Bike Photography for free

[picsbyjra]

Hi Everyone I am a Photographer in the Windsor area and I am trying to build a Portfolio of bikes and to that end I am Offering a few Local people an absolutely free photo shoot

This is a marketing exercise and works for me in terms of creating a meaningful Portfolio.

When is say free I mean free, after the shoot i will edit and retouch the photos, they will then be uploaded to a private client gallery where you can download the full sized images at your discretion.

This is a genuine offer and not a sales teqnique.

If you fancy helping me out, then drop me a line at my website

www.jraphotography.co.uk

in the contact us section

regards

James
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James Atkins

[Nemo]

I up-rated because in my opinion it's not spam if you don't have to pay anything.

Unfortunately I'm not local and my bike looks shit at the moment.
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[picsbyjra]

[Ok no probs thanks alot for taking the time to look☺
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James Atkins

[Commuter_Tim]

Fair play to you, I have no interest, and my bike is shit anyway, but this may be the one time a post like this is not spam, both parties gain.

Plus a career in Photography is a harsh sentence!
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The above post is most likely nonsensical.

I ride a Bandit 600... badly.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[picsbyjra]

Thanks for your replies im honestly not trying to spam anyone☺ thanks for reading the post though. Yes there are worse jobs, I'm pretty sure I've had a couple 😉
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James Atkins

[bikertomm]

I'm only about 25 minutes away, however it's cold, my bike needs a good clean & polish, and well, it's nothing special.

Could you extend the offer until some sunshine arises..? Haha.


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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Commuter_Tim]

[picsbyjra]

Hi bikertomm, sure drop me an email to picsbyjra@gmail.com and we'll sort something out for when the elusive British sunshine pops out.

I know its not my favourite part of the job but I love the other parts. Its not incompetence just modesty
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James Atkins

[doggone]

[picsbyjra]

Ok sorry I didn't realise that it would be a problem all I am trying to do is offer something that is mutually beneficial to both myself and the members of this forum.

Thanks for your comments and taking the time to respond.
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James Atkins

[Carvel]

I have sent you a message via your website.

I am also in Windsor so this would be mega.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[picsbyjra]

Hi Carvel that's great but I appear to have some email gremlins with my contact form if you drop me an email at the address I posted above I will get back to you and we can get dates times etc sorted out.

Thanks everyone

James
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James Atkins

[Carvel]

Done.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[moonzoomer]

do I have to be naked when I sit on the bike for the pic, I like my socks on or is that a bit weird?

[KLR600]

In my experience of doing exactly this on this website I'd say to be prepared to be let down an awful lot and not to assume that everyone thinks that great photos of their bike is something worth having. Not having a pop at anyone but I've been let down numerous times by people (not just on this site but in all aspects of photo and video work) when offering photo/video stuff for free. Often times people aren't invested in the idea if they haven't invested any money in it.

Case in point - I recently offered to make some free music videos for all comers on a number of online noticeboards/facebook groups in Berlin to update my portfolio. My terms were clear in the advert and definitely in favour of the band/artist. Of all the responses I got only one has come to fruition while a lot of the responses I got were of people either expecting me to make a full video series for them including setting up and managing a youtube channel, others wanted me to pay them for the privilege when all they had were phone recordings of terrible tracks and others wanted me to just film them and then immediately hand over all the raw video files for them to do as they pleased with them.

I'm fully aware that just because I'm offering a photo/video service for free doesn't make it good or something that people want. I'm also fully ready to accept that my work may not be all that to a lot of people before I'm jumped on for having an ego or any of that nonsense.

My advice to you (not that you asked for it but meant in a helpful friendly way!) would be to either:

Offer cheap (not free) photoshoots as you'll more likely attract those who care enough about their bikes to want good photos of them that way and they'll be more invested and less likely to let you down if they have some skin in the game, even if it is only £20+.

Do a bit of stalking in the Show & Tell/General Bike Pics forums and approach via PM any bike owners with bikes you want to shoot. It'd probably be a good idea to link them to this thread too to show you're not some bike thief.

Pay to have a nice clean bike to shoot. Perhaps approach a local bike dealership and ask if you can hire one of their high end bikes for a couple of hours. You might not even have to take it off the premises if you can find a suitable location to shoot them in at the dealers and you may even be able to sweet talk them into letting you shoot them for free in exchange for use on their website/ebay listings etc.

Go to a local bike meet/local bike haunt/local bike show and just directly approach people with bikes you want to shoot. Take some business cards and be professional in your approach.

I can guarantee that you will get a lot more done a lot quicker if you actively go out and look for bikes to shoot/make it happen for yourself than waiting for someone who might fancy giving it a go but will let you down at the last minute or thinks that something for free is too good to be true. I've learnt this the hard way many times but for some reason I still offer stuff for free despite knowing it's much more hassle than it's worth 90% of the time!

Don't forget that every man and his dog has a decent camera and half an idea of how to use it these days and just putting "media" or "photography" after your name doesn't make you a legit business. You have to have exceptional work to stand out as just "good" work will blend into all the other people producing good work. I'm not trying to slam you before you've started or anything, just offering up stuff from my own experiences.

Not rating as spam as I've been there, done that and know how hard it can be to get people to take you seriously when you're just starting out. I can see how signing up just to do this and linking to your website can be seen as spam though. If you fancy a trip to Berlin you can shoot my bike if you like, I might even clean it before you get here

Good luck
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Now: '00 Kawasaki ZRX1100R - Past: '84 Yamaha DT125, '89 Kawasaki KLR600, '97 Yamaha XJ600N
<My Bikepics Page> <My Yootoobes> <My Websites> <My Photos>
<Take Cool Photos!>

[picsbyjra]

Hi thanks for you insights and thank you for taking the time respond. Quality of work is a sticking point in today's world where as you rightly say everyone and his brother has a camera.

I still think there is a need for people who have dedicated themselves to Photography and create interesting unique work. Like you im not sure that I am one of those people but through my work as a Product photographer I have received a lot of positive feedback and I would like to use my skills, what little I do possess

Thanks again for spending the time to help me out but you've hit upon an eternal optimist and although I understand the negative aspects of a career in Photography it really doesn't bother me.

thanks everyone for your interest and support
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James Atkins

[Commuter_Tim]

[KLR600]