Panning photography is an amazing art of capturing moving objects. At the moment of exposure, your target keeps moving continuously. This results in a photograph that has a clear subject but a blurred background. This ground-breaking technique suggests velocity and speed to the photograph. More and more photography-lovers are boosting their panning skills nowadays because of its growing popularity.
Here are some tried and tested panning photography ideas that can be used easily, even by beginners:
Put your photographer hat on and venture out for capturing some great images. For ensuring an appealing composition, try to place your subject opposite to the direction of the movement i.e. towards the side of the picture.
Shoot a cyclist.
Capturing a peddling cyclist gives a picture-perfect capture of a blur horizontal motion. Try locating a cyclist in some park with greenery all around or some other vibrant location. This image will capture a nice motion with the green or vibrant background mingling together into horizontal blur lines.
Shoot from inside your moving car.
In such images, the main trick is to decide on an object that is not moving with respect to cameras. So, you can either pick your dashboard or the side mirror. The side mirror is a more interesting option because it allows you to take portraits as well.
Shoot motorbikes
You can easily find these just by going for a walk or it could be a great opportunity to visit motorbike events.
Capture an image on a carousel.
Taking advantage of the spinning movements of a carousel is undoubtedly one of the best ways to capture still moments. All you have to do is to keep your camera steady with the spin and the carousel will do the rest of the job itself.
Shoot a sportsperson in its game.
There are numerous chances throughout the game when sportspersons give some amazing shots in the heat of the moment. Some of the great shots can be captured in the ending phase of some individual games like tennis or badminton.
Use escalator movement.
Taking panning shots on an escalator is the easiest because here people do not move in relation to one another. You have to decide the person you are going to shoot and adjust yourself on either the same or adjacent escalator. The escalator will do its work to give you some remarkable images.
Go for a flying bird.
Birds are anyway very beautiful and capturing them with blur backgrounds will further enhance the beauty of your photographs. You must locate a big bird flying over some water body or simply through a less chaotic backdrop. If you can capture the bird with completely open and flapping wings, that will be great.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexturton/7409354112
Shoot moving cars
Probably most common panning photography example. No need to go far away from home if you live in the city, just grab your gear out…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mantas_j_photography/29121547256/
Capture vertical movements.
The best way to capture vertical motion is to try photographing on a seesaw. Snugly position your camera on the opposite seat to the one where the object is supposed to be. Now shoot some outstanding vertical movements when the subject is swinging like crazy.
Shoot running children.
Try capturing some kids running down the streets to add cuteness and blurriness to your image. This could be a common scenario in parks or some narrow lanes where there is almost no traffic. If you could locate some kite runners across the lane, it would add a more remarkable element to your photograph.
Take images from some high balcony.
You can use your own balcony or go someplace higher to capture speedily running cars and other vehicles below you. But make sure the road you pick doesn’t have a lot of traffic. One or two cars at a time will give a flawless image.
Horse racing stands.
This is a perfect place for capturing both man and a graceful animal together. The speed of a horse promises astounding panning photography with a jockey riding on it impressively.
Planes and helicopters
There are aviation festivals in every country once or several times a year, so you could grab your camera and make awesome images
These are some of the panning photography ideas that are equally good for both beginners and experts. You can also try some other locations and backgrounds depending on the place you choose for photography.
You may also want to check How to: Panning photography tutorial
