{"id":7261,"date":"2009-06-24T18:10:39","date_gmt":"2009-06-25T02:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moosepeterson.com\/blog\/?p=7261"},"modified":"2009-06-24T18:10:39","modified_gmt":"2009-06-25T02:10:39","slug":"panning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/panning\/","title":{"rendered":"Panning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
\"Rough-legged<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rough-legged Hawk \u00a9 Moose Peterson
\nPhoto captured by D1H, 300f2.8 handheld on Lexar digital \t\t\t\t\tfilm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Success in photographing flying birds comes in \tlarge part from properly using the technique of panning. This is a technique \tmany have heard of, but few use effectively. While I’ve touched on this \tin a recent Shutterbug article, I wanted to go into greater depth for \tJOURNAL readers. There are really a couple aspects of panning which \tare essential for success: the combination of mechanical technique and \taesthetic desires.<\/p>\n

The goal of panning is to obtain sharp images of moving subjects. \tIn this process, the movement of the subject is communicated by the \tblurring of the background. This combination makes panning an essential \ttechnique for wildlife photographers. The ability to obtain sharp images \tthat communicate should be the goal for all of us!<\/p>\n

The Mechanics<\/h2>\n

I’m sure you can all quote this as you read along. Panning is accomplished \t\t\tby moving the camera\/lens to track the subject, firing the camera while \t\t\tcontinuing to track the subject until after the shutter is finished \t\t\tfiring. Well at best, that’s the beginning basics because the technique \t\t\tof panning needs to go farther than that to be successful.<\/p>\n

You must first stabilize the camera correctly whether you’re hand \tholding or using a tripod. Whether hand holding<\/a> or \tshooting with a lens on a gunstock, the principle is the same. First, \thold the camera with your left hand, palm up so the lens rests in your \tpalm. This uses gravity in our favor as it forces the lens into our \thand. Next, brace your elbows against your sides, tucking them in. You \twant to avoid imitating birds by having your arms flapping at your sides. \tNext, press the camera against your forehead (best if done with an eyecup \tthat acts like a shock absorber). Now think about your tripod for a \tmoment. Doesn’t it have three legs coming to a point where the camera \tis attached? Are you creating three points of contact with your elbows \ttucked in and camera against your forehead? Now this is the methodology \tI’ve used for a decade and it works for me. Give it a try.<\/p>\n

Next, you want to establish a \u201cKill Zone.\u201d The kill zone is a predetermined \tzone where we actually fire the shutter and take the picture. This is \tonly a small portion of the actual area we physically travel through \tduring panning when focusing on the subject. Lost yet? Let me explain \tthis in another way.<\/p>\n

You want to photograph the bird when the bird is heading towards or \tbeside you, not going away from you (avoiding the butt shot). When setting \tup your pan (taking into account background and lighting), try to set \tup knowing the direction from where the bird is coming from and heading \tto.<\/p>\n

Let’s say in this example that’s going to be from left to right. The \tKill Zone would be the area from where your left arm is held out nearly \tstraight from your side to the area covered as you swing your arm until \tit’s basically straight in front of you. This is nearly a 90 degree \tarc. This would be the Kill Zone for birds flying left to right; the \tsame analogy would apply to the right arm for birds flying right to \tleft. Whether shooting hand held or with the lens on a tripod, this \tis the zone where you pan and fire. Once the subject is basically in \tfront of you, you stop shooting (this is a generalization and not a \trule carved in stone).<\/p>\n

The Aesthetics<\/h2>\n

Setting and knowing your kill zone must take into account the background \t\t\tand direction of the sun. True, some great bird flight shots happen \t\t\toff the cuff, what we like to call a \u201csurprise attack.\u201d But the great \t\t\tones are planned for, where the background and lighting not only isolate \t\t\tthe subject, but also bring drama to the final image.<\/p>\n

You must look at the background differently than if you were taking \ta typical \u201cstatic\u201d image. You must remember when panning that the background \twill be a blur and you’ll capture more background in the image than \tif you were taking a static scene. When setting up your kill zone, if \tat all possible, look at the entire background in your kill zone for \tout of the ordinary colors or shapes. Look for elements that when blurred \tand combined with the other elements of the background would stick out \tlike a sore thumb. You have no idea as you pan when exactly you’re going \tto press the shutter. So you want as much useable background you can \tmuster.<\/p>\n

Now many shooters prefer a blue sky background. That’s cool and something \twe can all relate to. All you have to worry about with a blue sky background \tis exposure. But if you look at the really incredible flight shots, \tyou’ll more often than not find these photographs to have a blurred \tbackground from panning. There is always something special about them \tas if they are almost the colors of a watercolor painting that have \tmelded together. This mood setting element is what brings drama to your \tflight photography.<\/p>\n

The sun or lighting is really the easy part of the equation. The best \tsituation is when the light is on your back and the subject is flying \teither towards you or parallel to you so it’s frontlit. Any drama the \tlight might have from a sunrise, sunset or storm is even better.<\/p>\n

Go out and practice, have fun with it and make panning a technique \tyou can rely on. If you’re not comfortable with selecting backgrounds \tfor panning, just go out and shoot some backgrounds as if something \twere flying in front of them. Take a static shot and one panning, get \tback to the light table and compare them. You can easily teach yourself \twhat to look and watch out for. In the process, you’ll become better \tat panning with the camera either hand held or on a tripod.<\/p>\n

The great masters of panning are masters because they understand and \tuse all these techniques and elements to communicate motion. The fact \tthat their subject is sharp is the icing on the cake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rough-legged Hawk \u00a9 Moose Peterson Photo captured by D1H, 300f2.8 handheld on Lexar digital film Success in photographing flying birds comes in large part from properly using the technique of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-7261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technical-tips"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=89&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"

Panning<\/a><\/blockquote>