Not every cover shoot goes smoothly. Our Issue 40 shoot is the only one we’ve ever had some in depth video footage of and it gives a glimpse of what’s involved, including some behind-the-scenes visuals and a few embarrassing takes…
By Sean Badenhorst
Photos: Ben Burgh – Video: Charnelle Munitich
I started working on cycling magazine cover shoots back in 2000. I’ve probably managed over 150 of them if you consider my time as editor at Ride magazine, then Bicycling and now TREAD.
Cover shoots aren’t always like any other shoot because you have to strongly consider the following factors:
- Does the bike/clothing work from a style and colour perspective?
- Can the rider actually handle a bike, not just pedal it?
- Is the rider patient? It can take a good few hours to get one perfect pic.
- Is the bike available in South Africa? And the clothing?
- Does the photographer know how to shoot a cover – leaving sufficient space for cover lines, correctly lighting, appropriate angles etc?
- Will this shot be attractive from a distance – will it entice someone pick it up off a shelf?
- Will this shot look authentic and not fabricated/too posed?
- Does this shot fit in with the magazine’s character?
I’ve worked with many photographers on cover shoots. I can’t say I’ve ever worked with a photographer that wasn’t super committed to getting THE shot. Some have even reshot on another day to get the right shot. South African photographers are some of the hardest working people I’ve met. And some of the most talented.
While working on the last issue of TREAD (Issue 40), Ben Bergh, who’d shot a few of our best-ever covers a couple of years ago, contacted me and said he had some new lights and was keen to shoot a mountain biking action pic. I thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot a cover on a hardtail.
There’s been so much emphasis on full-suspension mountain bikes in South Africa. Not surprising really since that is the ideal type of bike on which to tackle a stage race or marathon. But we’ve been on a mission this year to ride more hardtails and not necessarily the most expensive ones, to confirm that the modern hardtail is still a fun bike to ride.
We chatted about the ideal type of shot and then Ben and I went for a ride to scout for an appropriate spot. I’d been doing some regular early morning rides at Central Park Trails, Modderfontein and loved the colours (this was in April at the very start of Autumn) and textures there.
We liked a right hand singletrack turn on the edge of a section of forest at Central Park Trails, Modderfontein, Johannesburg and then arranged permission from Charnelle Munitich, the trails manager to shoot there early one Saturday morning. Charnelle didn’t just give us permission; she met us there at 05h00 and spent the entire shoot with us. These video clips were shot by Charnelle.
We finished up around 10h00. That’s a long time to get one shot, but that’s what Ben is all about.
“I’m in favour of quality over quantity,” says Ben. “I’d rather spend a few hours trying to get one perfect shot than spend that time getting 10 okay shots.”
I don’t necessarily share Ben’s views on this, but then he does spend most of his time shooting for corporates and ad agencies where one image is all that’s required. One thing I do know, from all my years of cover shoots, is that it’s worth spending as much time as is required on the shoot to get the right shot.
“Perfect! Do it again,” is a line I’ve heard so often from photographers on shoots. What they’re really saying is what you did there was perfect, keep doing it and I should get enough shots to give us options to find the perfect shot.
This is where they will change angles slightly as well as camera and light settings. Sometimes the photographic elements are all in place but the rider’s position is not quite right. Or some cloud moves in and messes with the light. It requires patience and perseverance from everyone involved on the shoot.
Ben likes to shoot his action shots into the sun. He has some impressive lights that he then positions in a way that lights up the subject perfectly. Here are some video clips of our shoot that day, giving a glimpse into what you don’t normally see…
Video 1
This is a normal speed video where you can see that Ben is holding a handful of grass in his one hand. That’s to frame the image with something giving it some more depth. He’s shooting with a wide-angle lens and has the camera on the ground, pointing at me. Years of experience have taught him what angle to hold it at because he can’t actually see what’s being framed.
I don’t like to shoot pics where it’s not a natural flow-of-riding image. So here I wasn’t happy that I ended up coming to a stop and not carrying on with the trail.
Video 2
Slow motion video where the bike slide is great, lots of dust, but having to remove a foot from the pedal makes it a fail in my opinion. Must be a smooth non-dab run to make it authentic.
Video 3
Slow motion video with not enough dust and a poor finish, having to brake to avoid hitting one of Ben’s expensive lights!
Video 4
A smooth run through turn for me; and Ben trying a shot from the inside of the singletrack this time.
Ben carries a small shovel in his vehicle which he used to replace all the displaced sand every 10 runs or so.
Video 5
My wife, Joanne, who was doing a ride while we were shooting, cut her ride short and volunteered to hold a branch to frame the right hand side of the image to show some depth and texture. My technique wasn’t bad until the end where I almost took out Ben’s light again…
Joanne was covered in dust after probably 10 of these runs and our final cover image came from one of these runs. But Suzie Assenmacher, our designer had to crop most of the leaves out, which kind means Joanne’s commitment was wasted. Such is the world of media though…
Here’s the final image:
And here’s how it looks at a cover shot:
