Panning

[pjiffy]

First up, I am a newbie so go gentle on me please. I'm lucky enough to live near a horse race course and one for cars and bikes, so keen to use the resource, I've been devouring everything I can about panning, including some good advice on this site. My initial efforts weren't that great but it cost me nothing but time and I'm not easily discouraged.

However, the tip that finally got me going came from a guy I work with and I haven't seen it mentioned here so I thought I'd share it. A lot of articles say to use a monopod if possible. I don't have one and I don't have an all singing all dancing camera, just my Sony Alpha 200, however, (it does have antishake built into the body though). I know about shutter speed etc, but what the guy told me was, position your feet in the position they need to be in at the end of the movement, then follow the motion swiveling from the hips only. I found this to be the key to keeping focused on the subject without wandering off slightly. I'm still keen to improve but I'm not unhappy with the results I'm obtaining now.

[LeeR]

You are just going to have to experiment with this to find what works best for each situation. You are likely to find that the shutter speed that works for cars does not work for horses. You will also find that your position relative to the moving object will change the settings you use. What you are looking for is an image where the object you are following looks like it is moving very little but the background looks like it is racing by. Once you get this mastered try reverse panning. You'll need to use a very high shutter speed, but you move in the opposite direction from the object, pressing the shutter just as it comes into view. It's difficult to accomplish, but the results can be stunning.

[pjiffy]

Thanks for the input. I never even heard of reverse panning. Weather permitting, I'm heading back to the race track this Sunday for a bike meeting so I'll give it a try. I'm also pleased to say I worked out how to embed an image in my posts finally.