Are you ready to add some excitement to your pictures? Once you understand panning in photography you’ll be able to create some really cool eye catching photos.
What is panning photography?
Panning photography is the horizontal movement of a camera as it follows a moving object.
That was the textbook definition of panning photography. Now I’m going to try and explain it in simpler terms.
When you are panning, you are moving your camera in the direction of the moving object. Here is an example of what I mean. Let’s imagine that we are at a NASCAR event and you are lucky enough to have a seat at the start/finish line. With your body facing the finish line your head is turned to the left to see the cars approaching the finish line. You begin to move your head from left to right (the direction the cars are traveling) until they cross the finish line and then you continue moving your head until the cars head into turn number one. That is panning.
When would you use panning?
When done properly, panning gives you a sense of motion. The trick is to keep the subject tack sharp while giving the viewer a sense of motion. Check out the cyclist below. Had I taken the photo at a fast shutter speed, everything would be stopped at a moment in time. The spokes would be clear, the woods in the background would also be clear depending on my aperture setting. Instead, I was able to blur the wheels, pavement and background thereby giving you a sense of speed from the photo.
Shutter Speed: 1/125 F-Stop: f/8
3 Tips to Create Amazing Panning Photos
1. Successful panning requires that you have a steady hand and your camera is set to a relatively slow shutter speed.
Not all panning photos will use the same shutter speed. The actual shutter speed depends on the speed of the subject but generally it will be 1/200th or slower. 1/200th if your subject is moving at a high speed, like at a NASCAR event, and maybe as slow as 1/40th of a second if your subject is playing rugby, soccer or football and is running past you.
2. Keep in mind that the faster your shutter speed is the easier it will be to keep your subject crisp.
Especially as you’re learning the art of panning, don’t slow your shutter down too much. Just keep it slow enough to begin to show some motion. As your confidence increases and you’ve got the hang of things, go ahead and slow your shutter more and more to show even further pronounced motion and thus separation of your speeding subject from the background.
3. Make sure your subject remains in the same portion of the frame during the entire exposure: this will ensure a crisp, sharp subject.
When your subject comes into view, fix your lens on them and follow them from left-to-right (or vice-versa), click your shutter as they land on the spot you want to capture them, and then continue to follow the subject until they are out of range. This will ensure that you get their full range of motion and shutter speed, and won’t stop short of your exposure.
Check out these photos from Google image search to see more examples of panning photography.
What tips do you have for successful panning? Share them in the comments section below.
wow…i like your panning photography info…
Thanks for the comment spam Mr. Photo Booth. Never the less I hope you learned some tips on proper panning techniques in photography.