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Archive 2014 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?

  
 
yoshidude
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Hello Everyone,

With my son and his friends deep into longboarding, it's always great to do some panning to demonstrate motion. I've got so many with a high shutter speed, and you don't know if they were rolling along slowly or bombing a giant hill.

This is my best attempt from their last session. A new panning photo was added, since receiving the tips below.

Add one of your own, if you like. Thanks again to everyone for feedback or technique!

C&C are appreciated, especially if you've got any suggestions or techniques to offer.
Regards,
Scott

20140118-DSC_4153 by murfdawg500, on Flickr


Edited on Feb 01, 2014 at 09:58 PM · View previous versions



Jan 23, 2014 at 03:53 PM
Widgic
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


My 2 cents:

Practice, practice, practice...

Besides that, from my experience:

It's best done with a tripod or at least a monopod. This way you have to worry about movement only in one direction.

If you are using a tripod, you don't need an expensive carbon fiber with gimball job! A cheapy one will do fine.

you want to level the tripod so that a simple rotation of the head will follow along the axis of movement.

I try to press the shutter when I am square with the direction of the movement. This way what you are shooting is more or less at a constant distance from you while the shutter it open, giving you more chances to get your moving object clear.

I usually use continuous focus with a single point of focus. This allows me to focus on the area of the athlete that wont move too much, and then get a feel for the speed at which I need to move the camera to lock on the movement before I fire the shutter.

Play with various shutter speed / aperture combinations. Impact of shutter speed is obvious, aperture is more subtle and different apertures will give the blur in the background different qualities.

Taking about background, you might want to experiment with different backgrounds too: texture, structure, direction and color of even single object in the background will give very different feel to the photo.

Hope this helps.

Denis
www.widgic.com



Jan 23, 2014 at 07:54 PM
Stripper
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


I love the picture and Denis above is correct when he says practice, practice. The slower the shutter speed the more the magic happens. Your keeper rate will get better but it will never be perfect. On the main straight at Indy with cars going 230mph the magic really starts to happen at about 1/80th.

JohnCote



Jan 23, 2014 at 09:57 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Thanks for the replies Widgic and Stripper.

I am somewhat encouraged about the fact that I am already employing some of the technique that you recommend. I used a monopod, continuous focus, single focus point, at 1/50 shutter speed.

So, this naturally leaves me with the advice of "practice, practice, practice."

Good point about the keeper rate. I'd love for it to improve, but you probably can imagine how many I dumped from this one single outing! Trying to get a crisp focus on the athlete's face is not easy. But, when you nail it in focus, it really jumps off the page as contrasted with the blur from the panning.

Thanks for the thoughts on background and aperture. As you might guess, I completely focused on shutter speed to get this shot. Background is tough to control on public streets, but I could take more care in planning my position or even the time of day....

Thanks again, I sincerely appreciate the time you took to look.
Scott



Jan 23, 2014 at 11:18 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


I had another chance this past weekend to try the panning techniques that were offered. Here is one that came out pretty well. 1/50 shutter

Winter Longboarding by murfdawg500, on Flickr

And this one is just for contrast to show freezing action. 1/2000 shutter. I also just really liked it (Lightroom 5 preset).
Winter Longboarding by murfdawg500, on Flickr

Thanks for any more feedback or any of your own examples.
Kind Regards,
Scott



Feb 01, 2014 at 10:03 PM
kzoockof
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


It appears you are pretty close to the action? Have you ever tried panning with a second curtain flash?


Feb 02, 2014 at 04:41 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Hi kzoockof,

Funny you should ask that question.... I just had a friend as me the same thing. He'd sent me a couple of examples using second curtain flash, but I must admit that I've never tried it before.

I'm guessing that it would dramatically increase the sense of motion quite a bit. And, yes, I am close to the action, so the technique could work.

Do you have any examples you could post?
Thanks,
Scott



Feb 03, 2014 at 07:27 PM
tundracamper
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Thanks for posting these. I tried panning the other day while a friend was flying a drone around. Needless to say, i quickly learned that my panning technique stinks. This has motivated me to practice more. Perhaps starting at 300mm was a little ambitious.

Is there a good rule-of-thumb for a good shutter speed to start with at various focal lengths? I know 1/focal length is good for sharp images. What's a good rule to start learning the panning technique? I presume as one gets better the shutter speed can drop further, though i expect there are practical limits.



Feb 03, 2014 at 07:44 PM
kzoockof
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Yoshidude, I had a great image from my daughters rolling skating party a few years back. The flash was pretty subtle as there were lots of colorful lights in the rink. But what I found was that it not only gave the background a nice motion blur, but it also provides the main subject a nice motion blur, but with the subject sharper at it's final location when the flash hits the subject and the curtain closes.

I used to work with a guy who was a pullitzer prize winning photographer (I was not a photographer, just friends and worked for the same business, but he is the person who taught me photography). He used to use this approach and his images came out great. You get a good combination of a sharp subject (with trails) and the moving back/foreground.

Tundracamper - shutter speed is going to be determined by the speed of the subject. The faster the subject, the shorter the shutter speed and vice versa. Joggers (but they bounce a lot), bikers and cars driving through a neighborhood environment are nice to practice on as they give you three distinctly different speeds to start getting a better feel for speed of subject vs. shutter speed vs. desired affect.



Feb 04, 2014 at 04:14 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Tundracamper, kzoockof is correct. I'd also say to be sure to look at the info offered by the guys above. For me, I'd say that around the 1/80 mark is a good start. It just depends on how "fast" you're panning the camera, as to how much blur or smear you get in the background. The shots I've posted, here are at 1/50, but you could even go slower with practice and the right technique.

The main thing for me is that I get myself securely stabilized, and that I take the shot as my subject passes directly in front of me. This helps with focusing, which can be a bit tricky with a moving object.

I enjoy the challenge, and know that I've got a lot of practice to try to get better.

Post anything you'd like us to see.
Thanks guys,
Scott



Feb 04, 2014 at 06:48 PM
Jefferson
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Here's a few from a GrandAm race not long ago ....

30D + 300 f/4L IS @ 1/60 ...
http://jeffersonposter.smugmug.com/Category/GrandAm-Road-Atlanta-13/i-kGCrmtN/0/X2/GrandAm%20%2713-719-2-X2.jpg

30D + 300 f/4L IS @ 1/60
http://jeffersonposter.smugmug.com/Category/GrandAm-Road-Atlanta-13/i-cnNr56X/0/X2/GrandAm%20%2713-574-2-X2.jpg

30D + 300 f/4L IS @ 1/30
http://jeffersonposter.smugmug.com/Category/GrandAm-Road-Atlanta-13/i-M7d99QQ/0/X2/GrandAm%20%2713-437-2-X2.jpg



Feb 04, 2014 at 07:30 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Nice, Jefferson. I see that your ss was 1/30. Was it hard to keep steady with such a long lens (300mm)? Maybe used a tripod? Also, where did you set your focus point for something as fast-moving as a Ferrari?

Thanks so much for posting,
Scott



Feb 05, 2014 at 06:48 PM
Jefferson
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


I was in shutter priority in these three shots … using the center focal point. Generally, I put my focal point on the helmet … around the visor area to get some contrast to help with focus … Because I mostly shoot fast stuff that’s coming at me … I shoot AI Servo …

After this event, I started shooting in manual exposure mode after some advice from a long time motorsports photographer, because I was having problems in bright sunlight … couldn’t control aperture … f/8 to f/22 … from shot to shot … no control as I tracked and shot a car through different lighting situations …. A cloud … the way the light would hit the car through turns as I shot, etc. … I don’t like filters …

I still shoot center focal point … but now I shoot in manual exposure mode … and set my exposure using the histogram …I still aim and shoot the helmet area most of the time.

I try to stay between f/9 and f/11 … shooting cars … with shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/125.
Iwill go to 1/200th to 1/320 for head on shots of cars approaching at 180mph/290kph because of the distance the car can travel in that 1/125 or less …

I like to get the eyes if I can see them … or an area of contrast in the cockpit around the driver …. but you want to see the eyes if possible.

… illuminated focal point … and hold on target. I think it is easier with a longer lens because I can steady the end of the lens with my left hand (helps that I’m left handed), and follow through smoothly … smooth is the key … which is the reason I use the * button for focus …shutter release for capture …. Every little bit helps …

Others may do it another way .... this is just the way I do it ...

My keeper rate @ 1/30 is maybe 1 in 10 … improves to about 4 in 10 @ 1/60 … The 1/30 shots make for better backgrounds when you don’t have much of a background.

I shoot all hand held … it’s just the way I’ve always shot.

Here’s a shot I’ve posted before that shows the basic shooting style … hold … I use … Note ... this is not a 300 ... but the same principal holds ...

http://jeffersonposter.smugmug.com/photos/i-sq7r3Zz/0/X2/i-sq7r3Zz-X2.jpg


Jefferson



Feb 05, 2014 at 08:26 PM
mkchang
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Here's one from a football game this year

http://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/66941_10151872572979113_1306544463_n.jpg



Feb 05, 2014 at 08:26 PM
tundracamper
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


mkchang: There is nothing, absolutely nothing, good about your photo. It is bad in every way. Roll Tide!


Feb 06, 2014 at 10:36 AM
schlotz
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Gee wonder where tundra hangs his hat?


Feb 06, 2014 at 10:52 AM
mkchang
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


tundracamper wrote:
mkchang: There is nothing, absolutely nothing, good about your photo. It is bad in every way. Roll Tide!


I hear ya. I graduated from Bama and have been to 4 Auburn football games and 1 basketball game so far this season (1 more bball game next wed against Kentucky).



Feb 06, 2014 at 11:14 AM
Aqualung
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Some bike criterium pans...and my suggested tips below...

chris

original thread: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1047217/0

http://www.wraight.com/cafe/sports/misc/2011-09-25-Boston%20Criterium-0622.jpg
1/60, ƒ11, ISO200

http://www.wraight.com/cafe/sports/misc/2011-09-25-Boston%20Criterium-0700.jpg
1/60, ƒ16, ISO200

Original thread: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1047890/0

http://www.wraight.com/cafe/sports/misc/2011-09-25-Boston%20Criterium-1361.jpg
1/60, ƒ8, ISO200

http://www.wraight.com/cafe/sports/misc/2011-09-25-Boston%20Criterium-1422.jpg
1/60, ƒ8, ISO200

For panning technique, I faced 11 o'clock (where I optimally wanted the rider positioned), and turned to my right about 1 or 2 o'clock to face the riders as they came down the hill and into the turn.

2. I moved my focus point up 2 and over 2 off center, so basically it was not the center point. This gave me some leading space in the frame. It might have come at the tradeoff of AF performance.

3. I would acquire a rider (I was drawn to the brighter jerseys) as they started to enter my field of vision at about the 3 o'clock to 2 o'clock position, placed my focus pt on their head and began to track them.

4. Panned smoothly as I could, try to keep the camera plane level, as if it's on a tripod/tabletop. Wasn't always successful...(was handheld). By facing straight to '11', the torsion of your boyd as it unwinds is in your favor, vs. fighting it (e.g. if you faced 2 or 3 o'clock and turned w/ the riders.

5. Keep panning/shooting after they go past your 12 o'clock, sometimes to 10 o'clock. Part of the reason for a lot of discards.

6. I shot shutter priority, 1/60 or 1/125. 1/80 might have been a better compromise. Lot depends on how steady you are, and, how much background blur you want.



Feb 06, 2014 at 11:46 AM
yoshidude
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


Thanks Aqualung,

These cycling pans are great! Could I ask what camera you use, and the lenses for these photos? I'm guessing some sort of telephoto unless you were able to stand close the riders as they came by.

Scott



Feb 08, 2014 at 04:34 PM
Duc Tran
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Examples Added: Panning Techniques?


I have used panning technique with various kinds of objects: motorbikes, bikes, joggers, dogs ... and the speeds I use are in the range of 1/15-1/30

Sorry, I can't post photo here except links to my facebook albums,

https://www.facebook.com/selflittle/media_set?set=a.603973216356195.1073741867.100002305665576&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/selflittle/media_set?set=a.600556806697836.1073741866.100002305665576&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/selflittle/media_set?set=a.597068170380033.1073741865.100002305665576&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/selflittle/media_set?set=a.591114234308760.1073741864.100002305665576&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/selflittle/media_set?set=a.583300941756756.1073741861.100002305665576&type=1

Hopefully, it helps!



Mar 12, 2014 at 02:03 PM





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