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Cyclist - Panning

© Jim Miotke
PRO Website: BetterPhotoJim.com

Cyclist - Panning

Uploaded: September 27, 2001

Description

Panning shot of a bicycle racer.

Comments

March 09, 2004

I learned how to pan in high school and want to show my 17-year old son how. But when he did it, the subject was blurry. I forget what shutter speed and aperture I should use. Can you help us? #105242

Jim Miotke My Courses March 09, 2004

Sure, Dawn. The answer, though, depends upon the speed of the subject. With racers like this, I don't need to go down to a very slow shutter speed. I think I probably used 1/60 for this shot. Because the rider was going by me so fast, I was able to make the background blur and not the rider using this 1/60 shutter speed.

If your subject is moving by you at a slower rate, you may need to go down to a slower shutter speed, like 1/30 or 1/15.

Remember, you have to shoot A LOT of images when panning to get one good one. I have plenty of versions with blurry riders to go along with this one semi-crisp one.

Also, be sure he is at a 90 degree angle to the path the subject is travelling along. This greatly helps the photographer get a good panning shot. If the subject is coming at you, this reduces the likelihood of getting a great image. #415934

March 19, 2004

Geez that's a great photo you have there! Can you show me how you took a picture of a person cycling? #435190

Charles Dias April 01, 2004

Great sport photo ... perfect panning.
I liked too much the non-centralized composition and the shadow of the races on the ground.
Great. #457765

Jim Miotke My Courses April 01, 2004

Thank you very much, Charles. I appreciate your comments.

Sue, if you would like to learn how to shoot images like this, start by trying out the above techniques. Feel free to ask me specific questions after that. #458144

July 01, 2004

I attempted panning for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I got a 'hit' rate of 10% I took over 400 total pics in 3 hrs. I've attached the best pic of the day. It was taken with a 10D at 200mm, f9 at 1/45th. AI Servo mode.

What do you guys think? #627844


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