C&C: My Bike

[brysons]

What do y'all think?

 

[Samanax]

What do y'all think?

It's a nice snapshot of your motorcycle.

 

[photosoto]

thats a very nice older ninja. I had an 87' CBR hurricane, 20 yrs old and people loved it.

 

[rfosness88]

I have the same bike mines a '94 just put a new engine on it though $400 on ebay for the engine it had literally 60 miles on it

pic is nice, the sky adds a lot to the photo.

 

[bdavis]

What do y'all think?

It's a nice snapshot of your motorcycle.

Lol agreed...

 

[Sirashley]

What do y'all think?

It's a nice snapshot of your motorcycle.

Lol agreed...

He asked for C&C... How exactly are comments like these going to help a photographer improve? :thumbdown:

Afterall, this is the beginners forum...

Anyway, as for the shot. The problem is that the shot offers nothing really interesting. Its a straight on shot of a motorcycle, which is why they called it a snapshot. While the sky does offer some interesting detail, the bike is directly in the middle of the frame. If you are unfamiliar with the rule of thirds, do a search on it. Basically, don't put your subject directly in the center of the frame. As far as the lighting, the shot appears to be taken in the middle of the day, which gives you a harsh shadow underneath the bike and causes the lighting on the bike to be uneven. Try shooting in the early or later parts of the day. Lastly, it appears you are on the top of a parking garage, which really doesn't offer an interesting background. If you live near the beach or a lake, those can offer great backgrounds, especially at the right time of day. Even the inside of a parking garage at night can make for a wicked photo op.

You seem to have the basics of the camera operation down. The exposure and aperture are both correct. Just work on making the shot more artistic. Do a google search on bikes and look at what some of the pros are using as backgrounds and look at their setups. Good luck and post future shots!

 

[paulk_68]

Try a different location, on grass, next to a tree or stream,..

Try more subtle light (time of day). You could also try taking the pic with back lighting.

Edit- Looks like Sirashley beat me too it. In a parking garage at night, is a excellent idea.

 

[Sirashley]

You know what I was going to add was to take a shot of the visor of your helmet with the motorcycle reflecting in it... Thought that would be cool too.

 

[brysons]

Thanks for the replies and the suggestions guys. For me this was mostly about the lighting. As you mentioned, it was midday but the bike was leaning towards me on it's stand so it was actually covered in it's own shadow and I took about 15 exposures trying to get the lighting correct with my new speedlight+hotshoe extension cable.

I am an engineer, so I guess I am lacking in some of the creative vision, but that's what I'm trying to build here, so thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to shoot some of the situations you mentioned in interesting ways. I am familiar with the rule of thirds, and many others, but good composition is still something I struggle with. I'll definitely keep posting my results as long as you all keep giving good feedback.

Thanks again,
Bryson

 

[bigtwinky]

When taking photos like this, force yourself to take at LEAST 10 photos in various positions, at various angles, various focal lenghts. It will force you to be more creative so your shots aren't all the same.

 

[aklaube87]

Not to sound repetitive with what SirAshley said but the backdrop should make all the difference with the bike in the foreground. Shooting late in the day can give you even lighting, but it can also give a nice setting with your bike (prior to dusk) It also may even help to look at shots people take with their cars (not just bikes) to expose yourself to different elements of their styes you may want to incorporate.