Panning for action shots

Thursday 9 April 2026, 22:11 by Nando Harmsen | 1,381 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

You can photograph fast-moving subjects with a very fast shutter speed. The movement is frozen. Everything is still at that moment. Sometimes that is perfect. Sometimes you want to see movement. Panning is essential in both cases.

A frozen moment of fast movement requires a fast shutter speed. Sometimes that shutter speed needs to be 1/2000 sec or even faster. If you choose a slower shutter speed, you will start to see movement. Speed becomes visible.

1/2000s is fast enough to freeze movement. But to keep the dog in the frame, you have to follow it. This is panning.
In both cases, you will need to move the camera along with the movement. It is almost impossible to keep the camera still and get a moving subject sharply in the frame. Especially with fast movements.

That is why you follow the subject and press the shutter button. You also take a (short) series of photos, at least in most cases. From these, you choose the best photo, which often depends on the position of the paws and legs, or the background.

This movement is called panning. You use it for all movements that go parallel to the camera. This is regardless of the shutter speed you use. Panning increases the chance of a successful action shot.

Panning allows you to use slower shutter speeds while following the subject. This was taken at 112mm (1.5x crop) and 1/100 sec.
But panning also gives you the opportunity to make the movement visible. By deliberately using a slow shutter speed, you create a sense of speed. Paws and legs are no longer sharp, or the background becomes blurred.

The amount of movement in the frame is determined by speed, distance, focal length, and shutter speed. This was taken at 200mm and 1/20 sec.
It is not easy to use panning with slower shutter speeds. It takes practice, and the way your subject moves plays a role in whether you succeed. A car or bicycle is relatively easy. That movement is constant.

Animals are more difficult, especially if the movement is unpredictable. The distance to the subject also plays a role, as does the focal length. The closer you are, the more difficult it is. And then there is also speed.

A cyclist on the way home with 28mm (1.5x crop) and 1/5 second.
Moving along with a subject is fairly easy to practise and get the hang of. But choosing the shutter speed that gives the desired effect is difficult. This requires less practice than experience.

A cyclist in the city at 23.4mm (1.5x crop) and 1/15 second
Sometimes 1/125 sec is right, while in other cases 1/20 sec is better. There are situations where half a second produces the desired effect. Take the movement of the subject itself, its speed, and the distance into account.

It becomes easier if you always photograph the same subject. Always horses, or dogs, or cars, or birds. You then gain experience with the appropriate shutter speed, because you develop a feel for the subject's movement and speed.

Flying geese at 500mm and 1/40 sec
So you cannot learn panning with slow shutter speeds by doing it just once. You cannot learn it by watching a video or reading an article. You have to practise it often, just as with all photography.

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