need panning help

[harper]

tried getting an photo of my brother but it just didnt turn out, anyone have any pointers for me?? this was my first attempt at panning

[jev]

There are a couple of things you can do to improve your panning shots:
- don't try to pan on someone driving to you or from you. Instead, make sure the car / bike / whatever is passing by. The distance from you to the subject shouldn't vary too much
- close the aperture a couple of stops, you don't need an open aperture; the background will be unsharp due to the panning
- 1/25" is very long, even the most experienced togs that do this all the time will have trouble using 1/25". Try 1/100" or so and gradually work your way down when you gain experience.
- probably better switch to Tv instead of Av or maybe even M. You want to control the time before aperture.
- use manual focus, pre-focus on a point where you're pretty sure the subject will be halfway your panning movement
- continue the movement after the shutter has closed, don't try to stop abrubtly.

The environment you tried this in obviously was very dark. Start trying at daylight, maybe along the freeway or so? Some prefer to use a monopod but personally I think that's more of a nuisance than any help. If you use an IS lens, switch that to IS mode 2 (Canon only!).

[harper]

There are a couple of things you can do to improve your panning shots:
- don't try to pan on someone driving to you or from you. Instead, make sure the car / bike / whatever is passing by. The distance from you to the subject shouldn't vary too much
- close the aperture a couple of stops, you don't need an open aperture; the background will be unsharp due to the panning
- 1/25" is very long, even the most experienced togs that do this all the time will have trouble using 1/25". Try 1/100" or so and gradually work your way down when you gain experience.
- probably better switch to Tv instead of Av or maybe even M. You want to control the time before aperture.
- use manual focus, pre-focus on a point where you're pretty sure the subject will be halfway your panning movement
- continue the movement after the shutter has closed, don't try to stop abrubtly.

The environment you tried this in obviously was very dark. Start trying at daylight, maybe along the freeway or so? Some prefer to use a monopod but personally I think that's more of a nuisance than any help. If you use an IS lens, switch that to IS mode 2 (Canon only!).

thanks very much think i should be set now. very informative. guess now i will just hav to practice

[rogklee]

LOL good luck I tried the other day, it's hard as!!

PS. Looks like you might have one of the non three way pan tripods (joystick or ballhead). I remember someone saying it's probably easier if you have a three way pan, that way you can lock everything except for one direction and pan like that!

Might very well be wrong though!!!

[macdog]

Ohhh siick, DRZ400sm yeah? I got one to I love it. Nice little mono there I'm still practicing those. I recommend just practicing on passing cars on the street

[harper]

Sorry Joost,
Can't agree with either of those points.
I regularly pan at slower than 1/25 sec and even down to 1/5 sec and slower if I'm wanting to be really arty and I always use AF and on subjects going a hell of a lot faster than someone pulling a mono on a motorbike in a car park.
And forget about using a tripod etc.

Edit: Harper, There is essentially nothing wrong with the pic except the noise from the ISO being too high.
Study the image and understand what's occurred during your exposure time.

thanks phil, some more very helpful hint. very much appreciated

Ohhh siick, DRZ400sm yeah? I got one to I love it. Nice little mono there I'm still practicing those. I recommend just practicing on passing cars on the street

nope sorry it an 08 husaberg 650. great bike

[RuthJ]

I don't know anything about panning or sports photography, but I do know what I like
I don't think this image is bad at all. The face and shoulder area are fairly sharp..as far as I can see anyway and the image shows plenty of action and motion. It looks like a pretty decent start to me

[Allann]

I agree with RuthJ, this is not too shabby. Remember that everything that you don't have the focus point on when panning is moving through 1 or planes, so you won't be able to get everything very sharp at really slow shutter speeds, so you need to pick the thing you want crisp, like the rider in this case. When shooting cars I try a pan with the focus point on the front bumper section that is closest to me. I always use AF.

Like Jev said, if you want the bike and rider crisp but the background blurred at a slow shutter speed you need to have them parrallel to you and not coming towards or leaving you. But I also suggest using 1/100 to start with, in the same situation you should get something nice at 1/50 or 1/60. But I also agree, practice, practice, practice, and then to get in the flow get him to make a few passes normally at the expected final speed before taking the final shots.

[oldfart]

The speed of the subject will dictate the exposure length
The slower the subject, the longer the exposure needed to achieve the same degree of background blur

The longer the exposure, the harder it is to keep the subject parallel to you
atleast in this shoot, the surface looks smooth so your not putting up with subjects moving vertically as well as horizontally.

[harper]

thanks again guys. too bad he sold the bike today. dont no whether to trust him with mine or not

[atky]

Just browsed this my point would be that in the shot shown there is more than one direction of movement in the subject, vertical and horizontal so its not going to be sharp and who said a pan had to be sharp there are pans and there are pans.
Most of my slow pans at shot focal length would only have a small portion of the subject sharp and that's the point!

[jev]

I regularly pan at slower than 1/25 sec and even down to 1/5 sec and slower if I'm wanting to be really arty

Good for you. However, I know a number of bread & butter 'togs that frequently shoot F1 and other high-speed races that are not able to consistently go any faster than 1/50 or so. Still their work is quite good. It's just as with handheld shooting without IS: some may not be able to use a 50mm at 1/200, others will have no problem shooting a 50mm at 1/10. Know your limitations and learn by practice, that's what I say. If one has no experience doing pans, start at a faster shutter time, than gradually work your way to a speed where one is comfy with.

and I always use AF and on subjects going a hell of a lot faster than someone pulling a mono on a motorbike in a car park.

That's easy for you to say if you've got a 1D . Let's face it: in the less professional SLR's, focus tracking is not very reliable.

I don't suggest to manually focus whilst the car / bike / whatever is driving by but instead pre-focus on a point where you're sure the action will be.

And forget about using a tripod etc.

You bet ya! . I never even thought about using tripods for panning shots, but I do know it might seem like a good idea to use a monopod. Not so, is my experience.

[macdog]

thanks again guys. too bad he sold the bike today. dont no whether to trust him with mine or not

ahh I just noticed the front fairing was different, Husabergs are the sickest tards, maybe one day I'll upgrade. What bike do you have?

Not sure about what lenses/camera etc you have but try using biggest aperture and just start at say 1/100th and work your way down. Use both Continuous-AF and pre focusing on the spot and see what works best for your subject/location/light etc

as example I shot this at 1/30th, 1.8f, 500 ISO in low light area using Continuous-AF (AI Servo on Canons)

[harper]

ahh I just noticed the front fairing was different, Husabergs are the sickest tards, maybe one day I'll upgrade. What bike do you have?

thanks mate. i have a 06 husky 450smr. and dad has a worked xr400 motard

[Allann]

So harper, did you get out and have a practice? If so, did any of the advice help, or is there something more you need to know?

[harper]

So harper, did you get out and have a practice? If so, did any of the advice help, or is there something more you need to know?

na sorry mate spent the weekend in canberra with the girlfriend. next nice day i will give it ago