The Art of Landscape Panning

Panning in photography is usually associated with moving objects like cars, bikes or even animals. But panning can also be applied in the landscape genre, as a way to create abstract and dreamy images with an almost painterly feel to them.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is panning?

Panning is a technique that combines a slower shutter speed with camera motion during the exposure to create a sense of movement in the image. In landscape photography, we’re adding movement to an otherwise still image to create a unique, artistic visual of the scene.

Haven’t tried panning before? Below are six steps to help you create your first panned image.

1. Find your scene

Find a scene that isn’t too cluttered, and has some sort of vertical or horizontal lines. For example, you can use a body of water with a horizon and sky above, or a stand of nicely spaced trees. Panning can be done either vertically or horizontally depending on your subject.