P#15: Capturing a Shot of a Spirited German Shorthaired Pointer

Movement in a Snapshot

This is a shot of my little devil German Shortharied Pointer who steals the toys out of my camera bag.

They always say to use the fastest shutter speed, and with the first one I did indeed freeze him, but sometimes there's not enough light to freeze your dog at fast shutter speeds, or sometimes you just don't want that effect. (click the image for a larger version)

In this picture, I switched to a very slow shutter speed, maybe 1/15th of a second or 1/30th of a second. I panned with him so my camera stayed steady on him as he ran past, and I took the photograph with a slow shutter speed that has a much more artistic feel.

It communicates action just as well as the high shutter speed action, but creates a totally different effect. You can use this technique when you run out of light or when you just want this type of an effect.

Audri Lanford: We've talked a lot about panning in this series. In fact, I interviewed Charlie Borland a few weeks ago. We were talking about panning in terms of action photography. It's the same concept. The panned picture really gives that sense of motion.

Jenni Bidner: Both of these photos of my German Shorthaired Pointer are actually panned. It's really important for action shots, even when you're using fast shutter speeds to pan, because you will get sharper images, even when it's super fast. The difference is in the slow shutter speed. The slow shutter speed really allows you to see the blur.

I always suggest that my students do panned blurs just to practice panning. If your timing is off, it will really show up in thee blur shots.

If you don't have a dog to run back and forth, go to the street and photograph the cars going back and forth and try and freeze the driver. It's a great way to practice your panning and it will improve every picture you take of a moving subject, whether they're walking, running, or you're using it for a thousandth of a second. This is really a technique you want to learn.

In Closing

If you're serious about your dog photography skills, you need to learn proper panning. That's how Jenni Bidner was able to capture this adorable shot of her energetic German Shorthaired Pointer.