Photography panning is a technique used by both professional and amateur photography jobs and involves the horizontal movement of a video camera still moving from the left to right or rotating.
Professional film makers use this technique constantly and you've probably seen captions of how they make and piece films together with someone going up and down on a film seat and with them turning the camera horizontally. This effect is from the same spot, but offers higher and lower viewpoints and is caused by creating a panning like technique.
There are other forms of film panning like when the camera crew go along a rail taking pictures whilst moving their cameras horizontally and taking stills of the subject matter in order to piece the jigsaw together and special effects at a later date.
Creating a blurry or motion effect gives the viewer the illusion that, a still picture is moving and can be classed as a similar action when you look at something in 3D and the object seems to be jumping out at you. There are certain objects which require a bit more practice in order to achieve this and include Formula One and any fast moving action games or sports. Practice makes perfect and once you're able to move in synchronization with the subject, you'll be able to master the panning effect.
Contrary to public opinon you don't need state of the art cameras with fast shutter speeds and all the usual bells and whistles, what you really need is good timing and perseverance in order to get that cherished blurry effect from your all of your pictures and hopefully the following information will give you some of the guidance that, you've been looking for in order to gain that special effect.
• Practice the art of timing and try to move your camera in perfect harmony with the subject matter and through time, it will become easier for you to get that special image.
• Pick the correct shutter speed for you chosen subject. It's important to find the right balance between and long and short shutter speeds, as the longer the speed is the less effective the picture sharpness will be and also stick with the same speed throughout each process.
• Master your cameras viewfinder at the earliest opportunity, as it also plays a crucial role in how successful you're panning images turn out. A good technique is in having a little dot or mark in the center of your viewfinder and try to make sure that, every object you're following remains central to the mark.
• It's important to choose the right subject to picture, so picking objects or people that move in the one direction and at a reasonable speed will give the best panning opportunities. Things which move in various directions are a waste of time to follow, as you can't prepare yourself for any unpredictable movements in the opposite direction.
• Natural light will give you the best results, so look for opportunities where the light and background are favorable and give the most background detail to add to the effect of each image you take.
• Finding a good position and remaining still will greatly enhance your panning success, try to stay focused at all times, start shooting prior to the subject reaching your ideal viewpoint and always be ready for the opportunity.
With most things in life practice certainly does make perfect and is the case with the camera panning technique. Creating a blurry 3D like effect can be achieved with practice. There will be days when there's not much progression and it will test your discipline, but staying with the job in hand and remaining focused, will give you the medium to long term results that you'll be looking for and give you a new photographic talent.
Panning is not something you can learn overnight (if it only it were that easy), it's something that will just click in to place one day and you'll just develop a natural rhythm for the timing required and be able to produce quality pictures that, you previously couldn't have envisaged being able to produce on a regular basis.
