![](https://www.jamesmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_5588w-1-494x394.jpg)
Making an Italian motorcycle studio
I was recently asked by a motorcycle collector who lives in the Middle East to photograph his bikes stored back in the UK .He’d seen my portfolio online and wanted a studio shoot. The collection is kept at a storage site near me and I know the owners so it made sense to build a ‘studio’ on site. For best results, and if money is no object a professional car or motorcycle studio would be an infinity cove which are few and far between these days as well as very expensive to hire. So I brought my mixed selection of studio lighting, stands, clips and clamps that I’ve collected over thirty years and we erected a black background in one corner of the unit to create an environment to shoot the collection.
![](https://www.jamesmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_5582w-494x337.jpg)
It’s always a compromise working this way as other lighting and daylight can affect the reflective surfaces but it works better with motorcycles than with cars which have more bodywork.
I used this technique to photograph a book ‘The Art of the Ducati’ a few years back, building small ‘studios’ all over Britain. Some copies are still available. : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Ducati-Ian-Falloon/dp/0760345449/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ODNYPXUJZ54P&keywords=Art+of+the+Ducati&qid=1683560201&s=books&sprefix=art+of+the+ducati%2Cstripbooks%2C71&sr=1-1
I first hung a white sheet between two poles and a black lightproof background beneath.Two powerful flash heads backlit the top white sheet projected a bright rim light around the edge of the subject. Softboxes fill in the rest of the frame. I use an Elinchrom Ranger battery system to fire off the other Bowens flash heads remotely from the camera which allows for faster working not being tethered.
![](https://www.jamesmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_5579w-494x371.jpg)
The images are then cleaned up in Photoshop with any distracting reflections removed or adjusted and the background consolidated as a dense black to achieve the final image.I photographed fully lit versions but my favourites were the low key versions.
see the full size image here : https://www.jamesmann.com/portfolio-one/
![](https://www.jamesmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/MV-Agusta-aa2w-494x379.jpg)