Bicycle Aesthetics and Photography - How to take photos of your bike

Some topless flesh always helps....

I think this is another corking Bobby job

http://25.media.tumblr.com/b9f856de502ce4b45a172aa760a077ed/tumblr_n23z8cKVqH1qkzgwco1_1280.jpg

Wanting to make a list of dos and don'ts for a bicycle photo shoot. Some new examples would be great as most of the photos in the thread are dead now.

Id post some of my own photos but that seems a little self congratulatory to assume that I do it well.

Things to think about are:

Complementary background - something to make the bike pop, you don't want it to be too busy or the same colour so you cant see it.

BAAW or free standing - It depends on the bike / location but both can work well. to get the 'flatness' shoot at a long focal length (85mm+ is good) and and higher F stop. I personally am partial to a from 3/4 freestanding, flat wall shots get boring.

Details - Its all well and good to get the DS shot but what makes the bike interesting e.g. Frame details, coloured cables, logos etc use a lower f stop to get that short DoF that prolly loves.

How did I do? I’m pretty new to not shooting on auto, I even did some fiddling in Lightroom.

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Pedal not flat, valves at random places.

Angle, bokeh and niceness of bike saves it though.

Excuse the untrimmed cables, another try.

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Close. Pedals still not at 3 and 9, setup good otherwise.

I'd use a tripod and close the aperture a notch or two to sharpen things up a little more too.

very nice

cut the fucking brake cables

I'd use a tripod and close the aperture a notch or two to sharpen things up a little more too.

Ha, not sure where I should have packed that. But might have to go for a poser shoot so I can bring one in a backpack.

cut the fucking brake cables

I’m postponing this for the final build. Tell me which colour to pick so I can go for it.

boom... have that

it's not perfect... is it?

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What size tyres are those?

That hand is going to appear in a meme at some point, I predict.

You do take some nice photos tho

650x2.1"... clearance was "tight".

After a particularly muddy ride the NDS chainstay paintwork took a bit of a beating... I've switched to 650x47s now... just as much fun, doesn't look quite as nice mind

I've mounted 2.25s but never run them as it's CLOSE!. Keep my eye for some 2.1s thinking that might fly. But perhaps not.
Stick at the 47s

This came up as a sponsored ad on Instagram.

https://www.shadowstand.com/

It’s pretty WTF

Might buy, although I guess it's not the safest choice in the Dutch wind...

Might buy, although I guess it's not the safest choice in the Dutch wind...

I was also thinking of the various possibilities of the bike toppling over with the Shadowstand. It doesn't look the most stable place to support the bike, on the lower crank at 90 degrees.

Also, the stand doesn't allow for other aesthetically pleasing crank positions suggested above (drive side in line with downtube, non-drive side in line with seat tube), or the 45 degrees backward leaning which I also like.

There’s two types of stands, one allows you to move the pedals freely.

There’s two types of stands, one allows you to move the pedals freely.

Ah, I see it now -- the Photographer's Stand. That one looks both more stable and more useful for exploring photography.

I was already eyeing with the other one, but it's still not very convincing to be honest. Especially so since my bikes are mostly vintage with very different BB heights...
I guess I'll just stick with sticks, or with the good old hold-it for-me-then-release-when-I-take-a-pic method. Latter works well.

There’s enough free apps with a healing brush tool for me not to spend a ridiculous amount on a clear acrylic stand.

I just got a bit of 4mm rod, bent it just so and put black heatshrink on it.