Step 3 Before you go out and start shooting action images at a special sporting event, we recommend that you do some testing near your home. This will ensure that you have the right camera, lens, and expertise to accomplish your goal. The easiest subjects to find are cars or bicycles as they pass you going down the street. With these subjects, it is easy to anticipate the action and it is easily repeatable. Try both styles of pan-action settings and note the best settings. If you are using a digital camera, it is imperative that you preview your images on a computer screen before deciding which setting works best. The image on your LCD may look great, but upon future examination, you may find that further adjustments to your settings are necessary. Step 4 The key now is to use this gained knowledge and information as the basis of the shots you take in the field. As you become more accomplished in the photo techniques, you can then expand your settings to provide a variety of image effects. To maintain the highest image quality throughout a series, it is best to follow through the action using the continuous shooting mode. If you stop at a point in the action that you think will be the best frame, there is a tendency to jerk the camera on the last frame. To achieve a smooth effect, it is better to follow through the entire action sequence. Sure it will provide added images that you don’t need, but it will give you better quality on the keepers. Continuous Shooting Mode With film cameras this can be a bit expensive as you will use more film, but just think of it as sacrificing many to get the “one.” Digital camera users don’t have to worry as they can just keep changing memory cards until they have the “shot.” The unused images can be deleted, or transferred to CD for further analysis. Step 5 When you start shooting in the field we recommend that you begin with the technique of using high shutter-speed settings. These images are easier to take as almost everything in the image will be sharp depending on your shutter speed and aperture combination. It is much harder to get a bad shot with these settings, especially if all your automated camera functions are working properly. This image of an ATV driver doing wheelies across the dunes was taken on a digital SLR camera with a shutter speed of 1¼1000 at ISO 400. Step 6 Once you feel you are getting great images using the high-speed shutter setup, you should then change over to the slow shutter speed settings. Try 1¼15, 1¼30, and 1¼60 as each subject passes, remembering to pan and follow though. To really see how you are doing with your digital camera, you will either have to use the zoom function on the LCD to preview enlarged sections of the image, or review the image on a laptop computer. Don’t get frustrated, as it takes some time before you start to get some great images. Once you have your exposure zeroed in, the biggest problem will be due to hesitation during the panning process. The smoother you can pan with the subject as it passes by, the better your shots. This is the same ATV driver as shown before, but now the shutter speed was 1¼30. Only one out of five shots in a continuous series had the desired image content. Step 7 Once you have acquired some good shots using slow shutter speeds, it is time to experiment with wider lenses and get closer to the action. In this case we used a 28–300mm zoom set to 75mm as the ATV driver zoomed by. Step 8 If you have perfected your panning skills and have become proficient at both styles of panning techniques, then you are probably ready for the more advanced pan-action techniques. Using the slow shutter speed settings, pan the subject as it passes by and move the zoom function as the subject approaches. Practice framing and zooming the subject to the desired image size as it cruises past. Not much of the zooming effect will be evident, but the small portion that shows will add an increased feeling of motion. Step 9 Now it is time to play and expand your settings beyond those you have used up to this point. One of our favorite creative effects is to use a very slow shutter speed setting when panning images. For this photo we panned with the subject using just 1¼11 second shutter speed. The background will be extremely blurred and the subject will even start to form secondary ghosting images. Not everyone will like this type of image, as it falls into creative subjectivity. Bottom Line Pan-action photography will allow you to produce some very exciting images of objects in motion. The key is to understand the potential of both your shooting skills and your camera equipment. Take some time to practice and experiment so you have a good working system and then go out and capture some great action images.