How To Photograph A Bike
 

This subject has come up plenty of times in plenty of threads, but I guess we don't had an "official" thread.

We've all heard "drive side out" and "line up your valve stems", but what else? What are the rules, really?

Personally, I subscribe to drive side out and lining up my valve stems (one illustrates the drivetrain components better and the other caters to my OCD), but that's about it.

Share your opinions on what constitutes a well-planned photograph of a bike.

I'll get us started with an example of what I believe is a good photo of one of my bikes. Feel free to make comments on any/all contributions - just be civil and constructive in your criticism :)

Have at it!

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5126/5...a487d1fd_b.jpg

The one thing I notice today about the above photo is that I should've edited it to straighten and then crop - I hate the way horizontal is off!

DD

White garage doo...I mean yeah, the horizontal is off. That's it.

I'd recommend a contrasting background. Another nifty trick is to set the bike a fair distance away and get a really shallow depth of field (F1.4-1.8) with the background (like a park or public space) even further away. You'll get a very sharp photo of the bike imposed on a blurred natural background which can be quite striking.

You can send me your orange Colnago for that juicy piece of advice. No need to thank me.

One of the best photos I've ever seen of a bike on this Forum was shot in the way you describe. I 100% agree - too bad I've not been able to figure out how to take such a pic with either of my cameras. Any trick to doing it with your garden-variety digital camera?

I have a Sony Cybershot (DSC-W530) and a Canon ELPH (115 LS).

If you can help me out here, the Colnago will be boxed up and ready to ship tomorrow morning ;)

DD

Big ring, small cog. Also, dunno if it's "correct," but I always align the cranks with the chainstays, so the drive side crank is a continuation of the chainstay's line. Aesthetically pleasing to me.

I don't know about rules, but as far as suggestions go, I like turning the crank so the DS arm is parallel to the seat tube. Also, like you have in the pic DD, shifting into the big ring and a larger rear cog to stretch out the RD arm.

For some great bike pics, see here: Cargo

I spend most of my time here in C&V, but the few times I have wondered into the Road threads - specifically the "Hot r Not" over there - WOW... those guys have RULES..

I agree with the neutral background - garage door for example. I try to do it when the sun is out, but no sunlight in the shot because shadows disturb the shot.

As for the bike:Can I get off topic (but kinda still on topic) for a second and address a couple rules I use in my builds? These things go a long way for me in what I think makes a good looking bike:Fun thread Drillium Dude!

The face of your camera lens should be vertical and should be at the same height as the bike.

My bike pictures are among the worst to be posted to BF, but I have thoughts/opinions anyway. :)

- I like seeing the valve stems aligned and at 12 or 6 o'clock. If you're in a position to be able to read the tire labels, I like to orient the tires so that the text is right-side-up.

- I like seeing the gear set for something that's representative of one's riding, like one just pulled to a stop and snapped a pic. Oftentimes, that's the big ring and somewhere in the middle of the cassette. But, since working up to a 42T inner ring, and seeing how useful it is for general riding, pics taken in the small ring and middle of the cassette make sense to me, too. However, seeing bikes in small-small still irks me -- especially if the bike has a triple! :twitchy:

For me it's;

-vertical crank to give it separation and not blend
-pic at height of bike for a straight side shot. Which means kneeling or sitting on a chair to line up.
-fill the frame so more details can be seen and less background since this may be the only pic shown
-decals on wheels down which usually means stems up, that way if any angle is shown you see decals to ID wheel
-make sure quick releases are positioned correctly
-I sometimes try to face pedal up when against a wall or something so I can see how it looks as if I were riding
-do not have anything in the background like an outlet :innocent:


http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfvjnoypl.jpg

I've been without a decent camera for nearly a year and have been just using whatever spec is on the cheap phone. Though I do appreciate others artsy shots but not my thing or qualified to judge. Valve stem and crank arm positions..... okay now...........

My pics are pretty bad and not afraid to admit. I suppose my only criteria is what is proper for a sale or auction posting.

Rather I'd like to see more of the action shots, C&V related and tips how its done, settings and so forth.

Me, too. Especially the depth-of-field settings. I love shots like this with the bike sharp and the background blurry:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...2/DSC_0248.jpg

DD

I have a digital camera that was fairly nice when I bought it (Canon PowerShot S2 IS). The phone I have now takes better pictures. My wife has a really good digital SLR, but I rarely bother using it. My photography skills don't surpass what I can do with the phone.

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I think bikes look better with the chain on the big ring, but I don't see any reason to put it on the small cog. That doesn't look any better, and who are we kidding here? I use that combination to rule out chainring/cog wear when diagnosing mechanical problems. :p

I like to be able to see the stem shifters, and I usually choose the rear gear based on where it puts the shifter if the bike has stem shifters.

Aligning the valve stems is a nice touch, but I usually forget to do it.

The background shouldn't be too busy. A contrasting color is helpful, which I think usually makes garage doors tolerable. In the OP example the garage door doesn't contrast enough and the hardware creates too much noise.

I usually use a pedal against a curb to prop up the bike (when it isn't leaning against a garage door) so that limits my choice of crank orientation to something that doesn't look good. All else being equal, I like the cranks horizontal. Ideally it should be impossible to tell what is keeping the bike upright.

I don't care for the straight on angle. Especially with camera phone pictures it distorts the angles of the bike too much. For instance, in Bikerider007's picture in post 9 the seatstays and handlebars have the illusion of being turned away from the viewer. I often take pictures from a front angle in an effort to avoid this.

Offering a few examples of my own for critique...

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1491/2...42910543_c.jpg

I think the "front angle" worked pretty well here. I'm looking down on the bike quite a bit. That's obvious not good, but I don't think it's awful. The alignment of the sidewalk and the top tube is less than ideal, but it's better than having them misaligned. The location of the sidewalk in this picture really exaggerates my already ridiculous stem height. The rear gear has the derailleur stretched out too much, and the rear wheel details are impossible to make out. The lighting was perfect to bring out the color of the frame, which is surprisingly difficult with this bike. I'd give this picture a C+.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1656/2...4c79f73c_c.jpg

The "front angle" didn't work quite as well here. The handlebars and rear wheel appear to be facing different directions. The camera is lower to the ground, which I think looks a bit better. The sidewalk disappears in the center of the main triangle with some help from the rose bushes but is still in line with the top tube, so I think that's spot on. I like the way the roses work with the red in the bike. I wish more had been in bloom. The leaves around the saddle are a disaster, giving the illusion that the saddle is curled. The rear gear selection was even worse here. The overall picture is too dark, but I don't think I could fix that without washing out the color of the frame. I think this one is a low B.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1555/2...c3ab2757_c.jpg

A straight-on shot...the parallax distortion is pretty bad here and made worse by the way the stem flows into the handlebar. The handlebars get lost in the dark area of the background foliage. The background in general just has too much going on. This picture is fairly bad, D-.

As a final note, I think a complementary set of detail pictures really enhances any bike photography.

There are plenty of good examples how to photograph your bicycle in the Wacky Thread.


http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...9&d=1426536782

For me it depends on why I'm taking the image. If I'm doing it to be artistic I'll spend more time lining things up. I like the parts on the bike to 'flow' in a smooth line so the eye can move in a smooth motion. For example I like to have the driveside crankarm in the same plane as the chainstay like in these images.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7245/2...d46d51c6_o.jpgBianchi Singlespeed by Miele Man, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7290/2...5de88530_o.jpgMIELE Uno Repainted #1 by Miele Man, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7393/2...429d0989_o.jpgMiele Columbus SL Frame by Miele Man, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7694/2...fd3cda34_o.jpgIMG_3433 by Miele Man, on Flickr

Another thing that I think adds to the 'flow' in an image is if the dropbar points towards the bottom of the rear triangle somewhere like in the last image above of the MTB MIELE.

I don't usually bother with depth of field because I'm usually just wanting an image of the bike to share. However my Canon camera does have settings that would allow me to use APERTURE PRIORITY if I wanted to blur either the foreground or the background or in special cases both.

Cheers

in photography, lighting is everything. then comes composition. with bikes, it's often best to put them in the shade of a nice environment (like a city park) on a sunny day.

here's a '74 centurion lemans using the above strategy

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5771/...60854b6a_b.jpg

but it came out a little too dark. the problem is there is too much light behind the bike (too backlit). had i opened up the camera aperture to lighten the subject, the background would look washed out. i should have chosen a better time of day or a better area of the park.

another problem is i did not bend my knees to be on the same level as the bike. this can be difficult if a confused background doesn't allow freedom of movement.

In general, you need a short or normal telephoto lens with a narrow depth of field (like f/2.8). Easiest is a DSLR or prosumer camera that lets you manually focus the lens and lets you select the f-stop. Also, some photographers like certain lenses over others for the "bookeh" or how it handles the out of focus elements. I think that's affected by the number of blades in the diaphragm as well as the optical design. Either case, the two cameras you list above will probably not be able to give you those manual controls. Maybe try borrowing a DSLR from a friend or family member?

I think subject matter and background is everything. A great picture also tells a story. For example, here's one taken by another forum member that I just love. Something about the lens flare off the saddle and the "stopping by a green meadow in late afternoon" setting gets me. You can imagine parking the bike and wandering off into the cool, tall grass.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1676/2...8c17657935.jpgFields of Green by velocivixen, on Flickr

i like this pic of this '87 schwinn letour

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/309/1...7bf92d75_b.jpg

it's not perfect. but it's interesting. the background with the setting sun is great. the angle of the bike may not be perfect, but the angle creates a sense of action that mere horizontal lines don't provide. the lighting in the bike itself could be better as the red paint doesn't pop like it should.

simply put, a lot of thought should go into a good photograph. you've already spent dozens of hours rebuilding your bike. you should spend thirty minutes or more capturing it with a camera. but it's hard work, and can feel like a burden after you've finished your project.

That is a nice shot in #17 above. ^^^ Grass and bottom of the field give a darker neutral background. Angled sunlight highlight the saddle and chrome bits. Subject is a little off center to give a little more interest. Big thumbs up. :thumb:

'80 trek 414

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7634/...054a6652_b.jpg

pretty good result. not perfect, but i'll take it. the lighting on the bike itself could be better. all the 'rules' i follow, i generally got right:

- camera at the same level as the bike
- crank arms aligned in a certain way (i like the natural look of horizontal)
- valve stems aligned at either 6 or 12:00
- chain on the big ring
- front wheel straight
- interesting background, not a garage door.

Just take the picture already!!! :p
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=523492

'84 davidson challenge

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/...6482e328_b.jpg

pretty good results here. not perfect.

another rule i follow is to put an appropriate bottle in the cage or remove the cage for the photo.

not bad. love the background. i'd say, 'hot.'

hotter if you bent your knees a bit.

:thumb: that's right... notice that my wheels say 9 o'clock :)

Here's three others I thought were imaginative in terms of setting and "story". Can I help it if I like the old 3 speeds as subject matter? (credit goes to rideblog.wordpress.com...who also used to be a member here)

https://rideblog.files.wordpress.com...13ride_008.jpghttps://rideblog.files.wordpress.com...-12-12_009.jpg
https://rideblog.files.wordpress.com...13ride_001.jpg