It’s good to set yourself a challenge and this week mine was starting to create more of a theme to the motorcycle content on Instagram and ‘up my game’ in how the shots are done. Step one of that is the dreaded selfie and developing a colour grade that I’m happy with.
There are some amazing content providers making this look so easy and after two hours of trial and error yesterday, I take my hat off to them, or should that be helmet!!
Second shot, still with the XH1 and the 23mm f1.4
I eventually had to take a seat and think about this……
As with most things it’s great to be able to learn online, dissect other creatives images and figure out camera placement, focal lengths and lighting. Initially I thought that a relatively wide angle lens, a 35mm or similar was the goto option for this kind of image but I’m not sure it is, you get a decent shot but its lacking something and I couldn’t quite figure out what?
Fuji XH1 and 23mm f1.4
So as with most things, try, try and try again.
Another lesson re-learned, know your gear! Could I remember how to get the Bluetooth or WiFi remote to work on the Fuji to give me control from the iPhone? No! 10 second timer it is then ! Fortunately with a 23mm lens the camera is only about 2m away from me here. While we are thinking out loud, lets talk about product placement as well, what’s the point of Instagram unless there is something to promote or sell, I think the secret to success when you are shooting solo like this is to have some go to poses that work, allowing you get exposure on all the critical pieces, oh take your time as well. You’ll notice here the glove lying on the ground, a sign of frustration setting in that I didn’t notice it. I’m also in two minds about the grading / edit on these images, I felt its a bit much.
Fuji XH1, 23mm f1.4 post edit in Lightroom and Luminar AI
Is it cheating to edit it?. Rather than rethink the lens choice, I went back to the overall image, tried to pose to get all the products in place and visible, then added a little post edit work with Lightroom and Luminar AI. Kind of happy with the result but not so happy about having to edit it. At this point I decided to head home, make some fresh coffee and consider my choices so far….
So, back out we venture with some different gear…..
Fuji XH1, XF 50-140mm at 123mm
And here it is! Nice and simple, the best shot of the day, three hours of testing and reshooting.
The usual suspects help out a lot, late in the day, early evening sun helps provide that golden light which really suited the colour of the bike and the gear, little to no post processing required and I like the natural colour grade.
The compression from the longer focal length helps pull the image in and give it a bit more context even with a tighter field of view, this would work well with a dramatic backdrop. Product placement could be better but its a solid start.
The only issue I had in getting this was the remote trigger. I checked the Fuji manual on setting up the wifi remote app, it does work, however at this focal length the camera was a good 10m away from me and the bike and the signal kept dropping, so it was back to the 10 second timer and quick sprints in motocross boots !! In fairness to Gaerne they aren’t the most flexible but I did manage.
Overall pretty I am happy with how this turned out and even managed to have it featured on the social media for Gaerne and Fuel Motorcycles. All in all a good day of learning and a decent start on a project.
Bike - Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE
Exhaust upgrade - Zard
Helmet - Shoei Ex Zero from Urban Rider
Jacket and Pants - Fuel Motorcycles
Boots - Gaerne SG12
Goggles - Oakley
Get outside, learn something new, stay breezy!