do with rumors of an up-coming photo contest at PureTriumph Facebook, perhaps?)
We all want the rest of the world wide web to see our favorite motorcycle through the same glorious, larger-than-life prism that we do – because who doesn’t think their own bike is the best machine on two-wheels, ever?
Yet while the camera doesn’t lie, it never hurts to accentuate the positives while minimizing the negatives, not that your moto actually has a negative.
Yet while the camera doesn’t lie, it never hurts to accentuate the positives while minimizing the negatives, not that your moto actually has a negative.
And, so, since here at EMD, reader requests and inquiries are taken very seriously, we spoke with some folks who occasionally get paid for their photo prowess, picked their best ideas, and drafted up a handy tip sheet for taking better moto-photos.
(Click HERE for Moto-Photo Don'ts)
(Click HERE for Moto-Photo Don'ts)
1. Don’t be afraid to waste film. (Especially since no one uses it anymore.)
For those of you too young to have ever used a film camera, well, you're lucky. Film was expensive to buy, process, and print. And you needed a postage stamp if you wanted to share it with your out-of-town friends.
(For those of you too young to remember, a stamp is a square sticker representing postage paid for a mail man, who is this… um, yeah. Never mind, you'll never need to know this anyway.)
(For those of you too young to remember, a stamp is a square sticker representing postage paid for a mail man, who is this… um, yeah. Never mind, you'll never need to know this anyway.)
The problem was, and still is, however, that the first shot is rarely the best one or even that good. Shutter speeds, angles, distance from the subject, various lenses, lighting, apertures. Change any one of these and you get yourself a whole new photograph.
There two photos were taken mere moments apart. Different settings and a slightly shifted frame creates completely effects:
Moral of this story: don’t be afraid to waste film and your money, particularly since you can delete and upload for free these days.
If you want one good moto-photo, take 30.
There two photos were taken mere moments apart. Different settings and a slightly shifted frame creates completely effects:
Moral of this story: don’t be afraid to waste film and your money, particularly since you can delete and upload for free these days.
If you want one good moto-photo, take 30.
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| Not a bad angle on this vintage Ducati racer, but this photo is too dark. Would have been nice to have had a few more shots of it to choose from... |
Everyone and every motorcycle has a best side.
If your bike has clunky stock pipes, you may not want to take a picture from the exhaust-side of the motorcycle.
Is there a dent? A bit of bird doo? And unfortunately large and square air box? (See Buell, S1 Lightening, circa mid-90s) Make sure that these unsightly blemishes are not on the side of the bike that is facing the camera lens.
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| The Buell S1 Lightening and... a big black box??? Take the photo from the other side! |
Maybe your bike is a heap of rolling visual atrocities, but has a serious set of rearsets or cool flames painted on the fuel tank. Ignore the rest and take an up-close pic of the bike’s best side, which in this case, is a best part.
People know it’s a bike. You don’t need to include the mismatched wheels in the photo to prove it.
People know it’s a bike. You don’t need to include the mismatched wheels in the photo to prove it.
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| Not much remarkable about this Harley chrome queen, except the paint job. No reason to show anything but. |
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| Smile! |
3. Just as every bike has a best side, there is also a better angle.
Why do so many riders take photos of their motorcycle directly from the side, camera at eye-level. Tough to get a sense of the bike’s lines, proportions, generally hotness, with such a vanilla view.
If you move to where you can get the front and side of the bike into the frame (a three-quarters view) and crouch down to bike-level, you shot is going to give people a whole lot more to look at, including all the interesting engine and brake bits. Holding the camera high over your head can do the same thing.
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| From this angle, you get a much better sense of this vintage Triumph bobber... and its in-your-face attitude. (However, too much background clutter renders this merely a so-so moto-photo,) |
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| Literally tilting the camera angle can change things up too. |
* Ian of Tampa claims that placing a chick on a motorcycle is the easiest, most expeditious way to improve a moto-photo. I disagree...
4. Change up the camera's aperture (if you have an SLR or very complicated one-shot camera)
Looking for that special moto-portrait shot? Set the aperture, or f-stop number, low.
This alters the depth of field, allowing you to create a blurred background, and minimize distracting background clutter, while keeping the lines of the bike sharp and focused.
Want the opposite effect? To eliminate depth, stand away from the subject(s), use a high f-stop number, and zoom in for a close up. Everything will be in focused, but pancaked together.
This alters the depth of field, allowing you to create a blurred background, and minimize distracting background clutter, while keeping the lines of the bike sharp and focused.
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| A low f-stop softens the K, blending it into the background, and brings the Kawi's bars to the foreground. |
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| Gary's Speedmaster stands out against a slightly softened backdrop, while the urban scenery gives an extra industrial edginess, without distracting from the bike itself. |
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| The totally blurred background and extreme depth of field ensures the 848Evo's scowl is the only thing people see in this photo. |
Want the opposite effect? To eliminate depth, stand away from the subject(s), use a high f-stop number, and zoom in for a close up. Everything will be in focused, but pancaked together.
Try different shutter speed-apertures combinations. You will be amazed at how the perspective and shading on the bike shifts with each change in setting.
5. Fill the frame. Or at least ensure the bike is the subject of the photograph.
The motorcycle is the subject of your photo, right? So why would you force it to share space with an equally prominent truck, tree, or pole, which because of a bad angle and less-than-optimal f-stop setting, appears to have sprouted mid-saddle.
Get close. Really close. So close that the only thing you can see in the little screen or through the view finder is the motorcycle. This is your motorcycle. It kicks ass. When you ride it, you are larger than life. Its portrait should reflect that.
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| This mean, lean, chrome machine, and Pure-Triumph Facebook Bike of the Month winner, is so big and bad it alters the earth's gravitational pull. That's living large. |
But if you don’t want to be kissing-close to your moto when shooting its picture, that’s fine.
Just make sure you clear the non-motorcycle part of the picture of everything that will compete with your ride. Move the truck, blur out the shrubs, and tell your kids to put their bicycles and soccer balls back into the garage.
If there’s too much clutter and general chaos in your yard, or if you can’t scrub away that distracting oil stain out of the driveway pavement, move the bike to a better locale with a ready-made backdrop for your photo.
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| Mike's D675 doesn't need to fill the frame when it stands alone. |
Now you know the secrets to fine moto-photography. Get out and give it a try. If you think you’ve taken the perfect moto-photo, email to Ann@Sunnyryder.com. And we’ll be the judge. It could even end up on EMD.
Good luck and happy shooting!