How to photograph the Northern Lights

Why the aurora needs a different kind of photograph

An aurora is faint light in a dark sky, and a camera left to itself gets both wrong. The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) says it plainly: a camera’s automatic modes may not manage to focus on or expose the aurora correctly, so you need a camera with full manual controls. Because the exposures are long, you also need a tripod and a cable or remote release, or the camera’s self-timer, so that pressing the button does not shake the frame.

The rest follows from the same problem. You want as much light as possible in each frame (a wide aperture and a high ISO), you want the focus fixed where the aurora is (at infinity, not wherever the autofocus lands in the dark), and you want to judge each shot on the screen and adjust. FMI’s advice ends with the most honest line in any settings guide: find a suitable exposure time by experimenting.

What to bring

Dress for standing still, too. FMI notes that good aurora weather, a clear and dark night, is usually cold in Finland. Our what to wear guide covers the layers.

Northern Lights camera settings to start from

There is no correct setting, only a starting point. The table puts FMI’s advice beside Nikon’s, which is the one camera maker’s guide we could open in full.

Nikon’s US site shows how wide the real range is. One photographer it features works at shutter speeds from 2 up to 30 seconds, and its captioned examples include 6 seconds at f/1.8 and ISO 1600, and 15 seconds at f/1.8 and ISO 2000.

How to move from the starting point is a matter of reading your own screen. If the frame is too dark, a longer exposure or a higher ISO brings in more light; if a bright, fast-moving aurora turns into a smooth green smear, a shorter exposure keeps more of its shape, and you raise the ISO to make up the light. Check each shot at full magnification, because a small screen hides soft focus.

Photographing the Northern Lights on iPhone and Android

A phone will not match a camera on a tripod, but the makers have built night modes for exactly this kind of light. They work best when the phone is not in your hand.

On an iPhone

On supported models, Apple says Night mode turns on automatically in low light and sets the exposure time itself, which you can change by hand. Apple’s own tip is to use a tripod for more detailed Night mode photos. Hold still until the capture finishes; crosshairs on the screen mean the phone has detected movement.

On a Google Pixel

Tap Night Sight and set the phone down somewhere steady, on a stand or a tripod, without your hands. Google says the shutter then switches to Astrophotography mode by itself and shows a countdown; keep the phone still until it ends. A self-timer of a few seconds helps keep it steady.

On a Samsung Galaxy or another Android phone

Samsung’s Expert RAW app has an Astrophotography mode with adjustable focus, white balance and exposure time, which Samsung lists for the S23 and S22 series. Other Android phones differ by maker and model, so check your own maker’s guide before the trip, not in the dark.

The cold is the phone’s real limit. Apple designs iPhones for ambient temperatures between 0 and 35 °C, and says that using one in very cold conditions can shorten battery life for a while and may make it turn off. Keep the phone in an inside pocket between shots.

What the camera sees and what you see

Your photographs will usually be brighter and greener than the sky in front of you. NOAA says modern digital cameras are often more sensitive than the human eye, and can record an aurora and its colours when it is too dim for you to see. FMI explains the other half: in dim light the eye separates colours poorly, so the aurora looks paler to the naked eye than in photographs.

That cuts both ways. A faint grey arc that you are not sure about may show clearly green on the back of the camera, so it is worth a test shot. And a strong photograph proves the camera saw an aurora, not that you did. The Northern Lights hub explains what decides whether there is one to see.

Protect your own eyes while you work. FMI says full night vision takes tens of minutes, and advises using only a dim red light if you need a lamp at all. Turn your phone and camera screens down as far as they go.

Where and when to set up

A good photograph starts with the same conditions as a good view. FMI advises an open place as dark as possible, away from the light pollution of towns. Especially in southern Finland, it says, the aurora usually shows in the northern sky, so a good place has a clear view at least to the northern horizon. It puts the typical time for the aurora at a couple of hours either side of midnight. Visit Finland dates the season in Lapland from the end of August to April.

Two things to remember, whatever the forecast:

• Set up the tripod and focus before the display starts. Focusing by feel in the cold, with gloves on, is slow.
• Choose a foreground. Open ground with a lake shore, a fell or a line of trees in the frame gives the sky a sense of scale.

If you would rather have help with the camera, some guided tours are built around photography. Our Northern Lights tours page explains what a guided night includes, and the Northern Lights trips page how to plan a stay around several evenings.

What people get wrong

That one setting is the right one. FMI’s own advice is to find the exposure by trying. Every guide’s numbers are a starting point for one kind of night.

That autofocus will cope. In the dark it hunts or settles on the wrong thing. Switch to manual and set infinity before you need it, and check it on a bright star.

That a phone photo in the hand will do. Night modes need stillness. Rest the phone on something, or use a small tripod.

That the batteries will last the night. Cold takes charge quickly. Carry a spare in an inside pocket and swap them.

That bringing the camera straight inside is fine. A sudden change of temperature can cause condensation. Nikon’s advice is to put the camera in a bag or its case before the change, so let it warm up in there before you take it out.

That a better camera means a better chance. It does not change whether the aurora appears. Nobody can promise that. More clear, dark nights do more for your photographs than any lens.