PhotoGP Episode 3 - Panning Shutter Speeds

[@de_visuals]

What I love about the panning shot is you don't need a low aperture i.e expensive lens to do it. It's all about the timing of the shot. Dialing in that shutter speed to suit. After 100's of shot's your doing well to get a handful of great shots!

[@ajfleming254]

Very interesting was recommended to me by a fellow trackside photographer as an example of what we chatting about at the Cookstown 100 roadraces 2023 and it has shown me not to be afraid to drop a little lower as I would shoot around 1/320th

[@Clement_Guillou]

The very best video i've seen about panning and shutter speed, you give remarquable examples and i love the way you tell people that there free too experiment and test differents settings. Very inspiring, thank you Scott !

[@bfqywqd]

Great explanation of what panning is as it relates to still photography. A must see for those aspiring to shoot motorsports!

[@tonizuz]

Absolutely fabulous ! Great explanation, probably the best panning video on You tube.

[@PhotoGP]

Thanks for the comment, glad you like the video. Please share with others who might enjoy it.

[@mikedwn]

Nice video and well explained. I do a lot of motorsports photography and find that stepping outside the norm is always more enjoyable...by that I mean the dreaded thirds rule and shutter speeds - you enforce the rule of 'do it your way' and if the photo appeals to yourself then that's the most important thing - having fun and exploring what the camera can do !

[@charlieross-BRM]

Exactly. You should please yourself; or, if you are trying to get published then please any number of art directors who might never have gone to an event of your kind in their life. Neither is a wrong motive. And what's in vogue changes. The extreme blur @6:55 were the ones in my mind I messed up and immediately threw out 45 years ago. At some point later on someone who also shot track was excited to show me his photo that was chosen for a magazine. It was like the ones I threw out, LOL. One of my photos of a kayaker shooting the rapids had the competition paddlers gaga. The guy in the photo took it to the paddling magazine hoping they'd use it - rejected because "it makes the sport look too dangerous" and that's not what they wanted to project to their general readership.

[@TheTomster94]

Still a great video on panning! And saw Jack Miller on a Moto3 bike, man that makes me feel old..

[@tomkolour3947]

Best video I've seen on panning photography the example photo's shown on different shutter speeds explain not only the method but the end result , thank you

[@GeraldtheLeong]

Thank you! It's sooo hard to find a great panning video like this it help me soo much !!

[@HK-sp1pl]

Canon 70-200 f4 is with polarizer is a killer combo for panning shots.

[@PhotoGP]

I agree - I used the f4 and the f2.8 before I switched to Nikon and both of those Canon lenses were fantastic.

[@bashiordache]

Ep3 first and almost only video on the channel, what a bummer The quality is off the chart, was looking forward to binge watching every single video

[@PhotoGP]

There used to be a lot more content here but KZbin doesn't support small channels like mine, so I moved to Patreon. There are over 40 videos available there on various photography/MotoGP subjects. www.patreon.com/sjpho

[@harrycook3196]

Very good tuitional advice , i will be shooting my first Speedway here in the UK in a weeks time ,our Speedway here is on a oval cinder track so i have picked up some good tips here ,.Thank you

[@royraiden]

This has got to be one of the best panning tutorials on YT, so much better than the tutorials I used to watch when I started doing sports photography 7 or 8 years ago.Also your pictures are top notch, getting panning right is demanding as it is, but doing so with great composition is even harder. Im getting into mortorsport photography soon, although this time as a hobby, Im sure your other tutorials, although focused on motor bikes will prove helpful anyways. You got another subscriber.

[@PhotoGP]

Thanks for the kind words, I hope you find the other videos useful as well.

[@6billiam9]

as with many of the comments this personally is one of the best panning shot explanation videos ive seen to date on youtube.. im heading from the uk to le mans france for this weekends motogp and hope to put many of these techniques into practice and hopefully get 1 or 2 shots that are worthy of displaying.. thank you so much for your video it truely has helped inspire

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome, I hope the video was helpful. Did you get good results?

[@charlieross-BRM]

Back off the zoom a bit more than you anticipate needing. I caught cars on the track with a 135 mm on a 35mm film camera which today would be laughed at if you're behind the fence, but you could clearly read the sponsor patches on the driver's suit and the lug nuts (1977 Trans Am) were dead still with the tire white lettering barely blurred individual letters. Problem was my two best shots left out 6 inches of the back of the cars. My guess was a combination of the car taking a line closer to me on this lap than I had been rehearsing plus I led the car just a "leeetle" too much in my panning.

[@Motogreets]

What an amzing video mate!

[@fcangunal]

best explanation about the subject, all the best

[@paultrunfull3324]

Well put together vid, Some great images ,and info.

[@RumpusTime89]

Very good video! You're a great teacher and provided amazing samples.

[@sergepiastra9434]

Great tips, thanks for sharing your experience & skills.

[@ZhayynnJamesPhotography]

Nice work. Great explanation and impactful images that back up the theory. Greetings from India!

[@JosephMyLife]

Great video, thank you. I'm planning to do some photo's similar to this soon and have no experience outside of the studio environment. Sad to see you gave up here. Wish I could see part one and two.

[@PhotoGP]

There used to be a lot more content here but KZbin doesn't support small channels like mine, so I moved to Patreon. There are over 40 videos available there on various photography/MotoGP subjects. www.patreon.com/sjpho

[@JosephMyLife]

@@PhotoGP it takes time to build up a following on youtube, trust me I know the stress of it all.

[@alixanderhajjarlixphotography]

Thanks mr. Scott for sharing those cool tips!! this sat and sunday were my first experience to shoot car racing actually,. And luckily i had some good clean shots with low Shutter speed i dropped it to 1/80 and as a portrait and modeling photographer that was an achievement for me. i agree very much with what you have mentioned that image looses some of its purpose leaving it all sharp ( moving and still objects ). that was very informative.

[@masterg5168]

What an awesome video on panning! Very helpful! Thank you!

[@yozr6]

Great video, with a Great explanation on slow motion. Thank You.

[@richardsmith8542]

Very well done, thanks for the examples and information.

[@flattrackunfiltered2021]

Very nice video. Great explanation of the different shutter speeds and how to use them. I was hoping for at least a rudimentary explanation on the physical technique of the panning motion and or maybe some tips or tricks on that subject. Any way thanks for the video, I hope to incorporate some of these tips into my flat track photos. Cheers !

[@NikCan66]

This was superb 👏

[@royjohnson1812]

great video. very well thought out. extremely helpful, as I am an aspiring amateur photographer.

[@kmulhall8233]

fantastic video!

[@cforlizzo71]

Great video! Thank you for the instruction. I can't wait to get to the track to try this

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome! A year after your comment, have you had any good results?

[@rauhesitten]

Thanks for the video. I'm going to try some of the insights on Sachsenring. my general problem is: I am too far away from the track and I don't have a big enough zoom. But maybe I can find some unusual angles. We'll see.

[@PhotoGP]

+rauhesitten You're welcome for the video, I hope it helps you. Sachsenring is challenging for shooting from the fan side of the fence! The outside of Turns 1 and 2 is probably your best best, not too far away and you can look down onto the bikes over a relatively low fence as I recall. But it's also a lovely circuit with huge crowds on Sunday and lots of green areas. Don't get too fixed on tight shots of the bikes on track, look for nice wide images that show the scene as well. Good luck!

[@rachelcropper6088]

Wonderful video!! I do a lot of Motorsport photography and really enjoyed you explanations! I really enjoy shooting at somewhere around 1/120th of a second. Subscribed!! :)

[@PhotoGP]

Thanks for the comment, and glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks also for the Sub, but sadly no more of my content will be going up here on KZbin. Everything is going to Patreon now, and there's lots of stuff available there for support even at the lowest level of $2 a month. Hope to see you there for more of what I have to say to photographers and MotoGP fans. bit.ly/sjphopatreon

[@richardbaraniuk9557]

Very well explained!

[@plbyrne]

Thanks very much - great shots and advice

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome, thanks for watching.

[@Oslecphotography]

thank you very much for the info!

[@dark-matters]

What's the best f~stop if shooting at 1/250th or below? And is it bedt to shoot auto iso when panning? Thank you love the video

[@MrSTAdventures]

Absolutley fantastic images, thanks for sharing :)

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome, thanks for the comment.

[@flw88]

Keep this up. Great video! I'm also the MotoGP shooters.

[@daviddowling9830]

Just in time for the Daytona 200 this Saturday,great video.

[@PhotoGP]

Thanks, David, I hope you got some good stuff at Daytona.

[@daviddowling9830]

Scott Jones PhotoGP thanks Scott,did well for my first attempt thanks to your tutorial.

[@terrificdue]

When shooting high speed moving up subjects, do you shoot in full manual, aperture, or shutter priority mode? I've been trying to shoot in full manual mode but it's not that easy to control the focus. Any tips for me?

[@sandeep_sachu]

Nice video. Also pls mention about the continuous focus mode in camera and panning / sports vr mode in lens.

[@PhotoGP]

Sorry it has taken so long for me to reply but I hope I can be helpful now: I use auto-focus extensively for motor sports and find that auto-focus is one of the main areas where a pro gear pays for itself. In fact auto-focus is one of the only settings I use on auto most of the time. I try to do everything else manually so that auto-focus and light metering are the main things I'm asking the camera system to do for me. I rarely use IS/VR though most of my lenses have this ability. I sometimes use Aperture or Shutter Priority modes but usually try to shoot in full Manual to relieve the camera from having to do extra work: I want all of its processing resources available to do auto-focus to the best of its ability. I use whatever option is just above Single Point for Continuous Focus, for example, my Nikon D4 offers Single, 9, 21, and 55 focus point groups, so I use 9 to have just a little margin for error when tracking fast movers. The main setting that I recommend is to switch your Focus Lock to the shortest setting possible. This made a huge difference for me when I discovered this setting. All the above is for when I can see and track the subject as it moves in front of me. If a bike is going to approach in a way that is hidden so I don't have the option to track it, I will pre-focus on the area I want to capture and then let the bike ride into that area. Good luck!

[@Kyuri85]

Found this very informative. Cheers!

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome, thanks for watching.

[@beelist8259]

great work but I have a question when I drop the shutter speed my pictures turn blue... what aperture setting are you using ?

[@colroper3973]

Hi great video, just a question with ultra slow shutter speed on a bright day and how do you get the correct exposure, I have been Practicing at bike track day events, trying to get shots at 1/40th sec ISO at its lowest setting means I have to use a very small aperture giving a very big depth of field, something i am trying to avoid, I either shoot full manual or auto iso depending lighting ie cloudy or shadowed area where the bikes could go from sunlight to shadow, thanks again for the video my equipment Nikon D610 & D7100, Tamron 150 600 and Nikkor 28 300

[@scottjones6198]

+Col Roper Thanks for watching, glad you found this useful. To get down to lower shutter speeds on bright days I use one of two neutral density filters. For my 500mm lens I use this one: www.2filter.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/product8988.html For my 24-70mm and 70-200mm I use this one: www.singh-ray.com/shop/vari-nd-variable-neutral-density-filter/ I wish I could have a variable ND filter for the 500 but there just isn't space inside the lens. With a ND filter you can avoid the tiny f-stops and their resulting dust spots.

[@colroper3973]

+Scott Jones Thanks Scott I not invested in any ND filters yet will have to sell some photos first lol

[@PhotoGP]

+Col Roper That's a sound policy! Sometimes difficult to live by, but important to stick to. Good luck.

[@entangled5342]

Have you ever used circular polarizers?

[@PhotoGP]

I have a CP that I use for landscape work but I've stopped bringing it to races.

[@richardmilbourne1679]

Fantastic video very simple to understand.I like to pan at 1/320 when I am at circuits so I can get the whole car in .what do you think about using a polariser filter .thanks

[@niknitro8948]

Image stabilization in usefull in this situation? For example in panning to take smooth panning? Or is better to keeping it off?

[@PhotoGP]

Most of my Nikon lenses have image stabilization/vibration reduction but I almost never use this feature. In my experience you want to ask your gear to do as little work as possible for motorsports photography, and I try to limit the demand I place on gear by asking only for fast auto focus. I never had better results when panning with VR turned on - the only time I turn VR on is when I'm photographing a stationary subject in very low light and want some help using very slow shutter speeds. In that single instance I think VR is useful. But frankly I wish Nikon offered lenses without VR to save on cost and possibly weight.

[@niknitro8948]

@@PhotoGP thanks for reply. Nice answer! I'm trying this day shooting bike riding on mountain, and your video is very helpfull!

[@PhotoGP]

@@niknitro8948 Great, I hope you get good results!

[@mitchellweitzman9329]

Hi Scott, with the panning, do you rely on VR/IS to help you? Or do you switch it off? Most pro lenses (likely the ones you're using) have a mode more for panning, do you use that? I'm unsure on my cheaper kit lens to use IS on or not, it's likely not smart enough to know panning vs vertical normal shake haha

[@PhotoGP]

Hi there - I do not use IS/VR when panning, and almost never in fact. I tested the various VR settings on my Nikon lenses and found no benefit to this technology when photographing MotoGP/WSBK. My advice is to go as much Manual as possible and use as simple a setup for Auto Focus as you can, then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. :-) Good luck!

[@jpgreenwood]

Hi, great photos and explanation. I'm hoping to photograph some drifting cars this weekend. The viewing point is on a curve, slightly above track level, shooting downwards. The cars will be coming in from the top centre of the shot and exiting bottom left, in an arc. I have a Nikon 300mm F4 prime lens so will be hoping to use 1/300 shutter speed. I have never tried panning so hoping its successful. Can you advise what focus settings I should be using. AF/S, AF/C single point, multiple point, 3D tracking.??

[@PhotoGP]

Hi, sorry you commented when I was not watching this page at all. If you're still shooting, let me know if you'd still like my comments on the above questions.

[@TheMinilum]

Properly interesting video. I've got a Nikon D3000, bit old, but I'm using it as a starter at the moment. I want to get a lens for it to at least try to take pictures like yours, do you know any that you'd suggest? Ta.

[@PhotoGP]

+TheMinilum Thanks for watching, glad you found it useful. As for which lens to buy, that's an easy question if money is no object. But on a budget it's a very tricky question. Most of the images in this video were made with Nikon's 500mm f/4 or 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses. Both are quite expensive, but each delivers very good results. On a smaller budget than that of a pro photographer I'd suggest the 80-400mm. While still on Canon bodies I learned on a Canon 100-400 zoom which, while not as good as the prime 500mm is still quite a good lens and extremely versatile. The 80-400 is also expensive so if purchasing a new one is out, look for a good quality used one, or perhaps try renting one. I hope that helps.

[@smartfix3815]

Hi Scott. I'm using for example Nikon D610 With 85mm lens! can I also take photos like what u showed in the videos? or I have to use a different lens for that? thnx in advance

[@PhotoGP]

You can do panning shots like mine with any lens if you can get the shutter speed slow enough, either because it's dark where you're shooting or you use a Neutral Density filter. I suggest you experiment with whatever equipment you have - that's the best way to learn. Thanks for watching the video and for the comment.

[@dominiquez5643]

How can I contribute $$$ ? this is mazing? Will try your settings at MotoGP Austin...tomorrow !!

[@coolvid]

Great photos! 1 question...I have a Tamron 300 Di VC lens, should I disable the Vibration Control ( image stabilization) while panning handheld? Thanks!

[@PhotoGP]

Hi Tony, thanks for watching and for your question. I use Nikon lenses, several of which have VR (aka VC, IS, etc. depending on brand), which I almost never use. As good as pro camera gear is, asking auto focus to track fast-moving subjects like MotoGP bikes is very challenging for the technology, so I try to do as much of the work as I can and ask the gear do do as little as possible. This is one reason why I prefer Manual to automated shooting modes, and why I hardly ever turn VR on. VR especially asks the camera and lens to do a lot of extra work when all I really need it to do is track focus. I do occasionally turn on VR when in very low light and shooting stationary subjects at very low shutter speeds. Otherwise, no VR/VC/IS!

[@coolvid]

Scott Jones PhotoGP ....awesome explanation, I will be mindful of that!

[@markrayton6385]

Fantastic shots and really informative video. Thank you for sharing. Can i just ask when shooting bikes do you use back button focusing. It's something i am about to try in the future but don't know if it would be ok for taking bike shots. Thank you. Oh and i have subscribed.

[@PhotoGP]

Yes, I have all my bodies (4) set to use back button focusing. I find it more efficient than relying on the shutter button to do everything!

[@markrayton6385]

Scott Jones PhotoGP thank you so much for answering my question. Once again awesome shots.

[@freeflycoffey]

Thanks👍

[@PhotoGP]

You're welcome! I'm glad people are still finding this useful.

[@geoffharris2030]

Excellent.

[@caesarromeo9722]

how to select the best apperture to come up with a crisp object?

[@PhotoGP]

Practice and experience! But for crisp images the more important thing is to hold the camera steady during exposure. As you practice, concentrate on a smooth press on the shutter and holding the camera as still as possible when the shutter is open. Good luck!

[@titusnixon]

I think 1/30 is about that sweet spot for panning, but each situation is different

[@jonwagstaff1879]

Thanks for this

[@chris7033]

that's EPIC!!

[@viveksathish]

Love this video. Would love to hear your thoughts on my panning images @exotic.blacklist on Instagram. How do you deal with slow shutter speeds and bright sunlight? I really struggle with this.