This exercise has asked me to take a series of images of a moving subject, at varying shutter speeds, whilst panning along with it. I was to change the shutter speed from very quick, slowing them down progressively throughout the series. I decided to photograph my extremely eager helper, Jacob.
Panning
Panning is the technique of following a subject with a camera whilst shooting an image. The intention is to capture an image of a moving subject in relative sharp detail whilst blurring the background. There is no set shutter speed required to take a photograph whilst panning, this is completely up to the photographer’s discretion, required outcome, and the particular subject that is being photographed.
There are many factors that will affect the resulting image whilst panning, some of these are:
- Subject to camera distance – the closer the subject is to the camera, the more the photographer will have to move to follow the action during the exposure.
- Subject to background distance – the closer to the background detail the subject is the quicker the subject will appear to be moving.
- Subject speed – obviously, the quicker the subject is moving the quicker the photographer will have to be whilst following the action during the exposure.
- Shutter speed – the longer the shutter speed the move movement that is going to be caught in the final image.
Panning can be a difficult technique to master and can in some circumstances cause some problems, such as in Jacques-Henri Lartigue’s photograph ‘Race Car’, which I mentioned in my pervious post, where distortion has been caused due to a combination of panning and using a focal plane shutter. A more in depth explanation of how this distortion was caused is explained here.
Jacob’s Bike Ride
I decided to photograph my son Jacob riding his bike in the garden; I knew he would be ever enthusiastic and easily controllable (with a little bit of chocolate). I had him cycle backwards and forwards across my field of view multiple times whilst I photographed him at varying shutter speeds and panning along with him. The garden fence behind him was plain enough not to be distracting but also had enough detail to clearly show the effects of the panning.
Shot One
f10, 1/320sec, ISO800
Shot Two
f13, 1/200sec, ISO800
Shot Three
f16, 1/125sec, ISO800
Shot Four
f10, 1/80sec, ISO200
Shot Five
f11, 1/60sec, ISO200
Shot Six
f13, 1/50sec, ISO200
Shot Seven
f14, 1/40sec, ISO200
Shot Eight
f16, 1/30sec, ISO200
Shot Nine
f13, 1/25sec, ISO100
Shot Ten
f16, 1/15sec, ISO100
Shot Eleven
f16, 1/8sec, ISO100
I think my series of images has been very successful. It has show that the longer the shutter speed the move movement achieved throughout the entire image. For me the intention of panning is to create a feeling of movement whilst also distinctly displaying the main subject, in this case Jacob. Therefore my preferred image is shot six, it is at the point where Jacob is frozen enough to easily make him out whilst giving some movement to the background. The images after shot six all have too much movement in the main subject, which I feel distracts due to Jacob’s features not being in sharp focus. Therefore, for this subject, a shutter speed of around 1/50sec would be the slowest I would be willing to go.
There are many factors affecting the outcome of a panning photograph, not least being the viewer’s own personal opinion. As with all images, the individual viewer is the only person who can decide if the image is successful for them. Some people may view my series and decide that my view is wrong and they prefer a different image. This is the great thing about photography, it is subjective and no one persons view is right or wrong, it is only for the viewer to decide if they like the image or not!
Simon's OCA Bloggy-Thingy! 