Good Photos Crucial To Selling A Bike

Here’s a statistic that may surprise you: For every new motorcycle sold, there are four used bikes that find new owners. Most dealers sell used bikes at a rate of less than one used for every new, which means a lot change hands privately thanks to eBay, Craigslist, brand-specific forums and other means. Sellers are no longer limited to placing a classified ad in the newspaper or parking a bike with a “For Sale” sign on it. Those days are pretty much gone.

Key elements in any online selling attempt are a thorough description, competitive pricing and location.  However, nothing gets attention like a compelling photograph or two.  Some venues allow quite a few pictures – Craigslist lets you add up to 24 photos to your free advertisement. I’ve included some good one and some bad one throughout this column.

In reading ads online, I’ve concluded that there are four kinds of sellers when it comes to pictures in ads:

1. Those who have a solid understanding of how to produce good pictures that will attract  attention.
2. Sellers who don’t even try to include pictures in their ads.
3. Those who think any snapshot is ok, without regard to quality.
4. Sellers who understand the value of good pictures and would like to improve their results.

The best way to help those sellers in category four is to offer up some tips. Thanks to options available today, just about everyone has the ability to produce good quality pictures – whether that’s via cell phone camera or a high-end DSLR outfit. Despite the technological advances in photographic gear, one fact has not changed. The quality of the image rests almost entirely with the photographer, not the camera. The technique you employ will determine the photographic outcome.

Some basic guidelines:

Lighting – The best way to get even lighting, good color balance, and consistent detail is to shoot your bike outside under an overcast sky. Photographers refer to this as “open shade.” Taking pictures in bright sunlight introduces overly bright highlights, deep shadows, and generally unpleasing results.

An example of good lighting and detail

If you do shoot in direct light, make sure the light source is behind the camera and not behind the bike. Otherwise, the camera’s light meter will be fooled by strong back lighting and will deliver an underexposed picture of your bike. Try to avoid flash as it creates localized “hot spot” reflections and a distracting glow from your bikes side marker reflectors.

Location – Pay careful attention to how and where you position your bike. Place your bike in an area that is free of additional elements in the picture (no other vehicles, no garbage cans, no kids, no dogs, you get the idea).

Notice how the background clutter draws attention away from the bike? 

Try to find an uncluttered background – a blank wall, an open field, etc. And avoid using those cool shots of your last road trip where your bike is the minor element in a shot. You’re selling your bike, not showing people where it’s been.

Can you tell the make and model of the bike?

Composition – Once you’ve found the ideal location to take your pictures, study what you see in the viewfinder or on the screen. The number one thing to remember is to fill the frame with your subject. The bike should occupy the vast majority of the frame.  No need for big borders or off-center positioning.

Close-up pictures reveal both detail and condition 

 You’ll need more than one picture to effectively display your bike. Using a variety of camera positions (eye-level, closer-to-the ground level, etc.) take overall bike pictures from both sides, front, back, and three-quarter views. Then, start getting closer to show details of the engine, front wheel, back wheel, instruments, accessories, etc. Make sure that your bike is sparkly clean for these close-in shots.

This picture does so many things wrong it’s impossible to list them

If shot correctly with patience and imagination, when you’re done, you should have a large gallery of images that you can edit down to the very best for use in your ad. Remember, pictures will sell your bike!

– By Bob Rosen