Strobist & bicycle
A quick look at a photo shoot with a model unlike any other: a bicycle.
Take a camera and a bicycle and try to make a "portrait." You'll soon notice that a bike isn't very photogenic — just lines: tubes, cables, wheels, etc. Nothing very graceful to bring out its aesthetic. To fix that, nothing like a bit of supplementary light to underline the various elements. That's where flash techniques come in — the ones gathered under the Strobist movement.
If you want to know more about the Strobist movement, download the excellent Strobist 101.
Gear
Before we look at the shot itself, let's talk gear briefly. It's pretty simple: a camera, flashes and a way to trigger them.
As for me:
- Canon 1DX-MkII
- Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM
- Canon Speedlite 580EX II
- Nissin Di866 Mark II
- Pocketwizard Plus II
In this particular case, using a camera like the Canon 1DX-MkII isn't necessary. For this purpose, using a telephoto lens makes it easy to achieve a nice depth of field.
Setup
To properly emphasise the bike's lines, without any particular effect, the setup is simple:
- Frame the shot
- Underexpose by about −1.7 EV, making sure to shoot below 1/200 s (max sync speed)
- Add light at 45° on the right and 45° on the left
Which gives the setup below:
Flash setup — rear view
Three-quarter view, this gives:
Flash setup — three-quarter rear view
Setting it up only takes a few minutes, but what a result, you might say!
Results
An image is worth more than a long speech, so here are 4 images:
- No flash
- Underexposed
- With flash #01
- With flashes #01 and #02