Harley Davidson

© John H. Siskin

Harley Davidson

Uploaded: January 16, 2007

Description

I should have some video about shooting this soon!

Comments

Angie Ray October 05, 2007

Listening to the radio show; I just love the idea of the light panel w/hole to shoot through.. absolutely ingenious! Thanks for sharing! #754635

John H. Siskin October 05, 2007

Hi Angie,
Thanks for your comment. One of the big goals of photographic lighting is to get the relationship between the size of the object and the light right. If I have a light source that is as big as the object and close to the object, I will have smooth light. This is important because light like this flatters a subject: for instance, it reduces wrinkles. Wrinkles are caused by shadows, and a large light source is like an overcast day: no shadows! Smaller light sources help to define texture and can be more three-dimensional. You can see some video from the motorcycle shoot at the workshop page of my website. There is an article about shooting motorcycles at the magazine page of my Web site, www.siskinphoto.com. And, of course, you can get a lot of lighting information here at BetterPhoto both in my classes and at The Forum and the Articles page.
Thanks again! #4887087

November 07, 2007

What radio show are you talking about? Sounds interesting and would like to hear about shooting through a hole in the light panel.

Thanks, #5040935

Angie Ray November 07, 2007

Sherry, if you click on the copyright John Siskin link right below the motorcycle image, you will find a link to betterphoto radio. John gave two interviews in the past I believe and all the other interviews are very interesting, too! #5040986

November 07, 2007

Thanks Angie! Found it and will listen right away.

Sherry #5040997

John H. Siskin November 07, 2007

Hi Angie, thanks for posting this!
For both of you some of this shoot is on video at my website: www.siskinphoto.com/workshop1a.html. Check it out!
Thanks, John
#5042747

Jayme S. Hall December 08, 2007

Hey John, Neat video :) Very interesting set-up. I wondered how you got the misty look on the floor. I like the purple highlight on the background. It really adds mood. And all on a black tarp :) Neat! #5185728

Jayme S. Hall December 09, 2007

John- I showed this to my husband, who fancies himself a motorcycle guru (he has 3 Harley's :) We got out a couple of his magazines & I looked through them. It appears to me that they are using a large light source on most of them & placing them on a white background. Very clean looking. The common perspective is dead on side view with the kickstand on the back side. Some use kickstand extenders to stand the bike straight up. The kickstand on a lot of them is obviously missing. PS? :) A lot were taken with a perspective view that makes the front tire look disproportionally larger. I think when it gets a little warmer I'm going to try a few shots in our garage. Should be interesting & a learning experience :) Very interesting! #5186226

John H. Siskin December 09, 2007

Hi Jayme,
I’m glad you liked the video. This is the first time I did anything like this. I probably could have gotten away with out the tarp, since the fog worked out so well, but I didn’t know that the fog would work when I started. So I think of the black as a back-up background.

Motorcycles are an excellent learning experience. I have found that you need to make the bike stand out, but if you can make an interesting background so much the better. I would want to avoid balancing the bike with an attachment to the kick stand. I think it might make the bike more unstable.

I’m really glad you like the shot! Thanks, John Siskin
#5187389


To discuss, first log in or sign up (buttons are at top center of page).

Get Constructive Critiques

Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.


 

Did You Know?

Discussions by Category: You can view photo discussions on various themes in the Community > Photo Discussions section of the site.

BetterPhoto Websites: If you see an orange website link directly under the photographer's name, it's totally okay. It's not spam. The reason: BetterPhoto is the one that offers these personal photography websites. We are supporting our clients with those links.

Unavailable EXIF: If there is no other information but 'Unavailable' in the EXIF (meaning no EXIF data exists with the photo), the 'Unavailable' blurb is not displayed. If there is any info, it shows. Many photos have the EXIF stripped out when people modify the image and resave it, before uploading.


 

The following truth is one of the core philosophies of BetterPhoto:

I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I do, I understand.

You learn by doing. Take your next online photography class.


Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to John H. Siskin.
Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.