Panning – The Photographic Art of Motion Blur

Panning – The Photographic Art of Motion Blur

Panning Technique in Photography
1/50th f/20 ISO100 — Slower shutter speeds give better background blur

Have you ever seen a panning shot and thought ‘Wow! I wish I’d done that”?

Want to freeze a moving subject with an awesome background blur?

Tried panning with your camera but disappointed with the results?

Panning is one of those photography techniques most people shy away from. I don’t know why because it’s very easy. You don’t need any special equipment, just a bit of ‘know how’ to set your camera up and a little bit of practice. Once you’ve perfected the technique I’m going to share with you, you’ll be panning like a pro in no time.

How Panning Works…

(If you already know this feel free to skip this section :-))

Panning is the technique of moving the camera to follow a moving subject whilst to take the shot. The result is a pin sharp image of the subject against a blurred background that creates an impression of speed in the viewer’s mind.

Sound easy? Well, it is.

With the right subject, correct technique and a little practice you can master panning in an afternoon. The more you practice, the easier it gets and the better your results.

Equipment…

Panning doesn’t really need a lot of equipment. A camera, a lens and a subject are really all you need. Having a camera where you can set the shutter speed is a big help as is autofocus so most modern DSLRs and Bridge cameras are ideal.

A fast focusing lens will make life easier too. I shoot Canon and their USM lenses are perfect. A longer focal length is also useful too so I’d recumbent something in the 100mm to 400mm range. Longer lenses, whilst also suitable, start getting heavy to hold very quickly.

The Art of Panning…

Step 1: Choose your subject (and background) carefully

Panning isn’t effective unless you have a complex background. For example a bird or plane flying across a cloudless, blue sky is not a good choice of subject. Why? Because a plain background won’t show any motion blur meaning you won’t get the essence of speed. You’ll still get the motion blur on the bird’s wings of course but your image won’t have anything like the same impact a more complex background would produce.

Panning Tip 1: Make sure you have a complex background to maximise the motion blur effect

Direction of motion is also crucial too. You need the subject to move across the frame or it’s not going to work. It doesn’t matter if it moves left, right, up, down or diagonally; just make sure it’s not moving towards or away from the camera.

Panning Tip 2: Your subject must move across the frame, not towards or away from you.

Why is this important? As the subject moves you’ll move the camera to keep it in the same spot, effectively freezing it in place. It’s this movement of the camera that makes the background blurry, producing ‘whizz lines’ in one direction that imply speed.

If the subject is moving towards or away from you, you don’t need to move the camera meaning the ‘whizz lines’ aren’t produced and you’re left with an incredibly static looking image.

Step 2: Set your camera (and lens) up for making panning shots

Panning shots need a slight change to those required for most stills photography. The most obvious being shutter priority as time is now an essential ingredient to your images. There are a few others too and I’ll explain each of them and why they’re important below.

ISO

Choose your ISO setting  according to the amount of available light. Your can probably use ISO100 or ISO200 in most cases as you’re looking for a relatively slow shutter with reasonable Depth of Field. Ideally you want an aperture in the f/8 to f/16 range. If the ambient light is very low you’ll need to increase this — just make sure there’s enough light to distinguish the subject from the background or the results won’t be what you’re expecting.

Can you use Auto ISO? Yes although I’ve never tried it and it wouldn’t be my preference. The advantage is allowing you to select both the shutter speed and aperture, leaving the camera to control the ISO for you but if you want that level of control you’d be better switching to full manual mode. (If you have used Auto ISO when panning I’d be very interested to hear how you got on — feel free to leave a comment below and share your experience)

Camera Mode: Shutter Priority (Canon: Tv, Nikon: S)

Time is an essential ingredient for panning shots so you need to set your camera to Shutter Priority. (Tv on Canon cameras or S on Nikon). This allows you to choose the shutter speed you want and the camera selects the aperture based on the ISO you’ve chosen and the amount of light available.

Alternatively you could select Manual mode. I prefer this for situations where the ambient light isn’t changing and the meter struggles to give a good exposure (e.g. photographing ice hockey in an indoor ice rink).

Shutter Speed

The general rule of thumb for panning shots is “the slower the shutter the greater the background blur but the harder it gets.” Your shutter speed will depend a lot on how fast the subject is moving and how far away it is as that determines how fast you’re going to move the camera. When you’re first starting out, try something like 1/80th to begin with. If there’s not enough blur, slow it down to 1/50th.

Panning Tip 3: Too much blur or too hard to hold steady? Increase your shutter speed. Not enough? Slow it down

Panning Technique in Photography
1/125th f/11 ISO100 — Faster shutter reduces background blur but makes panning easier

Drive Mode: Continuous

For best results, panning requires shooting in bursts of 3 or 4 images at a time. Usually the first and last are throwaway shots with the more successful photos being in the middle of the sequence. Make sure you set your camera’s drive mode to continuous for burst shooting.

Auto Focus - Servo Mode
AI Servo Auto Focus setting on 5DmkII

Auto Focus: Servo Mode (Canon: AI Servo, Nikon: AF-C)

Modern auto focus has made panning shots much easier (I learnt all this 30 years ago on an Olympus OM-10 with manual focus and only 36 exposure film). Nowadays, as you track the subject, provided you keep the AF point in the viewfinder on it, the autofocus can keep it in sharp focus. But, only if you engage continuous (aka Servo) mode autofocus.

You should also select the centre AF point. Many cameras have hidden AF assist points that work with the central AF point and a fast lens. These really help with keeping the subject in focus so you want to use them if you can.

Image Stabilisation: OFF or Mode II

If your lens has image stabilisation (Canon: IS, Nikon: VR) you need to switch it off or you’ll be fighting it with every frame you take, throw all your images away and just be wasting your time.

Panning Tip 4: Turn off image stabilisation!!!

BUT… Some Canon lenses have what’s known as IS Mode II. Mode II is specifically for panning shots and only stabilises the image in one plane and not two (as happens with Mode I). The lens detects the panning motion and only applies orthogonal stabilisation. (What that mean in plain English is if you pan the camera horizontally, the lens only stabilises vertical movements — how cool is that?)

(BTW — I’m sure Nikon also have a system like this, if so, please leave a comment and share it with my other readers)

Panning Tip 5: …unless you have Mode II in which case, select that 😉

Step 3: Camera Panning Technique

The success of your panning shots depends on your technique and it all starts with how you stand. You need a good, solid, well grounded stance.

Make sure you have a clear, unobstructed view of the subject, especially in the zone where you’re going to take your shots. If you’re using a long lens, make sure there’s nobody around to get bashed in the head as you move the camera or you’ll probably get bashed in the head too.

Stand at right angles to the subject’s direction of travel with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees loose, not locked.

Look through the viewfinder and make sure you’re supporting the lens with your left hand. Bring your elbows in tight against your sides, find the subject and grab a focus, remembering to keep your finger on the button to let the AF do it’s work.

Move the camera to track the subject by rotating your body at the waist/hips and keep your feet still. What you’re aiming for is a smooth, fluid movement of the camera with no jolts, jars or sudden jumps. Whilst you’re doing all that you need to keep the centre AF point over the subject.

Panning Tip 6: Controlling your breath can help your technique. Try breathing in and holding your breath before each pan or slowly breath out whilst you’re tracking the subject. Which do you find easier?

Shoot in Bursts of 3-5 images…

Panning Technique: Shoot a burst
First frame in panning sequence (1/50th f/20 ISO100 400mm)
Panning Technique: Shoot a burst
Second frame in panning sequence. This one is the sharpest and the one we’ll keep.
Panning Technique: Shoot a burst
Last frame in panning sequence

Panning Tip 7: Shoot in bursts of 3-5 frames at a time

When you’re ready, gently release the shutter whilst still maintaining the same rate of camera movement. Take a burst of 3, 4 or 5 frames then stop and review your results. Make any adjustments to shutter speed you think necessary and try again. Play with the shutter speed and see the effect it has on the image and background blur.

Step 4: Practice Your Panning Shots…

To practice panning, find a location that has a clear, unobstructed view and plentiful supply of (fast) moving subjects.

All all times remember to stay safe. Make sure you also have permission to be there and photograph the subject if necessary.

DISCLAIMER: If you want to practice panning, make sure you stay safe behind a barrier or fence and definitely in a place where you’re not going to come to harm or break any laws. If you’re stupid enough to get hurt or arrested, that’s your problem, not mine!

Now it’s all about having fun. Don’t expect a work of art on your first attempt but after a while everything will click and you’ll start making images you’re proud of. You can’t have too  much practice in my opinion. Faster subjects are harder as are those with non-predictable movement (I’ve never been able to catch a butterfly in flight, one day…)

Wrapping it up…

Now it’s over to you. There’s nothing to fear with panning shots, they just need a little practice. In this post I’ve shared everything there is to know to get started with panning but like everything in photography, you need to get out there and do it.

Your assignment…
Go and make some panning shots this week then report back on how you did. Tweet me @theLightMatters with your best images or post them on my Facebook page, I’d love to see them.

Please share the love…
There’s a lot of information in this post so if you’ve learned something new, please leave a comment below and let me know. We really appreciate the feedback. Alternatively, share it with your friends using your favourite social media channel.

Until next time, keep up the good work,
Gavin

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