Thankful I am not using film to learn panning!

[JustJazzie]

Finally got the munchkins out riding for the first time this summer. Its been long overdue! I didn't shoot much since I was too busy chasing them most of the weekend. I did take a break to attempt to improve my panning. I am so glad I didn't have to go through 10 rolls of film for this! In fact, I am pondering how the technique was ever perfected on film, because I can't even imagine how much money I would have just wasted trying to get just one decent frame. ;-)

When it came to my oldest, I had a much higher keeper rate then my first attempt. Trying it again on the little guy, proved much more challenging. He definitely isn't very consistent on his throttle control, and I am wondering if his bike is even fast enough to get a good panning shot of him?

Anyways, here are my best efforts from the event! C&C is always appreciated!

 

[tirediron]

Not bad! Practicing panning is a LOT cheaper now than it used to be, that's for sure. I'm guessing that maybe you weren't perpendicular to the subject when you shot? The choice of shutter speed is good, and he's going plenty fast enough.

 

[JustJazzie]

Not bad! Practicing panning is a LOT cheaper now than it used to be, that's for sure. I'm guessing that maybe you weren't perpendicular to the subject when you shot? The choice of shutter speed is good, and he's going plenty fast enough.

Glad to know he is fast enough, I will keep trying on him then. I think the biggest issue then may be that he wiggles his throttle so its fast, slow, medium, stop. go. Its hard to keep up with his rhythm and anticipate how to follow him!

 

[tirediron]

Glad to know he is fast enough, I will keep trying on him then. I think the biggest issue then may be that he wiggles his throttle so its fast, slow, medium, stop. go. Its hard to keep up with his rhythm and anticipate how to follow him!

That will make it very difficult - just wedge it wide open and tell him to hang on!

 

[JustJazzie]

Glad to know he is fast enough, I will keep trying on him then. I think the biggest issue then may be that he wiggles his throttle so its fast, slow, medium, stop. go. Its hard to keep up with his rhythm and anticipate how to follow him!

That will make it very difficult - just wedge it wide open and tell him to hang on!

I hadn't thought of doing a posed shot, but that might actually work best for him! Great Idea.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You got some nice shots, I particularly like the first close up. I learned to pan shooting film, I think it makes you think more about what you're doing. Sometimes I'd practice without taking a photo, just practicing moving the camera and following the subject. The main thing I found was making sure to follow thru and not stop panning as soon as you release the shutter.

Can't say I ever used the technique a lot or feel like I'm that good at it, you did well with your photos. I wonder how it would be with kids if you were able to get lower and more at their level. Sounds harder to do if the speed of the vehicle keeps changing.

 

[Derrel]

You can tell you are tracking very smoothly when lettering is crisp and readable....so, on jerseys, or decals, whatever, if it's crisp and readable, then the camera was tracking well. Panning depends on how big the subject is in the image, and its direction in relation to the film plane, and how long the shutter is open, and how fast the subject is moving...on the littler fellow on the Yamaha...we can read Yamaha, and it's fairly crisp, so your panning movement was pretty good, but the shutter speed was a little bit fast for his travel speed and direction.

Panning can be done a lot of different ways, with subtle differences in the results. The slower the movement, the slower the speed needed to get a blurry background; the bigger the image, and the closer the subject (those two things are often related!), the more background blur there is at a given speed. One of the biggest difficulties many people run into is a tendency to stop, or to slow the panning motion when the mirror flips up...my suggestion is to sight over the top of the camera and keep swinging, and allowing AF to handle the focusing. NOT using the camera's viewfinder becomes a big help at slow panning speeds, like 1/6 to 1/2 second if the viewfinder blacks out. In the olden days, many people liked to use a viewfinder type that did NOT black out when the shutter was open...

Panning can be done very slow...like say 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/4 or 1/5 second, and it can create a very artistic, dreamy look on slower subjects like children running or cycling at slowish speeds...on FAST things, a "slow" pan might be 1/80 second. Again...you have the digital camera, so the effect can be instantly seen. Panning is one of the few times I like to use Shutter priority auto, and the lowest ISO values my camera can deliver!

 

[DarkShadow]

Nice Captures,I think you did a good job.

 

[JustJazzie]

Thanks, @vintagesnaps, you are right. I think I will try to get down lower for the 5 year olds shots! I try to stay semi mobile so I can jump out of the way if need be, but if Im setting up a posed run like TiredIron suggested, then it shouldnt be an issue!

Thanks for the tips and information @Derrel! Ill study up on your post and hope I can remember all that next time I give it a go.

Thank you @DarkShadow!