Photocircle Digest: "Panning shot!"

If there is one style in photography that struck me when I first saw it, it has to be the "Panning shot" technique. For a start, I didn't really know how it was done since it is completely different to the one that I thought it was - the Long exposure technique.

They seemed similar in essence aside from the fact that in panning shot, the moving subject seemed to be the one that is "clearly" visible while the static elements of the photo is the that is obscured. In long-exposure shot, it is the other way around.

So, what is this technique called Panning shot?

In cinematography and photography panning means swiveling a still or video camera horizontally from a fixed position. This motion is similar to the motion of a person when they turn their head on their neck from left to right.

source

It sound simple but it's actually one the difficult technique to execute properly. It's something that requires practice to perfect and be good at. Let me show you a good example for this technique:

The idea behind the panning shot is that the photographer must focus his attention to a moving subject, the swiveling of the camera should be locked onto the moving subject before pressing the shutter and after the shutter was released.

 

Essentially, the speed of the swiveling should match the speed of the moving subject. In many occasions, the easy subject for this technique are human movements. It is for a simple fact that we can realistically gauge our movements through our observation.

 

In a more challenging note, if we are to aim shooting for a subject that we are not familiar about, something like a flying bird, a photographer should practice gauging its speed and hopefully there are enough birds for a round of trials.

 

Since panning is a technique that is executed hand held, it is crucial to coordinate the swiveling of the camera and the pressing of the shutter while considering the composition of the image. As we mentioned in the previous articles of the Photocircle Digest, we must allow enough "negative space" for the subject to breath.

 

A photographer must take note on the where the subject's direction is facing. We must provide more space to where the subject is moving towards to.

 

As demonstrated by the photos of these speeding vehicles, there is a composition balance between the action of the moving subject and the space that it require to ascend to. It does not feel awkward basically.

 

All images: source

If you wish to check out the recent articles about photography; feel free to click on the post links below with their respective titles.

Recent articles: Photocircle Digest: "The Rule of Thirds" Photocircle Digest: "Macro photography" Photocircle Digest: "Color Correction & Grading" Photocircle Digest: "Environment Photography" Photocircle Digest: "Abstract Photography" Photocircle Digest: "Long-Exposure Photography" Photocircle Digest: "Minimalism Photography"

 

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