Panning Tip #1: Aim small, miss small. This phrase is famous among shooting sports athletes. It means that the smaller a point you train your focus on, the less movement you will be tolerant to. You can apply this to panning photography and significantly improve the percentage of keeper shots you take. Instead of aiming big and just trying to keep the bicyclist in the middle of the frame, aim small and try to keep the cyclist’s eye on one of your focus points.
Panning Tip #2: Use a flash on rear-curtain sync to freeze the subject. This is not necessary all the time, but can certainly be a valuable method in some situations.
Panning Tip #3: Shoot when the subject is directly in front of you. If you shoot while the subject is angled toward or away from you, the perspective will change slightly during the exposure, which will produce a less sharp subject.
Panning Tip #4: Use a monopod. This will significantly improve the sharpness of the subject since the camera will not shake up and down. (By the way,
Panning Tip #5: Twist with your hips. If you simply turn your head and arms rather than spinning at the trunk, you will be less steady and the photo will be less sharp.
Panning Tip #6: Do not trust the LCD. Many of your panning shots will look sharp on the LCD, but it is almost impossible to determine if the photo is truly sharp without looking at the photo large on the computer. Zooming in on the LCD can help, but I personally can never tell without seeing it large.