How to photograph the northern lights: planning, settings and tips
The northern lights are one of the most rewarding night subjects, and also one of the least predictable. You cannot schedule them, but you can stack the odds: go to the right place in the dark season, watch the forecasts and wait under a clear sky. Once the aurora appears, the method is a steady tripod, manual focus at infinity and a fixed starting exposure that you adjust as the lights change. Expect the camera to record more colour than you see: a faint aurora often looks like a pale grey cloud to the eye and turns green only on the screen. This guide covers planning, gear, focus, settings and composition, then adds a phone version, fixes for common problems and a few rules of safety and courtesy.
Starting settings
| Setting | Start here | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Mode and file | Manual (M), RAW | 4 |
| Aperture | Widest: f/1.4–f/2.8 | 4 |
| ISO | 800–3200, often 1600 | 4 |
| Shutter | About 2–15 s, shorter for fast curtains | 5 |
| Focus | Manual, set on a star at infinity | 3 |
| White balance | About 3,500–4,000 K | 4 |
| Noise reduction and IS | Long-exposure NR off, stabilisation off | 4 |
| Support | Tripod and remote or 2-second timer | 2 |
1Plan where and when
The aurora forms in a ring around each magnetic pole called the auroral oval. Under it, in places such as northern Norway, Iceland, Finnish Lapland, northern Canada and Alaska, the lights can appear on many clear nights. In the southern hemisphere the aurora australis is seen from Tasmania, southern New Zealand and Antarctica. During strong geomagnetic storms the oval expands and the lights can reach much lower latitudes.
In the north you need real darkness, so the season runs roughly from September to March. A new moon or a moon below the horizon gives the darkest sky, though a little moonlight can light a snowy foreground nicely. Clouds are the main reason trips fail, so a clear forecast matters as much as aurora activity.
- Check space-weather forecasts such as the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) for the Kp index and the short-term aurora forecast. Kp is a rough guide only: under the oval even Kp 2–3 can give a good show.
- Check a local cloud forecast and be ready to drive to where the sky is clear.
- Get away from towns and street lights; even a small village glow washes out faint aurora near the horizon.
- Arrive early, ideally before full dark, to find your spot and set up while you can still see.
- Be patient: activity often comes in waves, with quiet periods and sudden bursts, frequently around and after midnight.
2Bring the right gear
Aurora photos are long exposures in the dark and often in the cold. A solid tripod and a wide, fast lens matter more than the camera body, and cold weather drains batteries far faster than usual.
- Use a sturdy tripod, spread it on firm ground or packed snow and keep the centre column down.
- Choose a wide lens (about 14–24 mm on full frame) with a wide maximum aperture, ideally f/2.8 or brighter.
- Carry two or three charged spare batteries in an inside pocket close to your body, and swap them as they cool.
- Bring a headlamp with a red light mode, so you can see your controls without ruining your night vision or other people's photos.
- Dress for standing still: thermal layers, insulated boots, a hat and thin gloves under thick mittens so you can still press buttons.
3Focus manually on infinity
Autofocus rarely locks on a dark sky. The stars and the aurora are effectively at infinity, but the infinity mark on many lenses is not exact, so you need to set and check focus yourself.
- Switch the lens or camera to manual focus (MF).
- Point at a bright star, a planet or a distant light, turn on live view and magnify it as far as the screen allows.
- Turn the focus ring slowly until the star is the smallest, sharpest point you can get.
- Tape the focus ring so it cannot move, and check a test shot zoomed in. Recheck after changing lenses or if the lens has cooled a lot.
4Set mode, aperture, ISO and white balance
Unlike fireworks, the aurora is a dim light source, so you gather as much light as possible with a wide aperture and a fairly high ISO. Manual mode keeps the exposure fixed so the camera does not try to turn the night into day.
The values here are estimates and starting points. Check the screen and histogram after each test shot and adjust.
- Set the camera to manual (M) and shoot RAW, so you can adjust colour and noise later.
- Open the aperture fully: f/1.4–f/2.8 depending on the lens.
- Start at ISO 1600. Go down to 800 for a bright display or moonlit scene, up to 3200 for a faint one.
- Set white balance to around 3,500–4,000 K for a natural, slightly cool sky instead of auto, which can shift from frame to frame.
- Turn off long-exposure noise reduction (it doubles every exposure and you miss moments) and turn off image stabilisation on the tripod. Turn off the flash.
5Choose the shutter speed
The shutter speed is the setting you change most. A slow, quiet arc can take 10–15 seconds, but fast dancing curtains blur into a smooth smear in long exposures; shorter exposures of 2–5 seconds keep their rays and edges sharp.
Long exposures also turn stars into short trails because the Earth rotates. The 500 rule (500 divided by the focal length in full-frame terms gives the longest shutter time in seconds) is a rough guide; the more precise NPF rule, often built into astro apps, gives shorter times for high-resolution sensors.
- Start at about 8 s for a moderate display.
- When the aurora moves fast, shorten to 2–5 s and raise ISO or open the aperture to make up the light.
- With a 20 mm lens on full frame, the 500 rule gives about 25 s as an upper limit; treat it as a ceiling, not a target.
- Use a remote, the camera's phone app or the 2-second timer so pressing the button does not shake the camera.
6Compose with a foreground
A green sky on its own looks like many other aurora photos. A foreground gives the picture a place and a scale: a mountain ridge, a frozen lake, a cabin with a warm window, a line of trees or a person standing still. Calm water doubles the aurora with a reflection.
- Scout the scene in daylight or with your headlamp before the show, and find a foreground that stands out as a silhouette.
- Place the horizon low, about a third of the way up, when the aurora fills the sky; raise it if the foreground or reflection is the main interest.
- Use a horizontal frame for a long arc across the sky and a vertical frame for tall curtains or a corona overhead.
- If a person is in the frame, ask them to stay completely still for the whole exposure, or light them very briefly with a dim light.
7Photograph the aurora with a phone
Recent phones can record the aurora surprisingly well, often showing colour the eye barely sees. The key, as with a camera, is to keep the phone completely still and let it gather light for several seconds.
- Use night mode and let it choose a long exposure; on a tripod many phones offer longer times, up to around 30 s.
- Put the phone on a small tripod or brace it on a rock or a bag, and use the timer so you do not shake it.
- If your phone has a pro or manual mode, try ISO 800–1600, a shutter of about 3–10 s and focus set to infinity.
- Turn off the flash, lower screen brightness to protect your night vision and keep the phone warm between shots.
8Fix common problems
Most failed aurora frames come down to a handful of causes, and almost all of them can be fixed in the field once you know what to look for.
- Green blob without structure: the exposure is too long for the movement. Shorten the shutter to 2–5 s and raise ISO.
- Very noisy image: the frame is underexposed. Expose a little brighter in the camera rather than brightening later, and use noise reduction in editing.
- Blurry stars: focus is off or the tripod moved. Refocus on a bright star, check the tape, protect the tripod from wind and do not touch it during the exposure.
- Fogged lens: dew or frost forms on the glass. Keep the lens at outdoor temperature, use a lens hood or a lens heater, and wipe gently with a dry cloth.
- Condensation indoors: before going inside, put the camera in a closed bag and let it warm slowly for an hour or more. Take the card out first if you want to start editing.
- Batteries dying: cold lowers their capacity. Swap them often and keep the spares warm in an inside pocket.
9Stay safe and be courteous
Aurora nights are long, cold and dark, and popular spots can fill with other photographers and tour groups. A little care keeps everyone safe and everyone's photos intact.
- Check the weather and road conditions, tell someone where you are going and carry warm clothes, food and a charged phone. Watch for frostbite on fingers and face.
- Never stop on a road or its shoulder to shoot; park only in proper places, well off the road, and wear something reflective.
- Respect private land and fences, and follow local rules in parks and reserves.
- Never point a white light, a car's headlights or a phone screen toward other photographers; use a red light and switch it off while exposures run.
Before you go out
- Clear-sky and aurora (Kp) forecast checked
- Tripod and remote release (or 2-second timer)
- Wide, fast lens; charged spare batteries in a warm pocket
- Manual mode, RAW, widest aperture, ISO about 1600
- Manual focus on a star, taped
- Shutter about 2–15 s, white balance about 3,500–4,000 K
- Long-exposure noise reduction and stabilisation off
- Red headlamp, warm layers, bag for the camera before going indoors
More on StarScoped, our astronomy site: Auroras: the northern and southern lights.
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