tips

Tips For Taking Your Photo

The pictures on this web site or in my brochure really cannot do justice to how unbelievable your MotoPhoto will look in person. The thickness of the acrylic plastic and the detailed cuts really do give it a 3-D lifelike effect. However, to achieve the best product it is important that the picture you provide be of reasonably good composition and clarity. It is not necessary to have some high-buck digital camera; even the most basic camera will take a very usable picture. It is important though that you have the camera set to take the best quality picture possible. Some people have their camera set to take a lower quality picture to fit more shots on their memory card. If the picture is taken in this mode, the clarity will be lost when I enlarge the picture to make your MotoPhoto. If you are not familiar with setting your camera to take the highest quality picture, consult your owner’s manual.

When taking the picture it is best to fill the frame of your photograph with your subject. If the subject appears small in the photo, clarity and picture quality will be reduced as the photo is enlarged.

If you are not specifically taking a picture to be used for the MotoPhoto but are providing a picture that has already been taken, don’t worry. Even if the picture is not perfect, I use Photoshop to adjust color and sharpness when possible. If there are any problems with the picture that would preclude it from making a good MotoPhoto I will contact you.

Another hint for composing the best possible picture is to take it from a low angle and from farther away using telephoto to fill the frame of the picture with the subject. I have found that when taking a motorcycle picture it is best to hold the camera at gas tank height or even a bit lower and from farther away than you would think correct. Taking the picture from a low angle is also true when shooting kids, pets or anything else. The lower angle and taking the picture from a distance makes it appear that anything touching the ground at different heights is closer to being on the same plane.

Other things to keep in mind is that very thin details such as antenna may not be possible to reproduce, wisps of hair or fluffy hair will not look as good, but may not be possible to avoid, and motorcycles, cars, horses, etc., are best photographed directly from the side. I have done motorcycles where the picture was taken on a track with the bike going around the corner and not taken directly from the side. Although it turned out great and the person was exceedingly happy, the angle of the shot did distort the look and proportions of the bike slightly.

Also the object does not have to be in motion for it to appear that way. Very few of the motorcycles I have done have actually been in motion. Even the ones where the dirt bike appears to be jumping or doing a wheelie were taken with the rider stationary. He just posed as if he was doing these things and when cut out there was a sense of movement in the finished MotoPhoto that really wasn’t there.

The last thing to remember is that you do not have to specifically take a picture to have a MotoPhoto created for you. I am able to take a negative or even a standard photograph you already have and digitize it so it can be used. If you choose to send a photograph, picture on a disk or negative rather than e-mailing me the picture, those will be returned with your finished MotoPhoto.

If you have any questions concerning the picture you would like to use or anything else, please do not hesitate e-mailing me your question or giving me a call at (850) 445-8588.