Dec 20 2007
Photographing Movement
Photographing something so you see the movement is a great effect. I enjoy watching motor sports, and this is perfectly suited to the effect called ‘panning’!
Achieving this successfully however, has taken practice and I still get it wrong on a regular basis. Digital has made this process much easier…
The key is to keep the subject (or at least part of the subject) in somewhat sharp focus, with not only blurring out the background, but making the background look “streaked”.
Here is an example of what I mean:
Technically, this is called ‘panning’. If you’ve ever seen a policeman with a speed gun following a car to gauge its speed, you’ll look kind of similar!
Basically, you need an SLR to do this properly. Set your lens to Manual Focus, then focus your camera on an object at a similar distance away, to make sure the subject you will be photographing, does actually end up in focus.
Next, set your camera to either Tv (shutter priority) mode, or Manual mode.
Depending on the ambient light, a shutter speed of around 1/30, when shooting in daylight, is a good place to start.
I once tried shooting speed skaters in an ice rink, but the shutter speed was too slow at 1/20 second, and it all came out too blurry.
When you’re practising, a good place to go is a race track, as you get lots of opportunity to try different settings - the drivers/riders just keep coming past you as they go around and around the track!
As far as technique goes - hold your camera firmly, and stand comfortably so you can swivel your upper body without falling over (trust me, I speak from experience…).
Once you’re ready and poised for action, keep your finger on the shutter, but don’t press it yet. Lock on a photographic subject (visually) and follow it as it moves towards you.
Press the shutter as the subject is almost directly in front of you, and keep following it until it’s passed.
Here is another example:
When it works, it feels great!
If you have any panning stories, I’d love to read about them!
