Camera panning creates movement in a photograph.
Pictures in which a moving subject is in focus while the background is blurred and appears to be moving with the subject are captured by panning the camera. Panning means moving the camera in the same direction as the subject, such as following a football player running downfield or a car speeding down a road. Other techniques available for action photography are the blur, in which the background and the subject are blurred and appear to be moving in one direction, and freezing action, which uses a fast shutter speed to keep the subject and the background in sharp focus.
Instructions
Panning
1. Position yourself on a solid foundation to help keep your aim steady.
2. Put your camera in a mode that allows you to manually set a shutter speed. This will likely be shutter-priority or manual mode.
3. Select a slower shutter speed to start testing at, such as 1/60th of a second. If you're working in manual mode, you'll also need to set the aperture, or f/stop.
4. Look through the viewfinder or at the LCD monitor to compose and pre-focus the picture. Start with the lens at a wider setting to allow enough background for the motion blur to appear. Decide in advance where you want the subject to appear in the picture.
5. Press the shutter button when the subject reaches the designated point in the frame and move the camera horizontally with the subject. For the subject to be in focus, it must remain in the same location in the frame.
Blurred Pictures
6. Mount your camera on a tripod or place it on a solid surface. The camera needs to be still while taking the picture.
7. Put your camera in a mode that allows you to manually set a shutter speed. This will likely be shutter-priority or manual mode.
8. Select a slower shutter speed to start testing at, such as 1/60th of a second. If you're working in manual mode, you'll also need to set the aperture, or f/stop.
9. Look through the viewfinder or at the LCD monitor to compose and pre-focus the picture. Decide in advance where you want the subject to appear in the picture.
10. Press the shutter button when the subject reaches the designated point in the frame.
11. Check the resulting image and adjust the shutter speed slower if you want more blur.
Freezing Action
12. Set your camera to sport mode, if available. Sport mode optimizes your camera settings for action photography. Otherwise, choose shutter-priority or manual mode.
13. Set the shutter speed to the fastest speed available for the lighting conditions. A setting of at least 1/500th of a second is ideal. If you are working in manual mode, set the aperture, or f/stop, to the lowest setting to allow the most light into the lens. This will help boost the available shutter speed.
14. Look through the viewfinder or at the LCD monitor to compose the picture. You will need to move the camera with the subject until you see the picture you want to take.
15. Press the shutter button halfway to focus the picture and quickly press the shutter button fully to take the picture. This should be one smooth and fast combination.
Tags: shutter speed, manual mode, your camera, shutter button, aperture stop, Look through, Look through viewfinder