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I first created an empty

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Then added the camera and aligned it to the empty. Selected the empty first and then the camera and made a parent.

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After which i created the Main Target empty

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Following the steps in the 2nd Answer, i added the "track to" constraint on the empty (parented to the camera). And then set the target as the target empty.

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Since after adding the constraint. The parented empty and camera were facing the wrong direction. So, i changed the rotation of the camera to face the Target.

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After which is tracking the target no matter where i move the parented empty and is free to rotate.

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Did i do it right? and why does the camera and parent empty face away form the target when given the "track to" constraint.

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    $\begingroup$ Hello maybe use a Damped Track instead? $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 14:57
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    $\begingroup$ you could also constrain an empty instead of the camera and parent the camera to the empty, this way the camera is free to rotate however you want $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 16:03
  • $\begingroup$ So basically what u mean is, instead of adding constraint to the camera, add the constraint to the empty and make the target as the camera? @moonboots $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 17:24
  • $\begingroup$ I'm not talking about the empty the camera is pointing towards, I'm talking about a new empty ;) $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 17:32
  • $\begingroup$ So you keep the original empty and constraint a new empty to it and then parent the camera to the new empty right. If so how do you parent the camera to the new empty 😅. I’m sorry, new to blender trying to understand the process properly. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 19:37

2 Answers 2

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You can create a new empty, align your camera with this empty and parent it to the empty:

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Give the Track To constraint to this empty, the camera will follow but you are still free to rotate it on its Z axis:

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Another solution is to give a Damped Track constraint to the camera, with this constraint the rotation on the camera's Z axis is free:

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for giving me a visual representation. i was able to understand the method. I have changed my question in post and followed you steps but i have some questions of my own regarding, why does the camera and parent empty face away form the target when given the "track to" constraint. Please see the visuals and let me know if i did anything wrong. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 21 at 21:01
  • $\begingroup$ In the constraint, you need to choose Track Axis > Z and Up > X? $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 22 at 5:26
  • $\begingroup$ I tried, it didn’t work but thanks for showing me how to do it. It’s fine if the camera is not facing the target, for now I will just charge its orientation. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 22 at 10:45
  • $\begingroup$ maybe share your file? blend-exchange.com $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 22 at 10:47
  • $\begingroup$ <img src="https://blend-exchange.com/embedImage.png?bid=zQPonXNN" /> here is the project file $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 22 at 14:06
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Now you have two objects

  • Empty (target)
  • Camera (track to target)

Add another empty:

  • Empty (target)
  • Empty2 (track to target)
  • Camera (child of Empty2, can rotate freely on its local Z and still be tracking)
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  • $\begingroup$ I tried it, the camera is rotating but The camera is not tracking the “Target Empty” at all. What I did was, I parented the camera and Empty 2 after which I added the “track to” constraint to Empty 2 and selected the “Target Empty” as the target to track. So please do make me understand what I did wrong. 😅. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 20:20
  • $\begingroup$ @SamuelVictor, if you don't show it, with images, and maybe the file, we can't imagine. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 17 at 23:23
  • $\begingroup$ @SamuelVictor This is really a simple task so I don't know what would go wrong. Did you parent the camera just arbitrarily to Empty2 where it was or moved it to the same location as Empty2 and aligned it before parenting? If you did not do that the camera will keep its position and rotation offset from Empty2, so when that points to Target Empty, the camera will of course point elsewhere according to its offset from the parent. When Empty2 tracks the target then obviously the child camera has to be aligned with it before parenting so that the camera is aligned with the tracking direction. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 18 at 9:25
  • $\begingroup$ @GordonBrinkmann i will start watching the basics on parenting and how objects react when this is done. Iam figuring out things slowly as iam watching tutorials specifically to what my needs are right now. And none of them showed me anything about parenting except one but didnt give it much thought. But as i was trying to figure out how to shot different shots by using the camera, that's when i came across parenting again. so i asked the question here. But thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I will be mindful of the basics and then as questions 😁. $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 21 at 20:58

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