Moving motorbike shots

[MREGAN]

I was thinking of taking a few motorbike shots from the back of the van as someone drives it. What settings should I be aiming for if van and bike are moving at the same speed to get good motion shots?

[yogestee]

This will be fun.. Remember if the van and motorbike are moving at the same speed you can get away with slower shutterspeeds.. For example try shooting at 1/125 sec.. This way the bike will be realitively sharp but the background will be blurred due to subject movement..The effect looks quite stunning.. Try a series of different shutterspeeds,,the slower the shutterspeed the more pronounced the background blur will be..

[Northern Ferret]

I have had a lot of fun in the past shooting from the back of cars and pick up trucks and the effects can be really pleasing.

typically you can run a really slow shutter speed depending on the affect your after. I suppose a nice blurred background and sharp motorbike with motion still in the wheels for the full effect.

As Yogestee says, start with 125 and run off a few shots to see how they look. You also have to remember the sun plays a big role, running with the sun behind you and into the front of the bike you will get a good balance of colour without too much washing out. Turn around though and with the sun in your face is another story. The key is to keep checking your images and if you need to under or over expose the shot to get the image your after then do so and try it again. Also early evening will give you a much warmer image than first thing in the morning...Lots to think about but the results will be rewarding if you persevere...Sometimes what you think will be a realatively simple shoot will take quite some time to get the results your after...i have run out of light many times...

Happy shooting and let us see the results when you have them in the bag !

[PhotosGuy]

Lay down to get close to the bike's level. Make sure you're attached to the van.
And try to watch what's happening in the background as much as you watch the bike.