Taking photographs of moving objects can be made interesting if you know how to use a technique often referred to as “panning”- moving the camera while the exposure is taking place. Here are a few photography tips that will help you take great panning photograph soon.
Basically- this technique is a way to manipulate the image by moving the camera while at the same time setting the shutter speed to be “too slow”, so that we get a nice and steady object, with a blurry background to enhance a sense of movement. Sounds complex? well it’s not!
“Why should I learn panning photography?”
- If you photograph motion often- sports, vehicles, fast animals.
- when you’d like to enhance a sense of motion, and not just “freeze” the whole frame
- because it’s really cool and fun!
“What do I need to start with?”
- A camera with a lens that has an adjustable focal length (Zoom, in short).
- An ability to control shutter speed- manual control or shutter priority option; found on SLR and Semi-SLR cameras, as well as some compact ones. Read this to learn the difference.
- Moving objects- unless you have a little brother or an athletic friend which likes to run around for an hour, I’d suggest the closest road that has some traffic as a good bet. Cars also tend to be predictable in how they move about, not so sure about little brothers, and I don’t know your athletic friends.
Setting up
- Place yourself in a convenient spot, where you can watch cars driving by- not too fast and not too slow. In the sample below I used a balcony overlooking a street with an average speed of 60 Kph.
- Set your focal length (Zoom), so that you cover just about the road with some edges. You should aim for the average car to show as a substantial object within your frame. Notice what is the focal length in millimeters.
- Set your camera to manual or shutter priority, and set your shutter speed so that the number is similar to the focal length. For instance, in the image below, I set my lens on 70mm, and the shutter speed on 1\80 to match. As a thumb rule, having your shutter speed set to a number close to the current focal length, will make your images blurry if you move even a bit. You will usually want a relatively faster shutter speed, but not today!
- To conclude camera setting: Frame the area which you will photograph first, then match the shutter speed to be similar to the focal length you wish to use. Ready!
[singlepic id="142" w="320" h="240" mode="" float="center" ]
Action! Taking the photo
Here’s the part that requires a bit of practice and stability. The principle of a good panning image is in smooth tracking of your object as it moves. That’s why roads, and cars- are easy targets to start with.
- Set your focus on the area which you want to take a photo of.
- Locate an approaching car, and move your camera on it.
- Try to track the car’s movement with the camera as smoothly as possible- best to try and simply keep the car right in the center of the viewfinder.
- Take the image at the appropriate timing- and keep on with the tacking movement as the camera works.
- Stop tracking the object only after the photography action is complete.
- If you followed the settings correctly, and were steady enough in tracking the object, your result should be somewhat similar to this:
These are the basic elements you need to put in place in order to create a successful panning photograph. After you got the basics right, try incorporating other elements into the images, such as : using flash, shooting with a wide lens and up close, or at the longest range of your lens.
I hope these photography tips are useful, if you have any of your own you’d like to share- send them over!
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