How to take panning shots

Sports photos in the running for a World Press Photo Award. Professional tips from photography legend Kai Pfaffenbach on how to create unique “panning shots”.

Almost everybody is familiar with the photo of the 100-metre Olympic champion and record-breaking athlete Usain Bolt from the semi-finals of the last Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. In this photo, for which photojournalist Kai Pfaffenbach received a World Press Photo Award, it almost seems as if the exceptional runner is looking around and smiling at his competitors, knowing that he is far ahead.

While Usain Bolt is clearly visible in the photo, the background is blurred. Technically speaking, what we have here is known as a panning shot. We would like to give you some practical tips on how to set up these kinds of photos perfectly.

An old photography technique for new photos

When cameras still had relatively slow shutter speeds and couldn’t freeze movements in the way they can today, photographers had to pan the camera evenly in the direction of the action to capture sharp moving images. Many photographers today take advantage of this old technique using the latest equipment, but with the reverse effect.

To do this, you have to increase the shutter speed of the aperture significantly. The shutter speed was increased to 1/50 seconds in the case of Usain Bolt’s photo, a speed which you wouldn’t normally use for a 100-metre race. For Kai Pfaffenbach, this was the perfect shutter speed to photograph Bolt in sharp focus and to make the spectators appear to move in the background, resulting in a blur.

The right “wrong” shutter speed for every subject

When taking panning shots, it’s important to find the right “wrong” shutter speed for the subject in question or the speed of its movement. Kai Pfaffenbach uses a shutter speed of 1/125 seconds for photos of Formula 1 racing, which is certainly significantly faster than the shutter speed in the sprinter’s photo but still clearly slower than that normally used for car racing with speeds of up to 350 km/h. For ball sports such as football, a shutter speed of just 1/10 seconds is suitable for perfect panning shots, as the players don’t move as quickly as the sprinters.

A steady hand to counteract shaking

When taking panning shots, the relatively slow shutter speeds require a concentrated movement with no shaking up or down. Although modern cameras have a so-called image stabilisation system for this purpose, it is only a support. You will still need to keep the camera movement as steady as possible and to focus.

It’s best to take panning shots of activities happening on a horizontal plane. In this case, it’s worth experimenting and simply trying things out to shoot your perfect photo.

Our tips at a glance:

• Practise moving the camera and check for upward or downward shaking afterwards
• Work your way up slowly from a slow shutter speed until you find the perfect fade time

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