first time night shots with long exposure

hayleyfraser24

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aberdeenshire, Scotland
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hayleyfraserphotography.co.uk
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so me and my older brother have a freindly competition going on and this weeks theme was traffic at night... as this was my first go so I just tried to find a flyover to take photos of a carrigeway to practice, my tripod had to be set higher than me to get over the barrier so I was at a dissadvantage as I couldnt really see what I was shooting, I used a remote controll and thought the pics were ok but when I got home they were all out of focus, my camera was on auto focus and it had trouble focusing in on anything, I used shutter priority of about 10 seconds, any tips for next time? I want to beat my brother! At one point unexpectidley fireworks started going off in the background! I was in the middle of setting my camera functions and got in such a panic to shoot the damn pic while they were going off! Its a shame it didnt work out im sure it would have made a great little accident! C and C always appreciated!

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The last one is the best for me. Probably no comments because it's been done 1,000 times before.

The thing is with shots like this you have to also have some interest in the scene. The lights don't really come across as interesting.
 
fair comment, I was just practicing, I was hoping someone had some tips on focus, I seem to have problems with this alot and dont know what im doing wrong?

The camera's auto-focus relies on contrast to focus correctly. If the scene is lacking in contrast then the camera will have a hard time focusing. Since your scene is mostly black there is very little contrast.

Switch to single point focus and then point that single point over an area where there is high contrast; ground to sky, etc. Your camera will have an easier time focusing. You can recompose after it has focused if you want to, either switch it to manual focus, or keep the shutter button depressed one notch to keep focus.
 
fair comment, I was just practicing, I was hoping someone had some tips on focus, I seem to have problems with this alot and dont know what im doing wrong?

The camera's auto-focus relies on contrast to focus correctly. If the scene is lacking in contrast then the camera will have a hard time focusing. Since your scene is mostly black there is very little contrast.

Switch to single point focus and then point that single point over an area where there is high contrast; ground to sky, etc. Your camera will have an easier time focusing. You can recompose after it has focused if you want to, either switch it to manual focus, or keep the shutter button depressed one notch to keep focus.

Thanks, ill try that, its so frustrating as I often find its not untill I get home and zoom in on the photo that I realise that the focus isnt great, its been a constant thorn in the side for me with my shots! your advice is appreciated!:)
 
Railphotog hit the nail on the head. Auto focus is great when it can focus. In a situation like this manual focus will definitely produce better results.
 
I might have hung the shutter open a little longer and gotten a little more light into the shots. Or opened up the aperture more... either way, IMHO, the foregrounds are just too dark.
 

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