Cycle Panning

Ady N

Ady N

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Adrian
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I cover mainly sportives, tri's, running and bike racing and always go for the 'safe' static shot (1/640th or so). From a set I am pretty much on 100% keep rate but do realise that these pics do sometimes cry out for a bit of movement. Towards the end of my set this morning I had a few 'goes' at panning and going off that I would guess my keep rate may be around 7% if I opted for this method all the time. I realise that the technique is one that gets better with practice so maybe I will have a play on non paying jobs although would douby anyone uses this technique for a full 'paying' set - or maybe I'm wrong and close to 100% hit rate is doable with practice.............................

Any tips for panning appreciated - I used 1/60th and was hand held sat down and used by left elbow on my knee as a pivot point and followed through after actuation.

I like the background on this but too much up/down movement I think.

BikeRT1.jpg


Fairly sharp on the face but not a fan of the blurred building.

BikeRT2.jpg


And without panning (although I tracked the bike but was on 1/1250th

BikeRT3.jpg
 
Looking at those images I prefer the panning shots.
I do wonder if someone was interested in cycling would prefer the sharp detail of the 3rd shot however.
 
TBH I think cycle panning is always going to be a compromise. Slow enough to get movement in the wheels, also movement in the cyclists legs etc. Fast enough to freeze the cyclist, also freeze the wheels. I think I'd try to find an uncluttered background, blur the background with dof, get a sharp shot of the cyclist. Front on is more dynamic than side shots, too.
 
I can see why you're sitting - it achieves a great low angle.

But, I think that's why your failure rate is high. You're using your knee as a pivot - to do that requires some sort of weird balancing feat! As a rule of thumb I've always stood when panning, with both hands on the camera/lens you're forced to pivot at the waist or hips - you'll get very little (if any) vertical movement this way.

If you still want a low angle try kneeling - you'll still be able to pivot at the waist.
 
the panning shots convey the movement way better than the static shot and are much more interesting as a viewer..
 
Hi Adrian
I have been trying my hand at cycling photos lately, i have a thread going on here with some photos of my attempts few more on my flickr page.
Panning is difficult to get right but when you do they look great. I agree with Barry about standing or kneeling, your movement will be much smoother.
As for the keep rate am lucky to get 5-10% but i really do get picky in the keepers.
I tend to shoot between 1/60 to 1/100 but have been down as low as 1/40 but the keep rate goes down the slower i go.
Practice practice and more practice is the answer.
 
The first two are better.

Where were these taken? Looks like Ironman at Shugborough...
 
Of the 3, the 2nd is the pick for me, as it's a panning shot, which are difficult by as others have said, dynamic. But more so because the bike and cyclist are sharper when comparing things such as the writing on the jersey and the cyclist himself with the first shot.

If I'd pick an order, it would be 2, 3, 1.
 
Cheers for feedback chaps. Event was at Newby Hall (Rubicon Tri - worst organised event I have ever been to but that's another story for another forum).

My pick would be as Simon's above too.

Panning does make for a more dynamic image but could a tog afford to only achieve a 50% hit rate as quite often there is only 1 chance to capture the competitor and whether a pre-paid job or for sale job I would suggest you would need to be close to 100% or a) The event organiser or person paying for the photography would be asking questions or b) Having only 50% (at the very best??) of pics for sale would cap potential sales.

Maybe I'm wrong and togs well practiced in panning can achieve a very high hit rate - would be good to know..........................
 
I prefer the 3rd picture but that's not to say that number 1 and 2 aren't great
 
Birty said:
I prefer the 3rd picture but that's not to say that number 1 and 2 aren't great
Click to expand...

This type of shot is the 'normal' for event photography as it offers the easiest option for the tog to maximise the hit rate to offer the maximum number of shots for sale. Panning type shots that enhance the action do make for a dynamic option and could perhaps lead to an uptake in sales from event photography but I suspect the hit rate from experienced 'panners' would impact on the number of saleable 'dynamic' shots hence my post asking both togs and competitors their thoughts.
 
I much prefer the panning shots and the low POV, however, if the aim is to get a near 100% hit rate a high shutter speed wins out. Having on recently started going to cycle events it can be extremely difficult to get more than 1 shot of a racer unless you can jump back in a car and catch them on another part of the route/course. Criterium's and Cyclocross tend to be circuit based which makes it easier to more than one shot with different backdrops.
Your client/customer may dictate which path you have to go with, have they expressed a preference? ..... (Yeah, we love the blurred shots but we need every rider like this !!! ;-)
 
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