I admit it, I love those “Post a picture of your bike” threads on the MTB message boards. I like checking out how other people set up their bikes. I also enjoy seeing how they are photographed. There is a huge range in the quality of the photos, from fuzzy camera phone images to beautifully sharp and well-composed shots.

I’m always trying to improve my bike photos. Looking at the photo threads gives me lots of ideas on things I’d like to try, and also what I want to avoid. Using images I’ve collected from various forums, I thought I’d pass on a few basic tips that might help you improve your bike photos.

The first thing I think about is the lighting. I’ve yet to experiment with off-camera flashes and other artificial light sources (hmm, sounds like a good topic for an upcoming entry), so I currently rely on ambient light.

ex. 1: Make sure there is enough light. This is a cool bike, I just wish I could see it better.

ex. 2 & 3: Watch out for harsh shadows falling across the bike, as in the following two photos. It’s easier to get a nice shot when the lighting is even. Keep in mind the eye is drawn to the brightest part of an image, so make sure your bike, not large areas of the background, is the focal point.

Here’s a nice shot using ambient light. The bike is evenly lit with no distracting shadows.

Here’s a shot I took of my girlfriend’s bike. This was shot on a cloudy, overcast morning.

The next thing you want to do is make sure the bike is in focus. It can sometimes be tricky in auto-focus mode to make sure the camera is focusing on the bike, and not through the middle of the frame to the background. Another tip is to gently squeeze the shutter in order to avoid moving the camera while the shutter is open. Sometimes, a tripod or beanbag can be useful. I like the GorillaPod. It’s small and light enough to throw in my hydration pack, and the flexible legs allow me to put the camera most anywhere. It’s also great for self-timer shots.

Here’s one of the many blurry photos I came across. Most often blurry shots were posted along with a few other shots of the same bike which were sharp. Why include a blurry one? This photo also leads into my last topic…

Background. When composing your shot, don’t just look at the bike, see at what else is in the photo. A busy background as in the photo below makes it hard to focus on the bike.

Another garage shot with a somewhat busy background, and yet thanks to the lighting and composition this one is much more successful. The weathered wood and “old” feel really complement the retro lines and colors of the bike.

Here’s a nice, sharp, well-lit shot, but the strong red and white traffic barriers in the background completely overwhelm the subtle black bike.

Another nice shot ruined by a busy background. The gray steel fence is so close in color to the frame that the two blend together and it’s hard to separate the lines of the bike from the lines of the fence.

Another photo of the bike in the garage shot above. The background is not plain or boring, and yet it’s not distracting. I love “on the trail” shots. Good ones make me want to grab the bike and ride.

So, to sum up: Lighting, focus, and background. Take a minute to consider these three things the next time you’re taking pictures of your shiny new rig or old trusty steed, if for no other reason than to make me glad I clicked on your thread.

If you have any tips of your own to share, please leave a comment. I hope to make this (Better Bike Photos) an ongoing series on this blog, and any suggestions are welcome.

Since there were some requests for a how-to for the sequence shots, here’s a step-by-step guide for how I put together sequence photos like the one above. This was my first attempt at replicating this effect, so all you Photoshop geniuses out there take it easy on me. It seems there are about 10 different ways to do one thing. I need to experiment with using layer masks next time I make one of these images. Lots to learn in Photoshop!

My first step was to take a sequence of shots holding the camera in one position (i.e. not panning with the rider and making sure I was zoomed out enough to capture the entire section without moving the camera). I used the continuous shooting mode on my Canon S60. A GorillaPod can be useful in some cases.

I used Photoshop CS2 to composite the image.

Here’s the first image in the sequence.

This is the second image. Using the lasso tool, I’ve drawn a selection around the rider with enough background selected to help me line up the selection when I copy and paste it onto the first image.

Here I’ve just pasted the selection on the first image. As you can see, it is not yet in the correct position.

In the Layers menu, reduce the opacity of the recently copied selection (Layer 1) and then nudge it around until it lines up with the background.

Get busy with the eraser tool and remove the areas of Layer 1 that are obscuring the background you want to see. In this screenshot I’ve done the upper part of the rear wheel where it overlaps the front tire of the background.

The first step in the sequence finished. Now just repeat the same steps for each addtional image in the sequence.

Here are some other sequence shots I’ve done.

Just got mine in the mail. Dirt Magazine from the UK is my favorite MTB magazine, and the current issue (#71) is devoted to mountain bike photography. Tons of fantastic photos as well as interviews with many of the top photographers. Definitely worth picking up. LINK

When my girlfriend first saw the pink Chris King hubs and headset in 2005 she had to have them, which surprised me since she’d never wanted anything pink before. She thought they’d look great on her black Turner 5Spot, and she was right, the bike looked great.

When I was taking photos of the bike, I thought it would be good to get some detail shots of her new hubs. I tried a few standard shots which turned out okay, if a little boring.

In an attempt to achieve something a little different, I tried combining a longer exposure with spinning the wheel. I first tried the shots without using the flash.

Interesting, but not exactly what I was after. Next I tried some with the flash. I liked the fact I still got the motion blur but now you could read the text on the hub and brake rotor.

Still in the experimenting mood, I tried a couple zoomed out a little with the sky as a backdrop.

My girlfriend decided to sell her Intense 6.6 frame. I took it out to the park to get some good shots of it to use in the For Sale ads. As I was taking the shots, I found the stand I was using to suspend the frame was somewhat distracting. I decided to try an simple experiment to get rid of the stand in the final photos.

The first step was to photograph the frame in the stand:

Then, while leaving all the camera settings the same (including focus), I removed the bike and stand and took another shot:

When I got home I opened both images in Photoshop:

I copied and pasted the shot with the frame over the empty landscape, giving me two layers. Then using the eraser tool, started erasing the stand, allowing the bottom layer (empty landscape) to come through:

All the erasing complete and layers flattened:

Another angle:

A simple technique to be sure, but I was very happy with the final result. The frame is the sole focus of the photos, with no stand to disrupt its clean lines.

A common question when people see my bike photos is “What’s holding that bike up?” It’s fun to hear some of the ideas people have about how I do it. A common suggestion is to have a friend hold the bike, then when he lets go and steps out of the shot, take the picture before the bike falls over. Looks like this guy wasn’t fast enough.

I am usually by myself so I’ve come up with a simpler solution. A small piece of clear plexiglass that I wedge under the rear axle or near the bottom bracket. It’s more visible in some shots than others, so I will occasionally go in and Photoshop out the edges of the plexi to make it less noticeable. Here’s the same shot as above before I erased the plexi.

and a close up:

I often get this question, particularly from people who aren’t checking out the EXIF data on my photos. For the majority of the static bike shots I’m using a Canon Digital Rebel XT with a Tamron 28-75mm lens. I like the improved depth-of-field I get with the DSLR, as well as the improved image quality.

Canon Digital Rebel XT

Tamron Autofocus 28-75mm

The camera I bring with me on rides and to events is the Canon G9. It’s a little larger and heavier than most point-and-shoot cameras, but it is well built and I like the ability to shoot in RAW format. Another important feature was the viewfinder. I find it almost impossible to get good pans by simply looking at the LCD screen.

The G9 is a recent acquisition for me. My previous point and shoot was the Canon Powershot S60.