THE SOLUTION
Shooting moving traffic against the backdrop of a city skyline is a simple exposure as long as you have a tripod. The highly sensitive light meters in today’s cameras make the job of establishing a correct exposure easy, even in very dim light. You just need to know where to take your meter reading. In my many years of making these images, the correct option is almost always the sky.
Here is how to capture stunning images of moving traffic in low light:
• Attach your camera to a sturdy tripod.
• Meter off of the sky, and then recompose to find your ideal composition.
• The speed and volume of the traffic will dictate shutter speed, but you’ll want a minimum of 2 seconds to blur out the individual cars and create the long light trails from their headlights and taillights. If necessary, lower your ISO to force the slower shutter speed.
• If you want great storytelling depth of field, use a wide-angle lens set to f/16 or f/22.
• If sky will be part of your composition, stage your shoot during the dusky blue period just after sundown, before the sky fades to black, or just after sunrise, while the morning light is still a warm glow.
• If the sky will not be part of the composition, you can shoot at any time of night. Just remember that the best traffic for this type of image occurs during the morning and evening commutes.
TIP: THE BEST TIMES TO CAPTURE MOVING TRAFFIC
The best traffic shots take place when the traffic flow is at its peak (typically Monday through Friday during the morning and evening commutes) and when there is soft light from a dawn or dusk sky to provide nice contrast. The time of year also plays an important role. The odds of combining a dawn or dusk sky with heavy traffic flows increases substantially during the late fall, winter, and early spring, because the sunrise and sunset times are closer to the heaviest commuting times. Plus, most of a city’s skyline will still be well lit during those times since they are closer to the actual work hours. These realities explain why the weekend photographer often comes up empty when trying for moving traffic shots with city skylines, since the interior office lights of the city skylines are often turned off and there is seldom a rush hour on Saturdays and Sundays.
When shooting this simple composition of an S-curve on Interstate 5 approaching downtown Seattle, I saw six possible options for recording a correct exposure, the two most extreme shown here. In terms of their quantitative value, both images are exactly the same exposure. However, they are vastly different in terms of their creative exposure, particularly as it relates to the emphasis on motion. It has and will always be my goal to present motion-filled opportunities in the most motion-filled way. More often than not, when there is motion in a scene, the longer the exposure time, the greater the conveyance of motion. The first image was shot at f/4 for 1/2 sec. For the second image, I used f/16 for 8 seconds. Just so there is no confusion, this is not bracketing, since both exposures are the same in terms of their quantitative value.
An exercise such as this is truly eye-opening. The next time you head out the door to shoot city lights at dusk, don’t hesitate to use slower shutter speeds. As this example shows, the slower shutter speed exposure had the best effect.
A faster shutter speed records only minimal
motion.
200–400mm lens at 400mm, f/4 for 1/2 sec., ISO
100, white balance set to Cloudy
A longer shutter speed records a more compelling
image.
200–400mm lens at 400mm, f/16 for 8 seconds,
ISO 100, white balance set to Cloudy
From atop the steep incline on Treasure Island, a truly magnificent view of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco awaits. With my camera and 70–200mm lens mounted on a tripod, I set the ISO to 100 (to force a slow shutter speed) and chose an aperture of f/11. Metering off the dusky blue sky to the right of the bridge, I adjusted my shutter speed until 4 seconds indicated a correct exposure. Then I returned to the composition you see in the first image and fired away. At this slow shutter speed, I recorded the slow but steady flow of traffic.
As idyllic as this scene is, however, there was another dynamic image to be made, an image that exhibits an ideal combination of motion, lines, and color. After switching my 70–200mm lens for my 200–400mm lens, I kept the same exposure and composed this vertical composition of just the bridge.
On your next outing, take a closer look and see if you have another photographic opportunity to shoot. You might discover that you have been picking up your tripod and moving on to the next great shot a bit too prematurely.
A slow shutter speed nicely records the flow of
traffic.
70–200mm lens, f/11 for 4
seconds
A more dynamic composition of the same
scene.
200–400mm lens, f/11 for 4
seconds
From Place de la Concorde in Paris, one can look straight up the Champs-Elysé́es at the distant Arc de Triomphe. Within that precious 20 minutes of dusky blue sky, and with the aid of a telephoto zoom lens, one can “stack” the constant traffic that runs up and down the Champs-Elysées. With the emphasis on creating a motion-filled landscape, I chose an ISO of 100 and an aperture of f/22 to force the slowest shutter speed. With my Nikon D3X and 70–300mm lens firmly mounted on a tripod, I aimed the camera at the dusky blue sky above and adjusted my shutter speed until 8 seconds indicated a correct exposure. I then recomposed the shot and, with the camera’s self-timer set to a 2-second delay, pressed the shutter release.
Dusk is one of the best times to photograph
traffic.
70–300mm lens, f/22 for 8
seconds