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I live in a big time bicycling town (La Paz, Mx) and we had trials for the Tour de France this last weekend. I have been working learning how to pan for awhile. The implied motion adds another dimension. Finding a good BG is very challenging. I certainly appreciate the skill of the pro sports shooters! I’m pretty happy if the lettering on the bike is readable. Trec is not as sharp as I would like on this one. I’m happy if one of out 500 is just OK. 1/25, f16, iso100, 70mm Any suggestions are appreciated.
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I think this is a pretty good effort. If you are after the sense of speed and motion, get the shutter speed down to around 1/125 or a bit lower. Start around F/4, burst mode. Adjust the ISO to the lighting. Use Continuous Autofocus. All this will isolate the subject. Next bit is the tricky part, the panning. Pick a spot on the cyclist I usually focus on the head as it is relatively fixed, and keep the focus point all the way through the pan. Then shoot away! Of course there are many other ways to set up, but I found this helped me with getting the panning better.
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DavidC, Howdy! I have a question. You said to your use 1/125. I use1/25 or even slower which I thought would blur the BG. Everything I have ever learned is that slower is better but you suggestion sounds interesting and might help bring into focus some of the subjects moving parts. Thanks!
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The background will blur with a few things, wide open aperture, distance between the subject and the background, movement of the pan in respect to the speed of the riders, and the static background. This one was a similar angle to your shot. F5 1/200 sec ISO 180 focal length 80mm.
The pan was on an angle to the riders and quite slow. The riders where at about 40 mph
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Only two extra bits i would try , If you can try getting a frame a little further back , a 70 – 200 and further back will make the riders seems a bit slower for you to track as you pan but the affect in the photo will give a sense of speed more , image stabilisation can help with hand holding , I always try starting my tracking /panning from about the angle you shot this frame but i try my best to only squeeze the shutter when they are bang on level with me then i carry on through the panning action , bit like a golf swing Lenny.
Your shutter speed is in a good ballpark in this image i think you nailed that nicely.
You can try going lower on one knee as well , the netting type material just behind the rider here makes for gorgeous smooth BG going lower would allow you some scope to use more of that in the framing.
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Hi Patrick! Good idea to show a little more of whence they came from. As you said, the sweet spot is 90 degrees from the camera for the best blur effect. I know I need to follow through. I was never much good a golf either. Everything I can shoot like this is in very crowded conditions so getting down on one knee could be a problem. I have a huge memory available so I tend to spray and pray. Thanks for the comments!
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I agree sometimes the crowds can be a bit too deep to move back very much if at all , another option is get a little higher than the crowd on a hillside close to the road just a little extra levitation can get some nice angles , I live next to the ulster gp motorcycle road racing circuit and sometimes i walk over a watch from a distance ( just watching no camera ) but the two main places i see the pro photographers ( press guys ) they go low or are slightly elevated and they get tons of nice shots .
Good luck on your next outing
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It’s been my experience that ‘spray and pray’ (burst mode) is the way to shoot sports/movement, Lenny. I would say use the highest burst mode possible with one’s camera, but with the mirrorless now, the highest will fill up even a big card. My cameras are good for 10 fps so they work well.
I find that one’s tracking ability stabilizes as one pans. So, although you get some blurry images, you will most likely get more images you like.
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This is an interesting challenge, Lenny. You want the shutter speed slow enough to show movement but in your case it caused the legs to be slightly blurred. Ideal IMO would be to have the legs either sharply in focus (as in @davidc’s image) or also showing movement. For that, you’ll either have to go even slower on the shutter (creating its own pitfalls) or faster (risking the elimination of movement).
Enjoy experimenting!
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