The Silodrome Photography Guide
The vehicles and products we feature on Silodrome all have one thing in common: good photography.
It doesn’t matter if you aren’t a professional photographer, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a big fancy SLR and it doesn’t matter if you don’t have access to a studio.
You can still take great pictures. Even with an iPhone.
As a general rule, we won’t feature something if the owner has just lent it up against a wall and snapped some half-assed pictures. People need to take pride in their creations and be willing to spend some time taking well framed, interesting shots of their subject.
#1 Shoot Generously
We don’t use film anymore and digital photos are free to take, so keep shooting till your trigger finger is sore. Then let us choose the ones that’ll work best on Silodrome. You can use sites like WeTransfer to send massive collections of files very easily.
#2 Lighting
Make sure the light on your subject is bright enough, if possible use two or more sources of light from different angles. This will help cut back on shadows and show up details nicely.
# Background
This is the one everyone seems to forget. We can see the background and so can the readers, so make it matter. Think about locations near your house that might look good like forests, old buildings, bridges, beaches, modern architecture, long abandoned roads, cool back alleys or whatever else you might have near. The best possible background is always plain white, this keeps the focus on your creation and it also means that the image can be compressed so the website loads quickly.
# Cleanliness
If your car, motorcycle, boat, airship or product has grease and dirt on it, it’ll look like shit no matter how good you are behind the lens. Give it a clean before you shoot, it’ll look an order of magnitude better and you’ll be glad you took the time to do it when you see the photos on Silodrome.
# Frame
The “frame” in photography is everything that will appear in the photograph. The subject is the primary object. When framing your subject make sure the camera is focussing on what you want in focus, make sure the lighting looks right, make sure you aren’t being reflected in the subject (if it’s chromed/glossy), make sure the background is out of focus and make sure you’re happy with how the angles are working.
# Models
We prefer not having models in product photos, it pulls attention away from the subject and often ends up looking a little tacky. If you’re shooting a product like a t-shirt or a leather wallet try laying out a large sheet of white paper (available at art + craft stores) and light it from a few angles to reduce or eliminate shadows. Try looking at your competitors websites to see how they did it, then do it better.
# Enjoy It
Seriously. Invite some friends for the shoot. Toss some beers into ice. Put on some music. Have a few drinks and collaborate on cool angles, interesting lighting and detail shots. Make it fun and it’ll come through in the finished photographs.
No. No. No.
Don’t be afraid when you’re shooting, take risks, try weird things, have a laugh and remember that when you’re holding the camera. You’re the photographer.