Just Waiting

[Krista-Rose]

Okay, I'm not even sure that I like this photo, so I want to know what others think about it. Does the lights make it more interesting, or just overpowering? I like the american flag, but is it noticable enough? And is the photo itself to dark to see the anxious people waiting for fireworks? Thank you!

Camera maker: Fujifilm
Camera model: FinePix S1000fd
F-stop: f/6.4
Exposure time: 8 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-100
Focal length: 6mm
max aperture: 2.97

[Doug Sundseth]

1) It looks to me like you have motion blur or focus issues. The photo is blurry through its entire depth. For a long exposure like this, you'll need to use a tripod. And when it's dim, autofocus can fail badly, so you might need to use manual focus to get a result that is sharp enough.

2) Taking pictures of people with an 8 second exposure, you're almost certainly going to get quite a bit of subject movement blur. I'd recommend raising your ISO as high as you can stand the noise and opening your aperture up as wide as it will go to reduce your exposure time.

3) The picture is dark enough throughout that I don't think I could have figured it out without your text. Part of the photo needs to be brighter (and the lights don't count ). Right now, I mostly see the flare from the lights. If you were to compose with the lights out of the frame, you might get a more satisfactory result.

4) I don't think the flags are well-enough lit to be a focus of the photo as you took it. There are ways to drop more light onto a part of the frame (off-camera flash, light-painting, or dodging in post). Those are probably beyond the scope of this discussion, though. If you'd like specific details of those, let me know or post a question in the appropriate forum.

HTH