Panning

[Pichead]

My son is a big fan of my dad - his 'papa.' Every time we go to my parents house, my son wants to get on his lawnmower and go for a ride. Even though he looks completely comatose during the entire ride, he really, really enjoys it and it's often difficult to get him off...

We were there the other night around sunset and they were getting ready to go for a spin. I told my dad that I wanted to get some specific shots and asked him to go back and forth in front of the house so that I had time to get my settings straight. He said, "Isn't it too dark for photos?" For normal shots - yes. But I wanted to try a panning technique I've used before which allows me to keep the subject sharp while blurring the background WITHOUT any post-shot editing. Given those intentions, the darkness of dusk actually helped out...

To do this, I manipulated my ISO and aperture in order to get a shutter speed of approximately 1/30th of a second, as this was the shutter speed which had produced the best results with my previous attempts.

As they went by, I used my D700's focus system to lock onto my dad's face. Then, I tried to hold the camera as steady as possible, while panning horizontally to correspond with the mower's movement. Ultimately, the optimal shutter speed turned out to be 1/15th of a second. This by no means is a tried and true method which produces repeatable results. I think I took about 50 shots of them passing and this turned out to be my favorite.

If you'd like to try this, you can stand by a street and practice on passing cars (if you're comfortable with odd looks from the passers-by). Just try to get your shutter speed to 1/30th of a second or slower. Too much faster and you'll cause everything to be sharp. Too much slower and you won't be able to keep anything sharp, regardless of your technique...

[MO Photos]

Thank you for posting this! I've been wanting to try panning, but didn't really know where to start. Next time my hubby mows the lawn, I'll be shooting him.

Good job!

[Palestinian]

I like this, thanks for sharing

[JustinB]

haha Love it.. thanks for this shot. It seems like you guys could be doing 50 mph.. makes me laugh

[metallion58]

Originally Posted by MO Photos

Next time my hubby mows the lawn, I'll be shooting him.

I hope its with a camera (or that he can zig zag real fast !!!)

[Mr.Intensity]

The shot does have impact and it's funny too- they look like they're really flying-lol I love the motion blur, great job.
You didn't mention if your lens had a stabilizer nor if you used the: elbows against the ribs or the cross-arms technique etc.

[Pichead]

Originally Posted by Mr.Intensity

The shot does have impact and it's funny too- they look like they're really flying-lol I love the motion blur, great job.
You didn't mention if your lens had a stabilizer nor if you used the: elbows against the ribs or the cross-arms technique etc.

Thanks.

For this and most shots I take, I use Joe McNally's grip where I rest the camera on my shoulder. You can probably Google this and see a photo/information.

And, my 24-70 lens does not have a stabilizer.

[in2fx]

Originally Posted by MO Photos

Next time my hubby mows the lawn, I'll be shooting him.

LOL how easy is it to take something out of context

[Thanatoz]

Haha I love it. A perfect example of panning. I havnt had much luck but I havnt practiced much.
Thanks for sharing!