Panning involves following the movement of a subject with the camera. A fast shutter speed can freeze motion while a slow shutter speed can result in an exposure in which the movement of the subject is apparent.
For this exercise I once again strived to pick a subject out of the norm. I decided to elicit the help of my twins and photographed one of them as she flew past me on a swing. I also decided to try the exercise on passing cars. My primary reason for doing this was to have one set of photographs where the movement was in a single direction.
Results
In order to take these photographs I set my camera to the Shutter Priority mode (Tv) and allowed the camera to choose the aperture needed to correctly expose the picture. All photographs were taken with my Canon 50d camera body with the Canon 17-55 2.8 IS lens attached. Please click on any of these photographs in order to see a larger version. Each photograph is labelled with the associated exposure settings and this is far easier to read on the enlarged view of the photographs.
Capturing my daughter as she hurtled past on a swing was challenging. The movement I had to track was an arc. I had to be close to her in order to prevent the frame of the swing obstructing my view and this meant that the movement was also rather fast. It was a cold day and so I could not afford to spend too much time shooting for a perfect capture.
I am extremely pleased with the results and feel I managed to keep some element of her clear and in focus in all of the pictures. The first photograph is almost abstract in nature. While her face is clearly distinguishable the rest of the photograph has taken on the appearance of an oil painting. As the shutter speed is increased the background is easier to view however the sense of movement is maintained in all of the photographs up to and including the photograph taken at a speed of 1/125th of a second. After this the photographs look more and more static. At 1/1000th of a second the subjects look completely static with the only thing giving away movement being the angle of the chains attaching the seat to the swing frame. One of my personal favourite photographs was taken at 1/125th of a second. This photograph shows clear movement however one can still distinguish the background relatively clearly. I also find the photograph taken at 1/15th of a second extremely pleasing due to its abstract nature. If I had to pick one of the two it would be the one at 1/15th of a second.
Carrying out this exercise while only worrying about movement in a single plane made panning much easier. Furthermore, as I was standing quite far from the cars and could see them approaching I was able to set up more easily. It was an extremely dull day and so in order to achieve the faster shutter speeds I was forced to raise the ISO setting that I used.
Once again the photograph taken at the slowest aperture is almost abstract in nature. The background is blurred but so is the subject. This was due to the fact that I found it hard to keep the camera locked on the subject for the duration of the exposure. However, I feel I did a good enough job of this such that the subject is clearly identifiable as a taxi. In this first picture the background is completely undistinguishable and it is impossible to tell where this picture was taken. As the shutter speed is increased one is able to identify the location this picture was taken at for the first time in the shot taken at 1/60th of a second. By 1/250th of a second there is little motion blur aside from the wheels of the car. and from 1/500th of a second onwards the movement of the car is completely frozen (including the rotation of the wheels). My favourite picture in this sequence was taken at 1/60th of a second. One is able to identify where the picutre was taken and yet the subject is clear and not blurred. This gives a great feeling of speed to the picture.
For this exercise I once again strived to pick a subject out of the norm. I decided to elicit the help of my twins and photographed one of them as she flew past me on a swing. I also decided to try the exercise on passing cars. My primary reason for doing this was to have one set of photographs where the movement was in a single direction.
Results
In order to take these photographs I set my camera to the Shutter Priority mode (Tv) and allowed the camera to choose the aperture needed to correctly expose the picture. All photographs were taken with my Canon 50d camera body with the Canon 17-55 2.8 IS lens attached. Please click on any of these photographs in order to see a larger version. Each photograph is labelled with the associated exposure settings and this is far easier to read on the enlarged view of the photographs.
I am extremely pleased with the results and feel I managed to keep some element of her clear and in focus in all of the pictures. The first photograph is almost abstract in nature. While her face is clearly distinguishable the rest of the photograph has taken on the appearance of an oil painting. As the shutter speed is increased the background is easier to view however the sense of movement is maintained in all of the photographs up to and including the photograph taken at a speed of 1/125th of a second. After this the photographs look more and more static. At 1/1000th of a second the subjects look completely static with the only thing giving away movement being the angle of the chains attaching the seat to the swing frame. One of my personal favourite photographs was taken at 1/125th of a second. This photograph shows clear movement however one can still distinguish the background relatively clearly. I also find the photograph taken at 1/15th of a second extremely pleasing due to its abstract nature. If I had to pick one of the two it would be the one at 1/15th of a second.
Carrying out this exercise while only worrying about movement in a single plane made panning much easier. Furthermore, as I was standing quite far from the cars and could see them approaching I was able to set up more easily. It was an extremely dull day and so in order to achieve the faster shutter speeds I was forced to raise the ISO setting that I used.
Once again the photograph taken at the slowest aperture is almost abstract in nature. The background is blurred but so is the subject. This was due to the fact that I found it hard to keep the camera locked on the subject for the duration of the exposure. However, I feel I did a good enough job of this such that the subject is clearly identifiable as a taxi. In this first picture the background is completely undistinguishable and it is impossible to tell where this picture was taken. As the shutter speed is increased one is able to identify the location this picture was taken at for the first time in the shot taken at 1/60th of a second. By 1/250th of a second there is little motion blur aside from the wheels of the car. and from 1/500th of a second onwards the movement of the car is completely frozen (including the rotation of the wheels). My favourite picture in this sequence was taken at 1/60th of a second. One is able to identify where the picutre was taken and yet the subject is clear and not blurred. This gives a great feeling of speed to the picture.
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