Panning shot


gmkris

New Member
Oct 6, 2011
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1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Focus of the subject, is it at an acceptable level? Expert tips for panning shots. I have been trying for a while with panning shots, but not that successful.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
Panning shot! Isn't that Merc beautiful? :)

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Was waiting at bus stop, suddenly this Merc appeared with another beautiful sports car (that yellow one). Wanted to capture both in one frame but not quite.
Canon EOS 600D, EFs 18-55mm, 1/60s, f/8.0, ISO 400

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
It's not very satisfying picture even to me. But just wanted to get some critics and comments about panning and how to achieve maximum with a rather 'slow' camera EOS600D :)
PIC54_ed.JPG
 

In terms of panning technique, the photo is not a bad attempt but certainly can be better.

Some pointers:
1. You need to place yourself parallel to the object that you want to pan. If you look at your photo, the rear/ side of the car is in focus but the front of the car is blur. This is because the car is moving away from you while you are panning.
2. The yellow car is distracting, I would have timed so that the red car is all alone.
3. Adding more blur to the background (via post processing) might help to bring out the red vehicle.

600D is "fast" enough to pan large objects, you just need to practice more on panning. :)
 

Try using a slower shutter speed, probably some testing between 1/20 - 1/30 in continuous mode if your hands does not tremble/shake alot. ISO remain 100 or lower if cam allows, since from the yellow car exposure is rather bright. Slower shutter also can blur more of the background when you pan, but risk of more blur on your subject(car) if hand shakes during panning. 3.7fps for your cam body is still acceptable, like yrh0413 mentioned practice more. jiayou
 

thanks yrh0413 and garian for your advice. It was a continuous shot. This is shot was somewhat okayish among 5 pictures. Yes, I know 600D can give better shots and I need to practice more :) Just told, because in most of the youtube tutorials about panning shot, it was done with 7D which gives a nice firing sound!
 

Panning not only about camera setting. It is also about how's your posture/stand, the location that u stand on and the way u hold the camera. Train your hand more then u can panning using big lens.

And for ur camera setting. Try to set the aperture higher. Like f10 or higher. if u want crystal clear panning try not going below 1/100 shutter. Try to focus on the car body rather than the window.
 

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Thanks kyotong for the advices
 

Try using a slower shutter speed, probably some testing between 1/20 - 1/30 in continuous mode if your hands does not tremble/shake alot. ISO remain 100 or lower if cam allows, since from the yellow car exposure is rather bright.

Some pointers:

2. The yellow car is distracting, I would have timed so that the red car is all alone.

bros, i did notice that you guys were offering this advice based on the resulting image with the yellow car, not advice on technique. not every image will have a "yellow car" suddenly appearing :bsmilie:
 

not so sharp.
i guess it might be unstable panning.
try starting with higher shutter speed first then gradually reduce your shutter speed.
 

to add on,i agree with Kytong advice.
for normal street car speed,you don't really need to use fast burst.
if u can do a smooth panning,1 shot setting is enough.
it is like turn(panning) and shoot(click) will do.

FYI,i had used 1000D(3FPS) to shoot F1 before.
it still works but the hit rate is ofcourse lesser than those with higher FPS because F1 cars are much faster.
so your 600D definitely can do it.
 

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bros, i did notice that you guys were offering this advice based on the resulting image with the yellow car, not advice on technique. not every image will have a "yellow car" suddenly appearing :bsmilie:

;) isn't waiting for the right timing to press the shutter button a technique to learn?
 

;) isn't waiting for the right timing to press the shutter button a technique to learn?

hard to do with Singaporeans driving cars on the roads here :bsmilie:

an easier way to learn would be to nail the settings right for the various speeds, pre-focusing, proper stance first, and then remember about composition and distractions when really on the ground shooting race events.

after-all, not every day you'll have a nice car zooming down the road and other drivers will try to avoid being caught in the frame to give you that perfect shot right?
 

kei1309 said:
bros, i did notice that you guys were offering this advice based on the resulting image with the yellow car, not advice on technique. not every image will have a "yellow car" suddenly appearing :bsmilie:

No lah bro. I meant the brightness shown on the yellow car means sunlight is very bright lah so the ISO need not be high. Less noisy result lah haha. I don't see many yellow cars on the road also nowadays.
 

Anyway, a good pan shot should be something like this. More than 70% of the car are sharp. How low the shutter speed u use to shoot is doesn't matter. At the end, it is the image output does matter. Another thing, no matter u have 3 FPS or 10 FPS camera, as long u set the camera correctly (not too low shutter speed and high F number), stand properly (find a solid ground), hold the camera well and pre focus the frame u want to shoot, then u can get good shot. I had attended almost all Sepang International Circuit races last year with a entry level camera Sony A550 body.

6926300745_8cdebc8511_z.jpg
 

Thanks all for the comments. Pointing the short comings of this image also a piece of advice, I take that :) yes, it was my misunderstanding that the panning is subjected to the camera speed. it should be related with my hand speed! will keep trying for better results!
 

Some had suggested that u pre-focus at a certain spot and when the subject pass by that spot,u click it.i had tried this method before and it works.
But I prefer to use AI Servo and focus on the subject when they are still some distance away to keep the momentum of its speed and to make sure it stays in your viewfinder.
And when it reach nearer to you and cover most of the viewfinder,make sure the focus is lock on the subject then click the shutter.
 

Got a tip to share, if you have shoot a rifle before. Your breathing technique plays a part. Try inhale, hold breath, pan and shoot. It should increase your stability; useful only for slower shutter speed, can try on fast one also. Best wishes