In our latest concise guide to improving your safari photography we look at creating dynamic action shots with panning techniques.

Lowering your ISO and closing down the camera aperture might seem strange advice when the wildlife action’s kicking off all around you, but photographing with slow shutter speeds and panning with your camera can be very effective at conveying the sheer beauty and exhilaration of speed in a still image.

Guests on safari often confess to us that these ‘blurry’ motion shots aren’t quite their cup of tea … until we have an overcast session, when achieving sufficient shutter speeds for pin-sharp action pictures isn’t realistic, and they have a go at panning. Most end up with the zeal of recent converts; especially when they discover how simple it is to get some cool results.

Given there’s such a proliferation of conventional wildlife action imagery out there, especially now the top-end DSLRs and mirrorless cameras remove much of the challenge in nailing that decisive moment, it’s certainly worth exploring what else you can do photographically to communicate the grace or explosive power of full-blown wildlife action where you can.

Panning shots are also a great way to extend your photography time on safari. When light levels become unusable and you’re ready to pack away your kit, try slowing your shutter speed to get more light in and track what’s stirring out there in the twilight. Those mysterious and moodily blurred captures you end up with just might have the winning animal magic you’re looking for.

Our top tips for panning shots

• Panning shots work best in overcast or low light conditions and when animals are moving across your field of vision rather than towards you.
• If you don’t use back-button focus as we do make sure you switch to your camera’s focus tracking mode for photographing moving subjects before you begin.
• Aim to move the camera at the same speed as the animal moving through your frame so the background is blurred but some of your subject retains sharpness or a suggestion of it.
• Be prepared to take lots of images. Many panning shots don’t work, but you’ll be surprised how soon you get something you’re pleased with. A considerable amount of trial and error is required so it helps if you do panning shots when you have a consistently active subject, but never make your subjects run so you can get your shots.
• It’s not possible to be prescriptive about shutter speed settings for panning shots because each situation will be slightly different: for starters, not all subjects move at the same pace. Generally speaking we’re looking at photographing moving wildlife subjects with shutter speeds somewhere between 1/15 sec and 1/50 sec (the latter used more for birds in flight).
• You can sometimes pull off motion shots when your subject is just ambling by but you’ll need even slower speeds – as low as 1/6 sec or thereabouts – and a good, steady panning technique.
• The shutter speed you finally settle on isn’t solely dependent on your subject and the light conditions on the day, it’s down to you to decide how blurred and impressionistic you want your motion shots to be. The slower your speed in relation to your subject’s pace the more abstract your image is likely to be. Decide what it is you want to convey about your subject’s movement. You may want just a hint of movement in your shot like blurred wings or something more full-on where subject and background appears to be speeding by.
• It can help to use shutter speed priority for panning shots so you can control your shutter speed settings more readily, although we’ll often stick to aperture priority mode, which is how we mostly shoot, and adjust settings as the situation, and what we want from it, develops in the field. See what works for you.
• When conditions are a bit too bright to achieve the slow speed you’ll need you can either reduce your ISO more or stop down further. 

• Panning smoothly in pace with a subject moving in parallel to you takes practice.  Keep your camera level. A tripod with ball head or gimbal helps if you’re panning with a big telephoto lens so you can track the subject smoothly. On game drives on our safaris, however, we often find it works fine to handhold for these shots as we can get fairly close to subjects and brace as we pan with medium telephoto zooms (like our 100-400mms lenses).
• Panning shots are a great way to neatly separate a moving subject from its background because your background will record as streaks or flashes of colour rather than anything recognisable that could distract from your subject.
• That said you still need to be savvy about your choice of background when doing motion blur images because you need those streaks or flashes of colour to be reasonably regular and uniform. It will help if your subject is running through open rather than heavily vegetated, varied terrain; so avoid situations where mammals are running through cluttered spaces or birds are flying low against a busy tree canopy. Fairly uniform backgrounds such as water, sky, desert, open plains, savannah, grassland – are your best bets for background choices.
• Add drama and interest to panning shots by photographing subjects running through dusty terrain or shallow pans of water.
• Although it’s a matter of personal taste just how much sharpness, if any, you record, the received wisdom about panning shots is that you should try to achieve some sharpness, or suggestion of sharpness in the eye or the head of your moving subject for the shot to be successful. Try to keep the focus on that part of your subject as you’re firing the shutter.
• One of the downsides of panning shots, especially where you’ve had to stop down a lot, is that you’re going to have be quite painstaking in post-processing when removing all the tiny dust specks that will show up on your image. Only process your best shot of any panning session – unless you’re happy perpetually cleaning up tons of panning pictures.
• Bear in mind you may need to make minor adjustments to contrast and exposure levels in post processing. Try to avoid too much heavy contrast as it tends to make panning shots look quite muddy.
• If you have fun doing panning shots, try taking things a step further and upset the natural order of things with some ‘out there’ images that record familiar wildlife subjects purely as abstract shapes and swirls of colour. The goal is to produce something that appeals on an aesthetic level even if the subject matter’s not instantly apparent to your audience.

Impala on the move, Zimanga, South Africa

Sharpness in the head of your subject – or one head among the graceful herd of running impala – is what you’re generally aiming for, but there’s no legal requirement that anything at all has to be sharp if you’re going for something completely edgy and abstract.

Canon EOS 1Dx II, EF100-400mm, 1/25 sec, f/11, ISO 100