How To Panning

Panning is one of the most difficult types of photography one can employ as the learning curve is rather high. But that's not to say you can't do it. It just takes a tremendous amount of patience, practice, and be prepared to throw out lots of pictures.

Panning is an art. Most photographers have no problem shooting still life or, with incredibly high shutter speeds can capture moving objects without much difficulty.

But how do you get that coveted blur in your photos that bring out the obvious that the subject is in motion? It's sort of a two part exercise. One that I can say I haven't mastered but I can take passable photos. Sometimes they turn out great. Sometimes I end up throwing away more pictures that just didn't work.

The first thing you need to learn is how to actually pan. Panning is following an object with your camera at the same speed the object is moving. When you take pictures like the ones you see here, the cars are getting close to 190-200mph which causes you to move quickly.

The first rule is how to lead the subject while trying to keep your center focus in the same spot on the subject. Duck hunters, skeet shooters and other enthusiasts already know how to do this to bag their game. They have to aim their gun in front of their game in order to get the shot. The biggest difference between a camera and a gun is the gun shot isn't instantaneous. In other words, it takes time for the buck shot or bullet to get to the subject therefore requiring to shoot in front of the subject.

Not so with a camera. Cameras are an instant capture. So why shoot in front of the car? Two reasons. You want as much chance as possible to either catch the car coming into the frame or, if you're a tad slow keeping your focus on a single point, you still have odds of hitting the car's sweet spot as it moves into that focal point.

This is the point where you need to know how to set your shutter speed to get the desired effect. If you crank the setting up to the max you'll catch the car dead in it's tracks. You won't have any element of movement and it will literally look like the car is just sitting on the pavement.

A side note on capturing this type of photography is your cameras fps. At an absolute minimum you need 4fps. The higher the better because you're going to fire the maximum amount of shots before the shutter stops, allowing data to be written on your memory card.

Anyway, if you're starting with a very high shutter speed, practice the pan technique to keep your focus on the front of the subject. If not, you'll end up with a picture like number two where the cars are exiting the frame. You want them either dead center or entering the frame.

Once you get the still shots from the high shutter speed, begin to dial it down. Continue practicing your panning because dropping down in shutter speed is going to make your practice a little harder. After you think you've mastered a slightly slower shutter speed, dial it down again. Pan and see if you can hit that sweet spot. If every picture is blurry then you need to stay at that shutter speed and practice until you get the desired amount of movement.

Once you're satisfied with your pictures, dial the shutter speed down again and continue to repeat the process. Each time you go down in shutter speed, the more blur you're going to obtain that begins to show the subject in motion. Keep on dropping until you get the panning down as well as keeping the object in focus. Obviously you'll pan faster and faster (depending on the subject). This is perhaps the point that things get very, very difficult. Panning quickly while trying really hard to keep your center focus on the object, in this case the car, is the most difficult tasks for photographers if they haven't spent the time practicing. The lower your shutter speed, the more you'll have to move your body and camera to keep up with the speed of your subject.

This isn't limited to cars, although NASCAR is my favorite type of shooting. You can apply this technique to things like running cheetahs, trains and anything else with pretty descent speed to it.

If this type of photography interests you, be prepared to put a lot of time in practicing. Here are a few suggestions to get started.

Have someone ride a bike down the street, then pan and shoot. You'll get really good at objects moving at that speed.

Then move up to a car. Preferably with your spouse driving because going out on a back road to shoot random cars isn't the smartest thing to do since the driver has no idea what you're doing.

Have your spouse or friend drive the car down the street at a faster pace than the bike. Continue your panning technique on the faster object. Keep moving up in speed until the point you're comfortable with your technique. Pan with your upper torso only and not your whole body.

After several messed up and out of focus pictures you'll begin to get the concept and what speeds you're capable of. Continue to practice until you achieve the level of blur that your looking for. Remember, the slower the shutter speed the more blur you'll get into the photo while maintaining ideal focus on the subject.

I know a lot of photographers will never be interested in this type of photography but it's a good technique to have in your arsenal.

By: Randy Cottingham Source: http://jpgmag.com/