Panning

TCampbell · Oct 17, 2015

I have a number of these and all taken at various shutter speeds.

On a Canon, set the focus to "AI Servo", set the drive mode to continuous shooting (so you can take a burst of several shots) and set the mode to Tv (shutter speed priority) and start practicing and working down the shutter speed.

For example... you might start shooting panning shots at 1/125, then try to go slower and use 1/60... and eventually start sneaking it slower still ... 1/40th, 1/30th, etc. But if you just start at a slow speed you may be frustrated until you get warmed up.

If you an image stabilizing lens with a 2-mode stabilizer, set the lens to mode 2 when doing panning shots. I've done a lot a number of panning shots, but always with my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS which has the 2-mode image stabilization. Mode 1 is the normal IS (it tries to stabilize movement in every direction). Mode 2 is designed for panning and stabilizes the image vertically but allows the lens to pan horizontally without trying to fight the movement. If you don't have 2-mode IS then you might even have better results by just leaving IS off completely.

You're going to practice a gentle sweeping movement as your subjects pass -- trying to be smooth and match the subject speed as best as possible.

As the subject approaches, half-press the shutter so it starts focusing and KEEPS focusing on your subject and then let loose with a burst of shots (camera is in continuous shooting mode). You might get a dozen shots as your subject passes. When you import these and inspect them, you'll find that just a few will be keepers based on stability and composition.

Cyclist by Tim Campbell, on Flickr (1/40th sec exposure)

VO3A3059 by Tim Campbell, on Flickr (1/15th sec exposure)