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| Mastering Panning |
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What is Panning?
Panning is NOT panoramic photography, and the two are sometimes confused, especially by the novice camera user. Both techniques involve the ‘panning’ of the camera, but in very different procedures as far as the photo taking process goes. As far as still photography goes, panning is the technique of moving your camera angle on a horizontal plane, from a pivotal point. When we speak of the panning photo technique, we make use of this movement from a pivotal point, keeping a moving subject within the confines of the viewfinder, and firing the shutter one or multiple times as the camera moves in an arc like fashion on a horizontal (sometimes vertical) plane. This is an advanced technique and to start working on it you need to have a clear idea of how aperture and shutter speed work, and also the relation between them. With a little bit of practice and maybe a little bit of luck on your side, you could start making stunning panning images in a few shoots’ time.
So when would you need to use a panning shot? Well, many of those sports images you see in the media, with the subject in focus and the background blurred to a good extent, are a result of the panning technique. Mind you, do not mix up an ‘out of focus’ background with one that is a direct result of the panning technique, and you get to see an abundance of both in many sports images. Sports photography, like wild life, usually requires the use of long focal length lenses. Long lenses have an already shallow depth of field, which only decreases further with an increase in focal length (on a zoom lens, the more you ‘zoom in’, the shallower is the depth of field). An out of focus background resulting from the use of a long focal length lens, results in the out of focus areas appearing as shades of mangled color and incomprehensible shapes behind the subject. On the other hand, an out of focus background resulting from a panning technique gives us horizontal streaks in the background, conveying the feeling of movement. A perfect example would be a racing image of a sports motorcycle, and this is commonly seen in magazines and on the internet. Sports photography very often makes use of both – the out of focus background AND the panning technique, resulting in the subject remaining sharp while the background becomes completely blurred. The ‘front’ end of the subject tells us about the direction it is traveling towards, and the background streaks are of course a result of the camera movement; giving us winning sports images.
At the same time, do note that while it is convenient, maybe even easier to make panning photographs using long focal length telephoto lenses, it is definitely possible to use a wider lens for the effect. In fact in most everyday scenarios, you usually do not use a telephoto in any case. You can make panning images with almost any camera, compact, semi professional or SLR, with the SLR being the professional choice of course. You just need to use a camera that allows a bit of manual override. Sometimes it is possible to achieve the effect with a fully automated camera as well, but the results can be unpredictable in such case.
When Do You Use The Technique?
As already discussed, sports photography is one of the areas of photography where the panning technique is used most often. Races, rallies and athletics are classic examples. In fact, shooting on a race track makes panning photography comparatively simpler since the camera-subject distance remains practically constant as the subject travels on the race track, in its defined track width. This makes life much easier for the photographer, and we will cover more on the technicalities later in the article.
We understand that most everyday camera users may not have the equipment or the time/interest to seriously consider sports photography. So where else could you make use of the panning techniques? Well, anywhere that you have a subject traveling horizontally or even vertically for that matter! If you have a moderately long focal length lens, something like a 200 mm for example, you can take panning photographs of your pets as they run. However, it is simpler to start off shooting subject that move at predictable speeds and patterns. A jogger in a park can be a good subject to start with, and you could even take the help of a friend or fellow photographer for this. Another good subject could be a vehicle as it moves down the road. All you would need to do is find a comfortable spot to set up your stand, and then simply wait for a vehicle to show up. Long stretches of roads without traffic signals usually allow vehicles to travel at their cruise speeds, and this again makes it easy for you to track their movement in your view finder.
Birds in flight are probably one of the hardest of subjects, since they are able to change the direction and speed of their flight, in quick succession. However they are also one of the most pleasing subjects to photograph. A birds in flight against a completely out of focus background, accentuated with streaks resulting from a pan, makes a great image any given day.
And then, shooting an image of a child as it runs is another nice example of what can make a good panning photo. Kids, especially toddlers tend to laugh as they run, and this gives you a perfect opportunity to take great panning photographs. Next time you are at a park, you could keep an eye on children playing, and if you have your own children, this is a great way to keep yourself occupied while you literally keep an eye on them! If running children are too hard to capture at first, work on images of children on swings or see-saws! Both devices give you a predictable movement, and this is a great opportunity to take panning photos. We’ve given you a few examples of where panning techniques can be employed, but the list is obviously limited only by your creativity.
Technicalities
The Grip
Your grip on the camera is important whenever you shoot, and it becomes vital when using the panning technique. As a reminder, one needs to hold the camera (we are speaking of a SLR) pressed against the face, the left arm being used for maximum support and stability, while the right hand holds the camera grip, the right fore finger being used to fire the shutter. When using the panning technique, the same grip is to be maintained, with an additional stability on the left hand if possible. In the absence of a tripod, you can use a support like a wall to lean your left shoulder on, or even your own knees. When you fire the shutter, ensure you do not use a jerky movement, but squeeze the shutter release down much as you would squeeze a trigger on a gun so as not to ‘miss’. A jerky movement would result in an image with evident shake.
The Tripod
Using a tripod where possible, will go a long way in ensuring you get the best results out of the panning technique. In most situations, you would be using the horizontal pan, and all tripods would work just fine for this. When you use a tripod, you need not worry about undesired shake, and concentrate on the vital aspects on subject focus and subject tracking through the view finder. If you are shooting in a scenario where you need to change position often, a monopod may be a good option at the very least, if a tripod is not practical. In unplanned situations, use a wall or some kind of support to give maximum stability to your camera. Camera stability becomes vital when using the panning technique, since we purposely use slow shutter speeds, as mentioned in the next section.
The Shutter Speed
If you know a little bit of physics, shooting panning images and understanding the idea behind the technique becomes much simpler if you can draw parallels with the theory of relativity. The idea is, to ‘slow down’ a moving subject by tracking it within the viewfinder and thereby reduce or preferably stop its relative speed altogether, in relation to the movement of the camera. In other words, a subject that would appear blurred at a shutter speed of say 1/30 of a second, no longer appears blurred since you are moving your camera angle just at the right speed, with the subject. No doubt, this takes practice and you will probably get many unusable images till you get the hang of moving your camera angle at just the right speed without causing undesired vertical movement. However, the practice, dedication and time that you put in are well worth the effort. Anyway, we will purposely use a slow shutter speed so as to get a blurred background while ‘stopping’ the subject thanks to our panning motion. This results in images that convey the feeling of movement.
The Aperture
Aperture is a vital part of any picture making process. Many would imagine that a large aperture or a shallow depth of field makes sense when shooting panning images, so as to blur the background. On the contrary, it makes sense to use as small an aperture as possible, so as to get the comfort of working within a little bit of focusing errors, while you are busy tracking the subject. In any case you would get a motion blur in the background thanks to the pan movement, and you would not get an ‘in-focus’ background thanks to the slow shutter speed. Another important reason is, the camera-subject distance will in all probability CHANGE during your panning motion, and you do need considerable depth of field. So, we recommend apertures no larger than f/8!
The Follow Through
The follow through movement is an important aspect of shooting panning images. This simply means you do not stop with the pan motion when you fire the shutter, but keep moving the camera angle in the direction of movement of your subject. Not only does this reduce the chances of getting a shake on the subject, but it also allows you to shoot multiple images. This follow through action becomes all the more important when you
are using a camera on the burst mode. Stop the panning motion only when you are completely sure you do not require to fire again, or when the subject can no longer be tracked in the view finder.
Start Shooting!
If you have read this article in detail up to now, then you are just about ready to try some panning shots your self. Let us look at a few panning images before we wind up.
This is a photograph taken at a fair, where a boy leans out of his ride. This was a difficult subject since the boy’s ride, the cup and saucer ride, moved in unpredictable patterns.
ISO – 1600
The ISO was set at a high 1600, since the subject was moving at high, and unpredictable speeds.
Shutter Speed – 1/40 Second
This slow shutter speed was required to blur the background as much as possible.
Aperture – f/8
An aperture of f/8 allowed for certain depth of field, but this hasn’t resulted in a perfect focus.
This was a difficult subject, and would have been much better had it been photographed in daylight. However, we are definitely able to interpret a feeling of motion from the image, and so it has met its purpose.
Shutter Speed – 1/30. ISO – 200. Aperture – f/16. – These are perfect settings for a panning image, and the bright ambient daylight allowed for these settings. Unfortunately, a motorized vehicle overtaking the subject from behind has taken a little away from the feeling of movement, which is evident from the top right space. However, this image is successful in telling us that both the cyclist and the vehicle behind are in motion, while the motorized vehicle is faster than the cyclist.
Shutter Speed – 1/30. ISO – 200. Aperture – f/16. Again, perfect settings for a panning type image. In my opinion, this is the best image of the lot, with no undesired objects around our subject of interest. The panning technique has been used to near-perfection. The fact that a truck in the background is moving in the opposite direction the motorcyclist further emphasizes the element of motion. This was a lucky break on an image that would have done the trick in any case.
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