- Prepare your bike
- Remove bottle cages and partially screw in the bottle cage bolts. If you’re ordering a half frame bag, leave bottle cages installed and add bottles for your photo.
- Tape a measuring tape to the frame so that it is taught and straight. Make sure it isn’t hiding the outline of your frame triangle.
- You can also use a tape measure standing up vertically as long as it’s making contact with the frame.
- Take this photo outside in daylight against a blank wall for best results
- Step back 12-15ft
- This is critical to avoid perspective issues with the photo
- If using a phone camera, use the 2x or 3x zoom setting. If you’ve got access to one, use a dedicated camera with optical zoom.
- Kneel down
- Kneel down to position the camera level with the center of the main triangle.
- Take a photo
- Make sure the frame triangle is in the center of the photo
- Important: If you can get the fork legs, seatstays, and chainstays lined up with each other so they each appear as one, then you know you’re back far enough and straight on.
- Take a backup photo
- When you think you’ve got a good photo, lower your camera, take a step back, and take another shot.
- Most photos I get are taken too close to the bike and/or not aligned with the center of the triangle.
- Final check and submission
- Zoom in on your image to check if you can make out the lines on the ruler like you can in the image below.
- Email the full res images to andrew@dispersed.bike
Example: (this was taken on a camera with a zoom.)
Bad examples
Photo taken too close and from above. You can see the non-driveside seat stay and chain stay.
Photo taken too close and with a wide angle lens. You can see the non-driveside seat stay, chain stay, and fork leg.
The camera is lined up with the center of the triangle, but the photo is taken from too close and lens perspective is distorting the shape of the triangle.
The tape measure is obscuring the top tube making it hard to determine the outline of the bag. It’s also taken from too close, you can see the NDS stays and fork leg.
Good examples
Photo taken straight-on, from 12ft away with zoom. Tape measure is touching the frame and not blocking any important features.
Photo taken straight-on, from 12ft away with zoom. Tape measure is touching the frame and not blocking any important features.
More good examples:
