Obviously, some "rules" may subject to debate, vary with bike setup, or lack consensus. Others are clear cut, such as it has to be taken from the drive side. I'm not suggesting that all bike photos be generic in this way. There are some wonderfully talented photographers with artistic vision and camera tricks up their sleeve, and it's great to see shots from unusual angles or in varied settings. In this case, let's say you were hired to take one photo for a bike catalog. What are all the elements of a perfect bike photo?

General
1. Must be from drive side!
2. Generic, non-distracting background.
3. Good lighting, minimal shadows.
4. Bike should be clean & polished.
5. Camera perspective should be low, approximately level with top tube.

Wheels
6. Valve stems at 6 o'clock.
7. Tire logos positioned on drive side and [edit:] over valve stems.
8. No excess glue on tubular wheels/tires.
9. Quick release skewers: front should be closed parallel to ground and "aero'd" over fork blade; rear should be closed between chain and seat stays.

Cockpit
10. Handlebar tape should be finished cleanly. (I'll just leave it at that since there are so many variations of wrapping methods.)
11. For drop bars, drops should be level or tilted slightly up so the ends of the drop point slightly toward the rear dropouts.

Drive train
12. DS crank arm pointed forward and parallel to chain stay.
13. Bike should be in high gear (Large chainring in front/small cog in rear).

Misc.
14. Brake cable housing routed with sufficient length and graceful curves so as to enter brakes at natural angle and not impede handlebar turning motion.
15. RD cable housing proper length with smooth bend from chain stay to RD.
16. Brake & derailleur cable ends soldered/crimped.
17. Cables ends should be cut approx. 2" past derailleur/brake clamp.
18. Logo on headset, if present, should face either forward or 90-degrees. (Consensus?)
19. Saddle should be level.
20. Fenders, if present, should follow the line of the tires.

What am I missing, or have wrong? Add, dispute, discuss...

21. any Racks should be parallel to the ground.
22. Toe straps should be tucked properly away and not with the end sticking straight out into the breeze.

Maybe it's obvious, but how about not missing any parts? Brake hoods, dust caps, valve stem caps(?), toe clips/straps . . .

I prefer to see an appropriate water bottle installed if the bike has a cage for one.

I always place my tire logos centered over the valve stem, it helps locate and reference tire/tube punctures in relation to each other.

How about taking the photo with a longer lens, step back and zoom in, this will help stop the "fork looks bent" distortion that happens when from taking a photo too close with a wide angle lens.

The camera itself. The focal length used is very important because it changes the perspective drastically. You can cover 1-20 on your list and end up with very different pictures.

IMO the classic catalog style shot is the side view kind of thing, with a fairly long focal length to minimize distortion:



Something like this (55mm on a crop sensor)

But as you can see when you go to something like 17mm, it changes everything:



Also, aperture settings need to be appropriate for the type of shot you're doing. For instance, if there is nothing directly behind the bike, it is better to use a wider aperture as to blur the background rather than keep it in focus. On the other hand, if you're taking a picture of the bike up close and want the whole thing to be in focus, a wide aperture would be inappropriate because the narrow focal plane will make most of the photo blurry (this can be used for artistic purposes though).

^ I was kind of avoiding the technical photography aspects (though I do welcome them) and focusing more on bike setup & staging. I simply do not know enough about photography & camera settings, but these considerations deserve to be on the list.

I think in terms of creating a pleasing to the eye photograph this is very good advice and quite important....and a limitation of pocket sized point and shoot cameras.

While you can make good photos with a little point and shoot, IMHO you can produce better shots more consistently with a (D)SLR. Not to mention the optics available for SLR Bodies are worlds better than what comes in a point-and-shoot

I think a lot of the things mentined above are great suggestions, but ultimately it comes down to what the photograph is trying to convey to the viewer, and where the photographer wants to direct the eye of the viewer.

Unless you have Cinelli buttons.

Buttons are something I don't have on any of my Toe Straps but have always wanted

Except for artistic purposes, photograph the bike in it's natural environment. I hate photos of bikes leaned up against a sofa or coffee table. A road bike looks odd photographed in the middle of a corn field, but a mountain bike looks fine in that same scene.

+1, I do the same for the same reason.

I've learned a lot from this thread already, and not just about taking photos.

As for photo backgrounds, I personally like constrasting or matching colors and lines. For example, I've leaned a bike against an old white wooden picket fence (conveniently located in the alley behind my house); I also like green lawns and multicolored flowers. I've used our vegetable garden, too. Perhaps members will indicate why these are not good ideas.

#12 - there are those that say the DS arm should parallel the DT.

What do you mean by "aero'd over the fork blade" with the skewer?

I thought the DS crank arm was supposed to line up with either the DT or ST?

7. Tire logos positioned on drive side and opposite valve stems.

Great. Just great. Now I gotta dismount and remount the tires.

Classics, Vintage, and OCD.

I've always aero'd the QR arm toward the back of the bike. I've noticed pics of bikes with them standing straight up and thought......wind resistance and the same guy shaves his legs.

Me 2. Done that for years. Helps locate foreign objects in tire that normally you'd not see or feel.

I just mounted a set of tires last night and thought I was being fancy by lining up the tire logo with the valve stems. This thread is 15 hours too late.

I just point my phone at it and press the button.

IMO I don't think there is anything wrong with those type of backgrounds. I took a few quick photos of my track bikes in my backyard and on my patio. Could different backgrounds have made a difference... perhaps, but my intention was just to take some quick pictures. Would I stage them differently for more professional shots, probably but I was still happy with the results.

As the OP had mentioned if these were for a catalog I would have been more aware of how they were staged.

There are links in my signature if you want to see how they look.

That's a bit excessive. Really. I'm all for aesthetics - I'm a photographer, who has worked in the field - but these forgo the line. I honestly think a 3 o clock drive side crank arm looks awful, and awkward. Valve stems at 6 o clock? Who thinks of this nonsense? These things straight up tell me your bike isn't ridden. That defies its purpose in life. I do agree with a lot of these points, but they are simply: "is your bike set up properly" and "are you taking away from the subject" - rules of photography. I'd also probably say the rear brake cable housing was a tiny bit short on that Bianchi. The focal length for bikes should be no different than portraits; you should have no distortion (we're talking the 50-85 range on a full crop - 85 was the standard).

More power to those, though. Whatever floats your canoe.

Why "MUST" it always be drive-side? I think the non-drive shows off the frame and propotions of the overall bike better. If you are talking about ethetics and not "I.D." or "for sale" shots.

3/4 shot from the rear, non-drive, is always a good one for a nicely proprotioned bike:

I agree. The quartering-to or quartering-away is best for capturing visual qualities and is the same as photo shooting auto's.