Panning Practice
Discussion
I'd like to try some panning shots. Have been practicing with random cars on the road - got a couple of good shots but more than a couple of dodgy looks 
I live not too far from Knockhill, but I'm not really into motorsport so have no idea what kind of events would be suitable.
What's a good thing to go to? Just after some good views of nice/interesting looking cars, cheap entry and not too crowded.
I live not too far from Knockhill, but I'm not really into motorsport so have no idea what kind of events would be suitable.
What's a good thing to go to? Just after some good views of nice/interesting looking cars, cheap entry and not too crowded.
As said above trackdays and motorsport events are pretty much every weekend.
Bedford aerodrome is a good place to get some practice as you can stand quite close to the track at points I managed to get some fairly decent shots with my 30mm prime and 80-200mm zoom.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixel-snapper/sets/72...
Edited by Pixel-Snapper on Tuesday 4th August 15:28
Panning is one of my favourite types of shot to take. You just have to be prepared to take loads of shots and be prepared at the start of your learning curve to throw a lot away. It is easiest to practice at some track events as you feel less self conscious than panning your neighbour as he goes about his daily trip to the supermarket!
If you go to a track day or a motor sport event try at first to find a slow part of the track to get started (or better still go to a vintage car hillclimb or something where the cars are a bit slower). Remember to pan with your body and not your arms and you will soon get the hang of it. Practice with varying shutter speeds (say between 1/60sec - 1/125 sec depending on the cars speed) and try to keep the aperture fairly shut down (F14 or so on) which will help to have a larger depth of focus which makes focusing a bit easier. If you know where the cars always pass (on a particular corner for example) you can try manual focusing on the point before the cars pass which can leave you free to concentrate on panning without having to bother about focussing as well.
It really is something that you just need to experiment with but it is not that hard. You'll soon get the hang of it!
One of mine from the weekend...
If you go to a track day or a motor sport event try at first to find a slow part of the track to get started (or better still go to a vintage car hillclimb or something where the cars are a bit slower). Remember to pan with your body and not your arms and you will soon get the hang of it. Practice with varying shutter speeds (say between 1/60sec - 1/125 sec depending on the cars speed) and try to keep the aperture fairly shut down (F14 or so on) which will help to have a larger depth of focus which makes focusing a bit easier. If you know where the cars always pass (on a particular corner for example) you can try manual focusing on the point before the cars pass which can leave you free to concentrate on panning without having to bother about focussing as well.
It really is something that you just need to experiment with but it is not that hard. You'll soon get the hang of it!
One of mine from the weekend...
Cant really improve on the advice above^
Practice makes perfect!
i normally use around 1/200th, heres a few i took
)
Experiment with different shutter speeds and settings, a good way to practice is next to a motorway.
Dont zoom in to far as you can always crop in later.
I usually do a rapid burst and pick the best one and delete the rest.
Hope this helps
Practice makes perfect!
i normally use around 1/200th, heres a few i took
)
Experiment with different shutter speeds and settings, a good way to practice is next to a motorway.
Dont zoom in to far as you can always crop in later.
I usually do a rapid burst and pick the best one and delete the rest.
Hope this helps
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