REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

BoostedBB6 · 04-09-2013, 08:47 PM

Hey all.

Bit of background. I was into photography some 7 years ago and really jumped in with both feet. Sadly a relationship I was in ended and she robbed me of all my gear (formally shot with a canon 30D, 70-200 2.8 L, 24-70l, 50 1.4 and a few other nice pieces of glass) All was lost and I did not have the money to get my gear back so I stopped shooting.

As of about 2 years ago I dated and now engaged to my current lady....she happened to have a Nikon D40X that I took a shinning to. I got bit again and could not put the camera down.
I spent some time behind the lens of that.....thing. I decided to take it a bit more serious and grab me a new Canon (T4i, nothing special but a Canon, feels like home).

Last weekend I got a chance to shoot a local drift event with it and I was not overly pleased with the results so that is why I come to you all. I need some advice from more experienced shooters.

I want to get some better moving/rolling/panning shots. The types of shots where the subject is crisp yet you develop that great motion blur behind.

I shot most of the event on shutter priority, running between 80-160 of a second to get that motion blur in the background and still have the car crisp. I find that this works well when I am in a car rolling next to the subject but I was not pleased with the results at a stationary spot.

From those out there that do this kind of shooting, what would you settings be, how do you like to shoot to achieve this look?

Here are a couple shots from the event for reference.

As you can see the subject is decently sharp, but not enough. Perhaps I should have shot in manual with a smaller aperture (perhaps F8 or above to get a wider depth of field)?

mb_ · 04-09-2013, 09:08 PM

Try 1/60. Also, it takes practice so be patient. Shoot in burst mode as well.

BoostedBB6 · 04-09-2013, 09:12 PM

I tried to slow it down to 1/60th on a couple shots but the need to make the perfect pan to get the sharp image is not easy at all.

I was shooting offhand. At 1/60th I could get a sharper image with a tripod and a fluidhead but sadly I have a cheap tripod with a cheap head...may still be able to but being locked in pisses me off. I like to be able to jump around when at a track....one corner you can have a nice drift the other you have a huge wreck....need to be able to switch between one and the other quick and I dont have more than on camera to work with at the moment :P

I will be trying some panning on tripod at 1/60th outside the house on random cars to see what I can come up with.

77civic1200 · 04-09-2013, 09:17 PM

Steady SMOOTH motions that match the speed of the car take a lot of practice. Good chance you just need to slow yourself down and work on your technique.

If you have, or can borrow a lens with IS and panning mode (mode 2) it will help a lot. But it still comes down to proper technique.

BoostedBB6 · 04-09-2013, 09:32 PM

Sadly no one I know shooting Canon so no EF/EF-S mount glass I can use at the moment.

Using a 18-135 IS STM f3.5-5.6 lens. Its probably the best "kit" lens I have used on a crop sensor camera but I miss my L glass :P

Been looking at the 70-200 2.8 II as I do find I nee the focal length for many shots (airshow, sports ect).....would have been great for this event but I work with what I have.

Practice at panning is probably the best bet.....bugger.....was wanting to hear "just run these settings and you shoot like a pro" hahahah I wish it were that easy.

This one I was more pleased with.

This one was decent as well.....minus the fella in the umbrella who seemed like he was waiting for the bus :P

mb_ · 04-09-2013, 09:35 PM

Like 77civic said, it takes A LOT of practice to perfect panning shots. I've tried different settings, I found that 1/60, F8 ISO400 works best for me but I still have to use burst mode cause I know I won't get it in one go haha

BoostedBB6 · 04-09-2013, 10:07 PM

I have issues with using higher ISO...I just feel it takes away from the shot unless on a great camera body (eg 5D MKiii).
I need to play with ISO more for sure to get the shots I want.

Thanks for that

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kobe tai · 04-13-2013, 07:07 AM

Those look totally fine to me.. I usually use a 50mm for panning and try 1/40 to 1/60th of a second. Panning is all about practice - shoot tons and find the few photos that are perfect. Then as you get better start slowing down the shutter haha.. Once you get to 1/1 then you know you have mastered the art of panning lol.