Still motorcycle photographed to appear in motion - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D @ f/2 ISO 200 1/320th 

• Get images like this of your motorcycle.  Custom motorcycle shoots are available for the Tampa Bay area - reserve yours today! 

I have written before about how I like to photograph motorcycles just for fun.  It often turns out when I come across a motorcycle that I have my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens on my DSLR (or is it that having the 50mm lens on makes me look for motorcycles to shoot?).  For a motorcycle parked on the street it would be pretty hard to fit the entire bike from wheel to wheel in the frame given the contraints of shooting at 50mm and of neighboring objects intruding into the edges of the frame and the background as well.

So my photography tip, that does not just apply to motorcycles but any large or unwieldy subject, is do not photograph the entire subject.  Rather fill the frame through the edges of the frame wiht the view of the subject that appeals to you the most.  It helps to use a 50mm lens and its large aperture for this kind of shot because it is easy then to create bokeh even if the background is close to the subject.  In this way you can still isolate your subject letting the viewer know absolutely what it is they are looking at.  

For this motorcycle shot I did not even worry about getting the entire front wheel in the frame, I definitely wanted the brake rotor in the shot and to compose at an off-level angle to help create a sense of motion with the motorcycle even though it is parked on the side of the road.  

Practice this kind of composition on a motorcycle the next time you see one or on another similar object and be sure and post a link to your results in the comments below.

• Read more of Jason's photography tips
• Reserve your own 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson shooting or editing with Jason today!
• Learn more about DSLR photography lessons

Angela using her new 50mm lens to photograph architecture details in St. PetersburgSince our first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in April, for our second of four lessons, Angela brought with her two new not insignificant pieces of gear, a 50mm lens and the Nikon SB-700 Speedlight.  These two items are actually by far the most popular pieces of photography gear that my students have purchased first over the past three years.  They are the least expensive ways to radically change the kinds of photographs one can make.  

We started out the lesson practicing with the 50mm lens where I told Angela I look for the background perhaps even more than the subject when using my 50mm lens because I want the best possible bokeh in my 50mm shots.  Lights of course easily make for cool looking bokeh, but also spectral slight coming through tree branches can create the same look.  

For the last half of our 2-hour lesson Angela put her SB-700 on her Nikon D5000 and we practiced flash portraits at sunset and twilight time as our lesson went until 8:30pm, well after sunset.  By manually setting the power on the SB-700 it was clear that TTL mode was choosing too much power making the subject (in this case, me!) look too "flashed" in the portrait.  Manually setting the power allowed Angela to make a portrait of me that looked much more natural balancing the exposure on the subject with the background exposure so that neither seemed to stand out from the other.

Perhaps by our fourth lesson we will get that flash off the camera for some strobist portraits!

Parag with his Canon 60D & Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens in downtown St. Petersburg for our 2nd photography lessonFor our second of four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons I met Parag once again in downtown St. Petersburg this time focusing on using his Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens on his Canon 60D DSLR.  I often teach photography lessons based on just using a 50mm lens as besides being the cheapest lens one can buy, it is also one of the most fun to use because it can easily create bokeh, is good in low light, can be used for portraits and is small and light physically.

We spent most of our time in the interior of downtown St. Petersburg looking for abstract patterns to photograph, as well as motorcycles and lights for bokeh.  In between we stopped to practice making natural light portraits using the 50mm lens.  I stressed to Parag that when using large apertures like f/2.8 and even f/2 that it is important not to set the focus on the eyes and recompose, but rather first frame the shot as you like then move the focus point in the frame to fall upon the subject's eyes.  It is an extra step to take in making a shot, but an important one in order to insure maximum sharpness of the portrait subject's eyes.  

I had another very good time talking with Parag on subjects beyond photography too.  I discovered we both share a great enthusiasm for the E46 M3!  Hopefully he will get one soon so we can photograph it in one of our two remaining lessons!  

Blowing out some highlights is not always bad - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 200 1/100th handheldOne of the first things I teach to my DSLR photography students, is how to check for blown out highlights and how to correct the exposure to get rid of them.  However, blown out highlights can be ok and actually compliment how a final image looks.  In the above shot I asked the owner of a restaurant if I could photograph the pendant lights hanging over a row of tables.  I am often looking for repeating patterns as a subject for photographs.  By using my 50mm lens at a large aperture (f/2) I could making the repeating pattern shot I wanted to with bokeh while handholding my DSLR even though in a very dark interior space.

The part of the image where the bulbs are inside the pendant lights are totally blown out.  However, I liked how this looks because it produces an overall exposure that fits the mood of the shot I wanted to make.  

Go out and make your own photograph with some blown out highlights on purpose and post a link to your photo in the comments below. 

Julie with her Canon 60D and new Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens during our second photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaSince our first DSLR Photography Lesson Julie has invested in the absolute best value in photography, a 50mm f/1.8 lens.  It is the cheapest lens to produce for manufacturers (around $110), but is a lens that is in every photographer's camera bag.  Among my photography students who started out with just the kit lenses (18-55mm, 55-200mm), by far the most common next purchase was a 50mm lens.  

Julie and I met in the usual downtown St. Petersburg spot.  We both were traveling light with just the 50mm lenses.  That is another benefit of the lens, it is very light and portable.  Since covering a lot of the nuts and bolts of how to just get a correct exposure and focus during our first lesson, for this 50mm lesson we discussed composition much more, in particular with the 50mm producing the best bokeh and DoF possible.  Much of this comes down to framing the shot with a complementary background trying to include objects that will result in pleasing bokeh and setting the focus on the subject in a way to maximize DoF.

When dealing with a DoF of a centimeter or two at most, setting the focus and recomposing will result in a lack of sharpness on the intended subject.  Therefore, one needs to frame the shot as desired, and then using a single focus point, manually in the viewfinder select the focus point to fall upon the intended subject.  Some DSLRs make this much easier to do than others (hint, Nikon D300 makes it easy).

I look forward to seeing Julie's shots of Gasparilla and the portraits she makes with her new 50mm lens.

• More information about 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons with Jason
• Browse past lessons with Jason's hundreds of photo students
• Read Jason's photography tips