Panning Shots

I had some question from people on how to do panning shots like the above.

Terminology for Canon DSLRs, Nikon and Sony may call the same thing differently

1) Set AF mode to AI Servo
2) Set to either Full Manual (M) or Shutter Priority (Tv)
3) Set ISO to as low as you can go (ie. ISO 100)
4) Set drive to continuous
5) Match exposure to fairly low, usually I use as low as 1/60-1/80. You will have to match the speed of the target with your exposure. If your target is hgh speed, setting your exposure too low will cause blur and difficulty in accurately panning. Comes with practice, trial and error.
6) Pan and shoot, tracking the target where you want it to be sharp (ie. the front grill). You can also try to focus on high contrast area for more accurate focus lock.


Shoot and Shoot and Shoot. With exposure at a low 1/80, you can garantee that most of the shots will be blur.

This will help to give dynamism to your pictures and prevent these "action" shots from looking like cars parked on the track. Setting the exposure slightly higher can also yeild nice shots without the panning effect. This alone will capture motion of the wheels.

You can apply these to a regular compact point and shoot that has Shutter Priority mode.

Kancil shot at;
Mode : Tv/AI Focus
Shutter : 1/50
Apperture : f29
ISO : 100
Focal range : 160mm
Camera : Canon 450D w/ 55-250mm IS