Critique me! - Lexus IS300/Porsche Panamera

[ColinP]

My interest in car photography has grown in the past few months. I would like some opinion on some photographs I recently took. If you guys could help, that would be awesome!

Photo 1: Lexus IS300

You could say that this is my fist successful panning shot. My previous panning work has been terrible. Before, I would stand on the side of the road, let a few of my buddies pass me and just try and pan the camera with the car. There was only one good photo that turned out using that method. Yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea to drive side by side going the same speed and taking shots out the window and my result was spectacular. By far one of my best panning photos ever.

Any suggestions on how to achieve the panning method by just standing on the side of a track or road? I'd like to get better at that method of panning.

Photo 2: Porsche Panamera Interior

This was taken in the morning at a local car event. I decided to give the background and foreground a shallow depth of field to keep the subject the Porsche emblem. Just curious as to how you guys like the way the shot was setup, lighting, exposure, ect ect. Also what is your opinion on the stroke around the border I applied in Photoshop? Yay or nay?

Help! Please and thank you!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4415633860_9ce5c22be9_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4241847321_9221d0b471_b.jpg

[Praemunitus]

Panning shot critique:

Pros: You got the background blur.

Cons: The car isn't at all sharp (anywhere) and it's badly blown out.

If you swing your camera at moderate shutter speeds, you'll get blur so that's not the difficult part. Getting the car in focus, sharp, and clear is the tough part. You didn't get that on this shot, I'm afraid.

Keep trying, though!

[Billy Cabral]

Panning shots are hard so don’t get discouraged. That’s why so many use rigs. Its not bad, but what I dis like is the blur behind the car looks photo chopped. I say this because the shadow the car is giving off looks cut off and mainly the blur literally looks like a wall behind the car and very un realistic to me. Was this altered in photoshop?

[ColinP]

From what I hear panning takes practice, so I plan I know I need more work on it. But the reason why I chose this photo is because its the BEST panning shot I have to date. My shutter speed was at 1/13 and my aperture was at f/8.0 Maybe if my shutter was a little faster like 1/30 or 1/50 and my aperture was about f/6.3 i could have achieved a better photo.

With that said, this photo was not at all manipulated. The reason the shadow looks so weird is because there is a ditch on the side, and the shadow falls into that ditch. Practice practice practice!! Haha. Thanks for the opinion guys.

[Praemunitus]

Was this a panning shot (ie, was the car passing you) or was it just a rolling shot (the car stayed behind you while you took the shot)?

If it was a rolling shot, 1/13 is somewhat doable but you'll need slow speeds and steady hands. If you were doing a true panning shot (the vehicle was not holding a steady speed but was instead passing you), you would typically need a tripod or ultra-steady hands to get a good shot at 1/13.

1/80 is typical for rolling shots and for a moderate pan, 1/125 or higher would work just fine to blur the background and wheels while preserving image clarity and sharpness.

Blur on this shot is impressive but with the car being relatively soft, it's a wasted effort.

[ColinP]

This is a rolling shot, for some reason I thought they were the same thing. Anywho, I'll try those other shutter speeds next time I give it a shot.

[PhotosGuy]

Any suggestions on how to achieve the panning method by just standing on the side of a track or road? I'd like to get better at that method of panning. IF that was a panning shot...
First Attempt at Panning (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=804880)

That's not bad for a rolling shot. Keep at it.