Big 12 Track Meet Panning

[rkinsey]

This is my attempt at panning which is a lot harder than I thought it would be but I enjoyed it. Just wanted to get a critiqu on how it turned out and some pointers on hoe to make it better. also some other shots posted on my flickr page so feel free to take a look and let me know. Thank you in advance



Camera: Nikon D90
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/40.0
Focal Length: 270 mm
Focal Length: 269.1 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

[mpro86]

this is a good start... but your subject is pretty blurred, i've been told to try and have the exposure around 1/100 to 1/120 as a rule of thumb.

the only other thing that you could do is to give the runner some space to move into.

good job and keep at it

[MOmilkman]

If your not doing it already, one thing that really helps me is to always use MF. Focus on a runner thats positioned at the exact spot you will be panning to, MF on that, and then you know you will be focused when you pan and shoot at that particular spot.
Just one less thing you have to worry about...

[Chip]

You're very close. But, 1/30th seems a bit too slow for someone moving that fast. It's hard to know how fast (slow?) a shutter to use, but I've found that, with experience, and with chimping and zooming on on the LCD after the 1st few shots, I can adjust and get fairly close with the right shutter speed. After that, it's just a function of hoping that all the other variables - how fast I'm panning, how fast the runner/subject is moving (since not all runners run at the same speed), etc - all combine to get a good shot. I have a low success rate with panning shots, but with practice some good shots out of a session are possible.

Also, 1/30th seems a bit slow for a focal length of 270mm. Regardless of getting the shutter speed right, a slow shutter at long focal lengths - even with panning - leads to blur by camera shake.

And with runners, different body parts move at different speeds. So, I've never been able to get a shot of a runner where all parts are blurred equally. But, as long a one part (maybe the face?) is in good focus, the rest of the runner can be blurred - and that can be a pretty cool effect, at least to me.

Practice helps, and you're not far off from getting some very good shots. Keep it up!