In photography, panning is a technique where the camera is moved horizontally (or vertically) to follow a moving subject, creating a blurred background while keeping the subject relatively sharp. This effect gives a sense of speed and motion to the image. I’ve often admired the shots, but never attempted them. I have Racquel to credit for the inspiration. Some of her first shots reminded me of a few photos snapped by one of my favorite sports photographers, Howard Lao. He has a panning photograph of a women’s 100M race at the Olympics that I’ve always loved, prominently displayed on his home page.

Inspired by my wife’s eye, I decided to give it a try, and I’m growing happier and happier with my results. The Last Chance Sprint Series was the perfect meet to play around a bit. The featured photo at the top of this post was what I would consider a successful attempt to capture one of the prettiest hurdlers I’ve ever photographed, Davis Davis-Lyric. The goal was to try to keep the camera focused on his face as I shot at 1/50 of a second. It worked. Here are a couple more from that meet.

I also attempted a few panning shots at the 2025 CIF State Prelims and State Finals. I chose distance races because I wasn’t confident in the technique and knew I’d have multiple chances to capture runners if I failed. These turned out pretty well. I am planning to do more. I like them.

Jeff Turner

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