Besides riding it, the second thing we bikers always do with our mount is … photograph it. Today we propose some very simple tricks to improve the quality of our photos and make them look even more beautiful no matter how little experience you have when pressing the button on your phone or camera.
A photograph is much more than a simple image displayed on a screen; a photograph allows you to relive and enjoy again. Nothing and nobody dies at all while there is a photograph that remembers it and that is why we love to photograph what we love. To our partner, to our children, to our loved ones … but also to our pet, to that delicious corner where we had such a good time on vacation, to the dishes in the restaurant where we ate phenomenal and of course to our motorcycle.
Improving the quality of the photos of our motorcycle is relatively easy just by taking care of some details
There is no biker who, sooner rather than later, decides to turn his machine into an eventual model and photograph it from headlamp to escape to display it with pride … although with uneven results in many cases. The good thing is that, actually, improving the quality of the photos of our motorcycle is relatively easy just by taking care of some details since they are photogenic by nature. Let’s see some tips …
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1
The bike is ALWAYS clean
It should almost not be necessary to comment on it, although in reality it is also the point where it is most often missed. Before a photo shoot, even just to hang out and in the backyard, the bike must be freshly washed, dry and shiny. It is the first thing that a professional photographer will always tell you that, in fact, will surely spend more time cleaning the motorcycle than taking the photograph itself. That’s because the camera amplifies the flaws; That dust that is barely noticeable with the naked eye, stands out a lot in the photograph.
2
Be careful with the environment!
It is a shame that after the time spent preparing the motorcycle leaving it like the jets of gold, that trash can in the background or that paper in the foreground or that bush that appears on the left side spoils everything. A photo is background and figure. If you cannot have a special environment, the street is enough, of course it is! but with care that objects do not appear that spoil the painting. It is incredible the amount of small obstacles that appear in a photo and of which we had not realized when taking it.
3
The light is deceiving
Many amateurs of photography tend to think that the more light there is in the environment and the more the sun shines, the better the photograph will be. Well … not like that at all! To the lens of our camera or mobile, exactly like our eyes, excess light bothers and the end result can become an incomprehensible mixture of shadows and highlights that distort everything. A professional photographer is capable of counteracting it with different technical resources, but to avoid annoyances as a simple amateur, it is necessary to think that, as a general rule, the best light to take pictures is that of the first hour of the morning or that of mid-afternoon.
4
In search of different frames
The motorcycle – we have already mentioned it – is very photogenic and offers creative possibilities that go beyond putting it on the stand and taking a perpendicular photo. What really makes the difference and above all is much more fun is looking for different frames and more personal points of view; play with the reflections in the chrome or with details of the engine, get on something or stretch out on the ground, take advantage of something in the background …
And it should be remembered, by the way, that motorcycles are not symmetrical; There are some that have leaks on both sides and others that only have them on one side. In this case it is better to always photograph the side where the exhaust assembly is located since the other one will always look a little “poorer”.
5
The backlight, that great enemy
One of the most frequent mistakes of occasional motorcycle photographers is the dreaded and no less repeated backlighting. You never have to have the sun in front of you when shooting if you don’t want to see your bike reduced to a formless black spot! As we said in the previous section, a professional or an amateur with a good technical level is even capable of taking advantage of the backlight as an artistic resource – and even so it continues to be one of the most difficult techniques – but amateurs should always have the sun at their fingertips. back even at the expense of the bottom not being so pretty … or waiting for the position of the star king to change.
6
stylish models
Let’s say you have a clean bike, the perfect environment, the right light, and a good idea. The next question is almost always: do I photograph the bike alone or do I include my partner? Well, apart from the obviousness that it can be done “without” and “with”, what is really important is that the “look” of our eventual model is at the height of the machine. And I do not mean to wear expensive technical equipment or brand clothing, but simply that your image is in line with the style of the motorcycle. Posing in colored leather jumpsuit next to a custom one or with a “retro” type open helmet in a super sports car or with off-road boots in a car will spoil the final outfit.
7
Retouch what it takes
Even the most basic mobile already has elementary but quite functional photo retouching programs. Adding just the right amount of effects, playing with tones and color saturations or with black and white can turn a normal photo into a “picture”. Even professional photographers use them so there is no compunction about doing so, as long as it is not abused to the extreme of turning the photo into a caricature. And although a good filter can save a bad photo afterwards, it is best to be clear before taking it which one is going to be applied. This allows, for example, to gain space with the margins knowing that they will later be eliminated.
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