How do I keep a person sharp while capturing traffic light trails behind them?
Asked 4/19/2016
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I’m trying to photograph my brother standing still with traffic light trails in the background. My camera was on a tripod, autofocus seemed correct, and I used a 5-second self-timer, but my brother still wasn’t sharp. Settings were Nikon D3300, 3-second exposure, f/4.5, ISO 100. Why is the subject blurry, and how can I get a sharp person with motion-blurred traffic behind them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
14
If the camera is on a tripod, and we assume little or no camera movement, then there are two possibilities.
Most likely, at 3", your brother is not going to stay perfectly still and there will be some subject movement. You could fix that in part by using flash during the exposure to freeze the foreground subject.
And also, it's presumably fairly dark, so you may have trouble focusing. And at f/4.5 you will have a hard time getting both your brother, near the camera, and the traffic in the distance, both in focus. You could try moving your brother a bit further away, or use a higher aperture, f/8 or f/11 say and bump up ISO to 800 or 1600 to compensate
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
10y ago
0
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Your brother is likely blurry because a 3-second exposure records any small movement from him, even if the camera is steady. Breathing or slight swaying is enough to soften the subject.
The usual fix is to combine the long exposure with flash so the traffic records as streaks but the person is frozen by a brief burst of light. Use rear/second-curtain sync so the flash fires at the end of the exposure, which helps keep the light trails looking natural.
A few other things will help:
- Stop down more, such as f/8 or f/11, to increase depth of field.
- Raise ISO if needed to compensate for the smaller aperture.
- If possible, place your brother farther from the camera, or closer to the flash, while keeping the traffic farther behind him.
- In low light, autofocus can struggle, so confirm focus carefully.
In short: the blur is mostly subject movement during the long exposure. A tripod prevents camera shake, but not subject motion. For a sharp person plus traffic trails, use a long exposure with flash, ideally second-curtain sync.
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