Panning and Image Softness

[rabaroo]

Hi

i'll be taking my first motor sport pictures soon, and after looking at some recent posts there are a couple of concepts I'd appreciate further explanation on....

a) panning - how do you do this and what should the results look like!?
b) image softness - what does this actually mean on a picture and how do you avoid it!?


sorry this is quite generic but i'd appreciate any pointers or links to example pictures that explain what the desired results look like (particularly for b) )

Cheers!

 

[iansmart]

Good tutorial on panning here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=8216

Softness is going to be caused usually either by not quite achieving focus or not quite getting your panning technique right. Can also be affected by the qualityt of the lens as some are sharper than others.

 

[danbroad]

The trick with panning is practise - not much, after 10 shots or so you'll get your eye in. If I may, I'll offer a few tips;

First, your shutter speed will want to be around 1/125 on a relatively fast racetrack like Goodwood or Oulton - gives a good impression of speed whilst keeping things sharp. I use shutter priority, and let the aperture go where it likes - or. if the track's unevenly lit, I'll also use auto ISO to ensure that the lens isn't bettered beyond max aperture.

Second, stand with your legs reasonably spread - about the same width as your shoulders to give you a good base.

Next - and this is the best tip I have to offer - look where the cars are going to end up in your shots. Most tracks around the UK run clockwise, so this means on the outside of the track you'll be panning from Right to Left. If you wind your body and twist as you follow the cars, you'll end up shaky and heading off-axis, usually high. SO, stand with your legs apart, facing left - and twist rightwards so that your body is 'wound up'. You should catch the cars 'wound' and 'unwind' as you follow them left. At the point where you let them go, and ready yourself for the next car, you should be in a neutral, 'unwound' posture.

So, my own recipe:

Centre metered
AF servo [a nice fast HSM/USM/AF-S lens really helps]
1/90-1/125 shutter priority
Auto ISO if track's not evenly lit
Steady legs
Unwind as you pan right to left.

I have some panned images over on my flickr pages [danbroad1000] - you're welcome to head on over and have a look. I have another few hundred to sort from Goodwood Revival last weekend, yet! I'll add some more later..