How do I do this?

[Danielle10]

I've seen some great action shots lately and wondering what settings I use. The image I saw that I loved was a car going around a racing track, the car was frozen in the image and the background was blurred but had portrayed fast movement of the subject? How does one achieve this?

[Xenedis]

Something like this?




Photographed at 12:35pm on 16/10/2010 with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM at 300mm for 1/200 sec at f/10 and ISO 100.


The way you achieve this result is by panning with the moving subject, and using a slower shutter speed to induce background blur.

It takes a lot of practice, and your panning needs to be at the same speed as the moving car in order to freeze the car but blur the background.

A technique like this requires you to track it from the distance, follow the car, and make sure you follow through. Steady yourself, tuck your arms into your sides and allow only your waist to pivot; you'll be pivoting around 180-200 degrees.

I hope this helps.

[ricktas]

It is called Panning and takes practice. You can practice it on any moving object.

You need to select as shutter speed of less than around 1/200th of a second (depends on speed of subject how low you need to go), sometimes, after practising, people can effectively pan at 1/4 of a second. Basically you need to follow the moving object with your camera, in a smooth, even flowing pass, and during that you press the shutter button, without stopping the pan, or jerky movements etc. What happens is that by using a slow shutter speed you are blurring the background, but by following the subject in a smooth path, the subject can remain in focus, as you are following it at the rate of its movement through the scene.

Good panning takes practice and it can be frustrating to start with, but keep at it. You can practice on the dog running round the yard, the kids running or cycling at the local park, birds flying by (seagulls are fun, and there are plenty of them). The cars going up and down your street. But practice is what is needed to pan well. Have FUN, and show us your progress for feedback along the way.

[bigbirdalex]

with regards to panning, what happens when the object changes its depth of field? or would you position yourself where it would not? eg, the car on the straight?

[Xenedis]

with regards to panning, what happens when the object changes its depth of field? or would you position yourself where it would not? eg, the car on the straight?

It's best to stop down for two reasons:

1. so that depth of field isn't a problem; and
2. so you can reduce the light intake to slow the shutter speed.

If the subject is moving further to or from the focal plane to the point that DOF will become an issue, it's best to enable AI servo mode on your camera so that the camera automatically adjusts focus as the subject is moving.

[ricktas]

AI Servo mode is an auto-focus tracking mode that allows your lens and camera to constantly adjust the focus point as you move. Look for it in your manual, it could be called AI Servo, continuous focus, or similar. Basically the camera keeps focus on the subject even if the subject moves closer or further away. Great for keeping focus on things like tennis players who constantly come closer, move back, and side to side on the court.

[bigbirdalex]

thanks guys, ive often wonder how people achieved good panning shots when object moved in and out of range.
thanks

[DAdeGroot]

Another couple of tips:

Use continous shoot mode and fire off three of four frames per pan (by holding the shutter button down). The 2nd or 3rd shot should be winners as you won't have any shutter-button depression jerking.

If concerned about focus tracking and DoF, position yourself on the inside of a constant radius corner. That way the car is the same distance from your for the entire pan.

[Xenedis]

Another tip:

If your lens has image stabilsation, set the stabiliser to panning mode, which counters vertical motion.

It could assist in achieving a sharp shot; of course, technique goes a long way too, and if you're panning to track a car passing at 300km/h, the lens will be moving sufficiently rapidly such that vertical movement may not enter into the equation.

[Danielle10]

Wow! Thankyou for your help, hopefully I can give It a go

[Xenedis]

Wow! Thankyou for your help, hopefully I can give It a go

The easiest way to get some practice is to head outside and photograph cars passing in your street.

Remember that the amount of distance between yourself and the subject will have a significant impact on the speed with which you need to pan. In short, generally the closer you are to the subject, the more rapidly you'll need to pan. Of course, the speed of the moving vehicle also plays a big role, but when the speed is equal, a more distant subject will pass you apparently more slowly.

Another point to remember is that the longer the focal length, the narrower the field of view, and the more pixels the subject will pass due to the effect of telephoto magnification.

Despite all the technobabble, this thread should give you enough practical advice for you to have a go without being afflicted with analysis paralysis. Just head outside and snap away.

[KHo]

tried few panning shots when i went to trackdays. needs a lot of practice. take more shots and delete failed once later XD