How to photograph the Northern Lights
On most tours a guide will take professional portraits of you under the aurora, and those photos are often the best you will bring home. But your own pictures are worth trying too, and with the right settings even a phone can do surprisingly well.
Let the guide take the portraits
Four of the six tours on our comparison page include photos. On our pick from Snow Travels, your guide photographs you under the aurora with professional gear, and you get them within ten hours on the unlimited option, or within 48 hours on the five-hour tour. Arctic Glow has a dedicated photo guide and emails an edited selection the following day. Arctic Breeze includes portraits, and the big bus delivers its photos within three to five days. Portraits with people need a long exposure and a flash or headlamp at the right moment, which is hard to do yourself. Let the professionals do it, and enjoy the sky.
With your phone
- Use night mode. Recent iPhones and Android phones switch it on automatically in the dark. Choose the longest time it offers, often 3 to 10 seconds, or up to 30 on a support.
- Keep the phone still. Rest it on a rock, a backpack or the roof of the minibus, or use a small tripod. Hand-held, the photo blurs.
- Turn off the flash. It lights only the snow in front of you and ruins the sky.
- Tap to focus on something far away, such as a distant light or the horizon.
- Try a few frames. The aurora moves, and every shot looks different.
With a camera
A camera with manual settings and a wide lens gives you far more. Start with these settings and adjust:
| Setting | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Manual (M) | The camera's automatic modes get confused by the dark |
| Lens | Wide, 14 to 24 mm | The aurora fills the whole sky |
| Aperture | As wide as possible, f/1.8 to f/2.8 | More light in less time |
| ISO | 1600 to 3200 | Bright enough without too much noise |
| Shutter | 2 to 10 seconds | Shorter when the aurora moves fast, longer when it is faint |
| Focus | Manual, on a bright star or distant light | Autofocus fails in the dark; check by zooming in on the screen |
| File | RAW if you can | Easier to fix color and exposure later |
A tripod is essential for a camera. Our pick lends tripods, and The Green Adventure, one of the extra chases in our guides, does too. Use the camera's two-second timer so pressing the button does not shake the shot.
Tripods and portraits included
On the Snow Travels chase, from ~$168, you can borrow a tripod and get help with your settings, and you still go home with professional portraits.
Cold, batteries and condensation
Cold drains batteries quickly. Carry at least one spare, keep it in an inside pocket, and swap when the first slows down. When you get back into the warm minibus, condensation forms on a cold camera. Put it in a closed bag before you go inside and let it warm up slowly. Thin liner gloves let you work the buttons without freezing your fingers.
Why your photos look greener than the sky
A camera collects light for seconds, while your eyes react in a fraction of one, and in the dark our eyes see little color. That is why a weak display can pass for a thin grey cloud while the screen shows it bright green. That is not a trick or editing. On a strong night you will see color and movement with your own eyes, and the camera will show even more. How strong tonight might be is explained in our forecast guide.
From the boat
Long exposures are harder on a moving boat, because the deck vibrates. On the electric boat cruise, use your phone's night mode with short times, brace against the railing, and photograph when the boat slows down. More about the boat.