[Greek Guy]

Hello,

Any tips on how to photograph bikes that are to be sold via emails/online? Maybe thoughts on background/lighting/presentation? I own a digital camera and really seem to suck at taking decent pictures.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rabidweasel999]

A nice white backdrop always helps.

Of course, always clean it up real well first and stuff.

It's a good idea to stress things about it such as condition in the ad, assuming you have one.

 

[burtronix]

Close-ups of special features or minor wear-and-tear you want the buyer to be aware of are nice, but only if you can get them in focus. Find out how to use your camera's close-up mode - most of them have one. It might also be called "Macro" mode. Look in your user manual if you can't figure it out on the camera itself.

 

[Jorgemonkey]

What kind of gear do you have already?

I'd go for a nice clean background, white or another color that still lets you easily see the bike. Clean the bike, and get closeups of some of the parts.

You can also post over at PhotographyReview in the Studio & Lighting forum.

 

[Pabs]

When I'm buying, I want close ups of any problem areas and or damages, in addition to general shots.

 

[crashdude]

They Key to any good photo is lighting, make sure to have plenty of light.

 

[Photo-John]

I like to shoot bikes in the yard, on lawn, with lots of empty space in the background. That way, hopefully, the background will be out of focus. I don't like flash and I don't like anything that looks too studio. Anyway, that's how I shoot them when I'm selling them.

 

[kinkcrazy]

Check it

http://www.43bikes.com/photosecrets.html

 

[Greek Guy]

I really appreciate all of your responses.

I tried putting the bikes up against a garage door in kind of shady light and the pictures just weren't that exciting or clear. I am now much more informed thanks to you all.

 

[berrywise]

Take more pictures than you think necessary. I've actually gotten into trouble with my bikes looking better in the pictures than they do in real life :eekster: One of my recent bikes I salvaged and sold off for reference. That's my neighbor's garage and it is my goto spot for auction photos.

 

[brianc]

Take more pictures

look who came out of the wood work. nice "snapshots". =)

 

[berrywise]

look who came out of the wood work. nice "snapshots". =)

Slow day on the internet, felt like a good reason to surf mtbr.com a bit.

Slow days lead to me taking bike prono for the new bike I'm building.

 

[lpranal]

Nice shots, man... quick question, do you burn in your edges by hand in photoshop? are you shooting on film? do you use a plugin? Inquiring minds!

 

[berrywise]

Nice shots, man... quick question, do you burn in your edges by hand in photoshop? are you shooting on film? do you use a plugin? Inquiring minds!

I use a photoshop action that I made up. Basically make a new layer, use border selection, feather that selection, use the paint bucket to fill, overlay in blending options, then I do a copy of that layer and another overlay blend on that.

 

[lpranal]

nice, thanks for the info... really well done effect that's not too heavy-handed!

 

[GuruAtma]

Have a model with the bike. An attractive person always makes the bike look better:

 

[brianc]

Slow day on the internet, felt like a good reason to surf mtbr.com a bit.

Slow days lead to me taking bike prono for the new bike I'm building.

Nice. I'm building a new ride this week too. but Mister CK does not build a headset for my new steed. Maybe someday he will.

Pivot Mach 5

 

[slowride]

I usually use a flash and work the bokeh so I don't have to worry about the background, like this: