How could I have made this better.....

Thank you so much!

 

And ooh I'm an absolute beginner. I have a Nikon D40 with the standard 18-55mm lens, which is what I've used to shoot this.

 

Okay, I like the idea of the shot. I saw that you had a lot of noise that's noticeable in the sky.

What I would suggest... Go back to the same spot, and bring a tripod (if ye got one). Set up and perhaps try and get a slightly higher vantage point to try and get more depth in the lights and less of the sky so that you're aiming down on the road a little bit more. Turn your ISO to between 100-400 and use Aperture priority and take the shot again. That way you'll have a better view of the lights, and it will eliminate some of the noise.

 

Wow, thanks tyler for your quick response. That's exactly what I was looking for

Will try and get and the shot again tonight.

 

Thanks,

And another thing I might add is that the horizon is off... But it looks like you may be on an earthy slope. So it may require some careful tripod stationing to get the horizon level, but that would definitely add to the shot.

If possible try and keep the city lights in the right side of the frame. I think that would be a nice touch to see the headlights streaking toward the city, but that's just my personal taste I guess.

 

Or do some post-processing with PSE and Topaz.

 

To the OP
i suggest getting more of the city into your frame, its a vital part of the picture and i dont think that having it cut off like that is helping anyone, and while youre at it, if its possible to disregard at least one of the two signs on the highway, that would also be benificiary(?) idk the word atm

To Plato
I didnt feel that that edit did a lot for the picture..

 

Except the sky looks blotchy in your edit, Plato. Did you use noise reduction before or after Topaz?

 

also i'd suggest that you turn noise reduction to high, or on in your camera if you can, might help a bit on the dark spots

 

OH,My God,I think this picture's ISO was too high,like it. So I suggest you,the next time,ues F/11 and extended shutter's time.

 

Also BMP isnt a good compression algorithm use Jpeg for photo-realisitic images.

 

Thanks for all the input!

@KIKVISION: Yup, you're right. The ISO was set to Auto and it had took that pic at 1600 ISO.