How To Photograph Northern Lights – Tips & Settings for Beginners
Wondering how to photograph Northern Lights? This simple guide should help you out with some simple tips and basic camera settings for northern lights. Take a look!
Traveling to Iceland, Norway, or Alaska hoping to see Northern Lights this winter? If you are like most of us, you probably want to document your whole trip, including auroras, in pictures. After all, just telling your friends that you saw something never has quite the same effect as posting your travel pictures on social media.
You have probably seen some amazing Northern Lights photography before you booked your trip. If you are like me, it’s those pictures that finally convinced you to travel to the North in winter, face the elements and inhuman temperatures, hoping to catch a glimpse of this amazing natural spectacle… And now you hope to not only see the Northern Lights but also to be able to photograph them…
But how to photograph Northern Lights if you are a beginner and don’t know much about night- or star- photography?
This short introduction to Northern Lights photography is meant for beginners who want to photograph Northern Lights. Without going into too many details and making it more complicated than it should be, I share all the basics you should know in order to be able to take a decent picture of auroras.
One more thing before we continue. I’m not a professional photographer either and I’ve never photographed Northern Lights in my life before I visited Iceland in winter for the first time. After that trip, I also went to Tromso in winter, went back to Iceland in September, and also visited Svalbard in winter.
Plenty of opportunities to practice aurora photography… But still – if you only do it once in a few years, it’s pretty much starting from scratch every time again. But with some simple tips and camera settings, I could take some really nice pictures of auroras. And so you can do it too. Find out how.
How to see and photograph the Northern Lights – OVERVIEW
How to See the Northern Lights
Before we talk about camera settings and how to photograph the Northern Lights, here are some tips for how to see auroras. After all, if you don’t catch them, you can’t photograph them, right?
Basically, you need three main factors in order to see Aurora Borealis: darkness, (partly) clear sky, and high aurora activity. Obviously, you can only see them at a certain latitude and in the right season. And, of course, don’t underestimate persistence and luck as well.
You can find more details about each of these factors below. I also included some practical information, such as aurora forecast websites. Take a look!
1. Where and when to see the Northern Lights
Iceland, Finland, Norway, Alaska, and North of Canada are the best countries for watching Northern Lights.
Aurora ring gets bigger depending on aurora activity and the closer you are to it, the more chances you have to see auroras even if the activity is very low. For that, Tromso in Northern Norway is one of the absolute best places to see auroras in the world.
LEARN MORE:
Northern Lights in Tromso
Northern Lights in Iceland
Needless to say, you won’t see any auroras in the summer. The best season to see Northern Lights can vary by location, but in general, you have pretty good chances of seeing auroras from September to March, give or take a few weeks.
2. Dark Sky
The second thing you need in order to be able to see Northern Lights is darkness. This shouldn’t be a problem up North in winter. That’s actually the reason why you can’t see auroras in the summer season – it doesn’t get dark enough in the Arctic in summer.
3. Clear Sky
Probably one of the least predictable factors for seeing auroras, clear skies is not something you can influence. So you just have to hope that it won’t be cloudy all the time since you do need a clear sky in order to be able to see Northern Lights.
That being said, I have seen auroras on very cloudy nights as well. Sometimes there’s a small opening in the clouds and you can catch a glimpse. Other times, Northern Lights are so strong that you can even see them through the (not so thick) clouds. So you never know. But it sure helps if there are no clouds.
PRO TIP: If you travel all the way to the North in order to see Northern Lights, be prepared to look for them. Go outside every night. Even if aurora activity is not very high, but the sky is clear, you might get lucky and see some beautiful auroras.
4. Aurora Activity
Aurora activity is measured on a scale from 0 to 9. Don’t despair if predicted aurora activity is only 2 or 3. You can see and photograph some really nice auroras even if the activity is quite low.
If you have never seen the Northern Lights before, it might be difficult to distinguish vague auroras from the clouds. If you want to be sure, take a picture – if it colors green, you know it’s aurora. If it’s white – it’s just the clouds.
When aurora is this weak, it will look better in pictures than in reality, but don’t get discouraged. Look at it this way: if you see it in pictures, it means that it’s active and it can become more active any minute. It might be worth waiting outside just a bit longer. We waited really long and it didn’t get any better one night, and then it did the next. So it’s still a bit a matter of luck.
5. Aurora forecast websites
There are many various websites and apps where you can find predicted aurora activity for different areas worldwide. My best tip is to ask the locals what they recommend. There are just too many sites and apps to list here.
TIP: Ask at the hotel about the aurora forecast websites they consult for the area where you are staying. Follow the weather forecast and radar information and act accordingly. It’s possible that it’s cloudy where you are, but the sky is perfectly clear just half an hour’s ride away.
For Iceland, we used this website, checked it almost hourly every evening and it was very accurate. Here is a general aurora forecast website worldwide and this one is more focused on European locations.
Best Camera Equipment for Northern Lights
Here is the camera equipment that you need for aurora photography:
- A camera that has manual mode functionality. Ideally a full-frame DSLR.
- A sturdy good-quality tripod. I use and recommend Manfrotto tripods.
- Preferably, you also need a wide-angle lens with a fast aperture (f1.8, f2.8 or maximum f4).
- A spare battery or two (batteries tend to run low in very cold conditions, so keep the spares close to you – inside pocket is best).
- Good quality memory cards that work well in cold conditions. I always use SanDisk Extreme or Extreme Pro cards.
Can You Photograph Auroras with a Smartphone?
A few years ago, I would have told you that it was impossible to take good pictures of the Northern Lights with a phone. Nowadays, smartphones have evolved so much that yes, you can take pretty decent aurora pictures with your phone.
If you have the newest Samsung or iPhone with the built-in Night Mode feature, you can take relatively good pictures of auroras. The brighter the auroras, the more chance you have that the pictures will turn out good.
Of course, it will never be the same as images photographed with a good camera. Also, keep in mind that the pictures will likely only look ok on small screens. But I’ve seen some really nice aurora images shot on the smartphone. So it’s definitely possible.
TIP: If you are planning to use your phone to capture auroras, you should also consider getting a good phone tripod. It’s essential that your camera doesn’t move when the shutter is open. And with night photography, it might require several seconds.
Also, be sure to pack a power bank to charge your phone on the go!
Best Camera Settings for Northern Lights Photography
Below, you can find some general camera settings that you can use to photograph Northern Lights and they’ll probably work in most situations.
However, a lot will depend on the auroras you see. So you might need to adjust the settings depending on how bright auroras are and how fast they are moving.
I’ll spare you the reasoning behind the settings and just show you what to do in order to take a good picture of auroras, even if you don’t know much about (night) photography. This is a good starting point for photographing Northern Lights for beginners. Read on!
Recommended camera settings for Northern Lights:
1. Set your camera focus to infinity
Setting focus is probably the most challenging step of night photography since your camera will not focus well in the dark. If you don’t do this right, you won’t get sharp pictures.
How to set your camera to focus to infinity? In human language, it’s basically making sure that your pictures are sharp at the far horizon. It’s best to do this during the day or in your hotel room before you go outside.
Select manual mode on your lens, focus to infinity, adjust as needed, and mark your lens at the right place. You can use a permanent marker, a silver sharpie, or tape for it. When you’re outside at night, all you need to do is set your lens to the right position.
If you can’t do this during the day, try looking for a brighter point (a house or a lit road in the distance) in the area you are and focus your camera sharp on it. In the worst case, you might try using your flashlight to illuminate the point as far from you as possible and focus on it. Make sure you don’t turn the lens after doing this, reframe for the Northern Lights, and shoot.
2. Metering mode
Use the following metering mode for Northern Lights photography: Evaluative Metering for Canon cameras or Matrix metering for Nikon. Not sure how important this is, though.
3. Wide aperture
Set your camera to Manual Mode for Northern Lights photography (M on most cameras) and make sure you set the aperture as wide as possible. So at 2.8 if you have an f2.8 lens or at f4 if you have an f4 lens.
4. Exposure time
If the aurora moves slowly, try a 12-20 second exposure. For very vague auroras you might even need 20-25 seconds. If aurora moves fast, however, 5-10 seconds might be more than enough. When you are lucky to see very bright and fast auroras, sometimes even a second or two will be sufficient.
5. What ISO value to use to photograph auroras
Depending on how bright auroras are, you might need to adjust your camera’s ISO settings. Remember: the higher the ISO, the bigger chance of ‘grain’ in your picture. Try shooting at ISO 800 if auroras are very bright. You may need to increase ISO to 1,600-3,200 or even more if it’s really dark.
6. Best white balance settings for Northern Lights photography
You’re probably not shooting in RAW as a beginner (neither do I, to tell you the truth). So you want to get the colors as close to reality as possible straight from the camera.
You can use Automatic white balance mode and see what it gives. I found that setting the white balance to the Custom mode and choosing Kelvin values of 2,800-4,000 worked best for me.
General Camera Settings for Photographing Northern Lights
- Lens focus to infinity.
- Evaluative or matrix metering mode.
- Aperture at 2.8 or 4 – or any lowest number your lens can go.
- Exposure at 15 seconds for slower auroras and 10 seconds for faster ones. Adjust as needed.
- Set ISO at 1,600 to start with and experiment.
- Set custom white balance to Kelvin value around 3,000.
All the pictures in this article were taken the first time I saw and photographed Northern Lights. I indicated my camera settings under each picture to give you an idea of the settings that I used when taking pictures of auroras for the very first time.
They were not perfect all the time, but this was my first time watching and photographing Northern Lights. It was also the first time I photographed something so unpredictable and so rapidly-changing. I’m quite happy with the results and was really glad to have some ‘showable’ pictures of this amazing experience.
Hence this article – to help any novice photographer to capture the Northern Lights for the first time. Your pictures might not be perfect and practice makes perfect. But for most of us, seeing auroras and taking pictures of them is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With no time to practice.
So I hope that these simple tips and general settings will help you get some good pictures even if you only have very few chances to do it.
For more general tips, please also check our guide to travel photography. Further below, you can find some very useful tips that should help you catch the Northern Lights on camera. Read on!
Practical Tips for Photographing Northern Lights
- Go outside and look for auroras. Don’t stay in bed hoping that hotel personnel will wake you up in time. Sometimes auroras last several minutes, sometimes just a few seconds.
- Have your camera gear ready and set in advance. You don’t want to start playing with the camera settings if you only have one chance. If you are not ready, better leave your camera alone and enjoy the spectacle. If it lasts long enough, you can still find the time to set your camera and photograph the Northern Lights. Don’t miss watching them just trying to take a picture.
- If you have a car and there is a good chance for high aurora activity at night, consider driving to a nice location. Your Northern Lights pictures will look so much nicer if there is a beautiful lake, a forest, a mountain, or a waterfall in the foreground.
What to Pack for Aurora Hunting
- Camera gear (as discussed above).
- Warm clothing. When spending hours outdoors in the Arctic in winter, you cannot dress too warm. In winter, you’ll need at least 4-5 layers, including thermal underwear and a really warm wind- and waterproof jacket. In September, you might be ok with just a sweater and a jacket…
- Two pairs of gloves. Warm outer gloves and thin thermal gloves that you can keep on when photographing Northern Lights. Consider hand warmers as well.
- Warm shoes. Wear warm wool socks and insulated winter boots. You will still be cold, but it will be bearable. I also usually wear feet warmers – it helps a lot!
- Thermos. Fill it up with some warm tea before you leave the hotel – you’ll thank me later. You may also want to take some snacks.Â
- Headlamp or a flashlight. A headlamp is probably more practical for photography as it keeps your hands free.
- A little chair or a blanket might be handy if you’re planning to spend hours outdoors.
READ ALSO: What to wear and what to pack for Iceland in winter & What to wear and what to pack for Norway in winter
See also our other articles to help you better prepare for your trip to Iceland or to Norway. In this guide, you can find some useful tips and information you should know before visiting Iceland in winter. Check it out!
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Your article seems very easy for a novice like me. I’ll be in Norway in January and hope to have lots of chances to see the northern lights. I was thinking of getting a shutter cable. Do you it would be helpful??
Hi Dee, sure, it could be helpful if you want to avoid any kind of movement, but it’s not an absolute must. I personally never used a shutter cable.
Good luck!
Love your article and tips. My goal is to get a camera but for now my Samsung will do. I live in Nome Alaska and I have taken sharp and amazing photos on my Samsung camera. People think I photo shop the pictures but I did not. Red, green and other colors some pictures from my living room window others by walking into the tundra. It never gets old. My dream trip is to see the northern lights in Iceland.
Lucky you to see auroras at home where you live! I bet they are just as nice in Alaska as in Iceland, but there are plenty of other reasons to visit Iceland, for sure. 🙂
As for the camera, it’s more about the skill, the photographer, and practice, than a camera. So I can easily believe that you can get some great photos, especially if you have many opportunities to try.
Hope that your dream comes true and you get to see auroras in Iceland one day, Candy!
Great article! Thanks for all the helpful info!
Glad to help, Mark. Good luck with the aurora hunt and the pictures!
Hey,
Thanks for the great tips, really helped!! We had one great night!!! For me, I wished I had preprogrammed my camera with all the settings, especially the temperature! I believe I can do that. But I lost a lot of time setting it up, but we were lucky to have a bunch of time.
Glad to hear you could see and photograph the Northern Lights, Jared! It’s a special experience, isn’t it?
And yes, it’s definitely useful to set your camera ready before auroras show up so that you don’t have to play with the tripod or the initial settings too much. But aurora photography requires some tweaking and adjusting depending on the display you get, and so you can never have 100% perfect settings for every situation anyway. It sure helps if it’s a longer show and you can try things out and get some nice pictures.
Happy New Year and happy travels!
I am headed to Alaska..Denali in September. I am hoping to see the Northern Lights. Your camera settings and advice are really welcome. Also tips for for composition are very useful. I have another tip for your readers ,provided in an article I read..when using a headlamp or flashlight, make it red. It helps with night vision and other photographers will thank you.
Thanks for the tip, Carol. It can be useful when there are other people around, indeed. Have a great trip and hope you get to see the Northern Lights in Alaska!
Hey @Carol, we are planning to be in Alaska at Denali in mid September. Can you please suggest few places to visit in Denali for the Aurora.
Thank you in advance.
Nikita.
Thank you so much for these tips and for sharing all of your travel adventures. So helpful with our planning!
Glad to help, Melissa. Hope you get to see the Northern Lights!
I’d leave out the bit about metering mode. If you’re using manual settings and ‘experimenting’ then the metering mode you select is meaningless.
Thanks, Desmond. As I already said in the article, I’m not sure how important this is, so thanks for confirming that it doesn’t matter if people are indeed shooting in Manual mode.
I rarely comment on things on the internet, but your excellent, well-written article inspired me to do so.
I think you have simplified it well enough for me to take some photos of the NL…and then to experiment a bit once I am there. I really appreciate your efforts.
Now if I could just be sure that I am going to see them in Yellowknife in early March, then I will be all set!
Thanks again!
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Jamie. I’m glad that you found these aurora photography tips useful and fingers crossed you get to see the Northern Lights!
Enjoy your trip!
Hi Jurga,
Thank you so much for these tips. I read them just as we were about to go outside to look for auroras and thanks to your tips I took some really nice shots. Aurora was not very strong, but we saw it and the pictures will be great memories.
Hi Vita, glad to hear that! It’s an amazing experience, seeing the Northern Lights, isn’t it?!
Happy travels!
Hi Jurga! I’m a professional photographer and teacher who has never photographed the northern lights. My sister and mother are going to Norway this October, so I read your blog to find out how to photograph the lights. Your article is excellent! Well written, clear, concise, and accurate. Also, your photos are excellent, and thanks for the exposure info. Three observations: First, when a camera is set on manual exposure mode, matrix or evaluative metering does not function. Second, I recommend that flashlights and/or headlamps have a red lens or red filter to preserve night vision, if not for yourself, for others in your group! Lastly, I caution against drinking alcoholic beverages before or during cold expeditions.
Thanks for your tips, John. It’s funny that you say this about the metering modes not functioning in manual mode. I honestly wouldn’t know, but this was a tip I found several times when researching Northern Lights photography, recommended by serious photographers. So, I always assumed, they know what they were saying. 🙂 Anyway, I’ll see if I can update my post one of these days and correct this.
And yes, you are right about the lights disturbing the others, especially if you are photographing the lights when there are lots of other photographers around. Any additional light can be really disturbing.
Hi,
Wonderful article indeed! I am planning a 10 days trip to Iceland next year. I was looking to witness the greenary as well as the northern lights. From your article I think September would be the right time to choose. Can you help me choose the dates. Is it better to go in the starting of September or mid or towards the end of the month. Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Mehrain, unless you are booking last minute and can base yourself on the weather forecast, it’s really impossible to say. For better weather, beginning of the month should generally be better. For the Northern Lights – end of the month, as that will give you more hours of darkness. But you never know, so just pick the dates that suit you best, and if you can’t decide, go right in the middle:)
If you haven’t seen it yet, please also check our article about visiting Iceland in September.
Thank you!! First post I’ve read that made sense in my non techy brain!! Now all we need is some activity to photograph! Fingers crossed….!
Haha, good to hear that, Debbie. That was exactly the intention of this post – to help people like myself to take some good shots of auroras. Fingers crossed you get to see them!
Thanks for the great info! However I will only have my cellphone to snap photos ? Is that possible?
If you are choosing the aperture, shutter sped and ISO then setting a metering mode is not required.
Is Canon mirror less M 50 camera ok?for Northern lights?How do you take videos of Northern lights?
Hi, any camera is ok as long as it has manual settings, just make sure you have a very wide lens as well.
I have no experience with filming the Northern Lights, so can’t help you there.
Hello, Juga,
I leave for Iceland in two weeks and as a novice photographer I was browsing the internet and found your site. I am so glad I did as my camera would have been set on auto. Occasionally in the evenings I will use a higher ISO but those two things are all I know of my csmera. I will have many opportunities to be outdoors and will use your suggestions. My husband did not want me using my Nikon but to use the new IPhone. I know it takes great photos but I’m not taking a chance. After all, what did I buy my Nikon for if not to drag around the world. Thank you again and I now have hope of some good aurora photos if conditions are right.
Hi Debbie, glad you found this info useful. Northern Lights photography isn’t simple indeed, so you definitely need a camera that handles manual settings and also a tripod – it’s a must!
I know that people use aurora photoraphy apps for iPhone and get somewhat ok-ish pictures of auroras, but usually they are blur and not really useable for anything more than to share on social media to show to your friends.
Fingers crossed you have good weather and high aurora activity! Enjoy your trip!
PS If you haven’t yet, feel free to join our Facebook group for Iceland and Scandinavia travel. We love to see pictures and hear about people’s travel experiences!
Thanks for sharing. Very useful tips that I can’t wait to try.
Glad you found this useful, Shayne. Good luck with chasing the Northern Lights!
Hello! For getting portraits(a person and the lights), if you have a good lens like you the one you described and all equipment, is an external flash necessary in your opinion? Thank you!
Hi Oscar, in order to take a really good picture of a person with the Northern Lights (like this one – you can find it in this post), you need an external light source.
The trick is to use it just for a split part of a second, so the person still looks ok (not overly exposed) while the shutter stays open longer to capture the Northern Lights themselves. Another trick is that the person should stand/sit completely still during the entire time when the shutter is open. Hope you understand what I mean?
That being said, I took a few pictures of myself with auroras (e.g. this one) and didn’t use any external light source (it would have been difficult to do it for myself anyway :)). I left the shutter open quite a long time and tried to sit very still during the entire time. I think those pictures turned out quite ok as well.
But yes, for nice portraits you need a good strong flash.
Hey Jurga! this post of yours have been of great help! i have been looking for ideal settings for quite sometime as I am traveling to Lapland next week!! Thank you so much for sharing! Hope the weather stays clear and I am able to see Aurora! Fingers crossed!
Glad you found this useful. Fingers crossed for the clear skies and hope you make some great pictures, Siddarth!
I’m going to Iceland next month and I’m a amateur photographer seeking advice on photographing the NL. I usually don’t post comments on blogs/website but I wanted for this one because it’s by far the best information and detail I’ve seen for preparing for photographing the NL!!! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this kind feedback. Northern Lights photography is no rocket science, but it requires some testing to see what works best and it depends so much on the conditions that you get. I always just start with the standard settings described in this post and then adjust the shutter speed and ISO as needed.
Have a great trip and hope you get some nice aurora shots!
Thanks for these detailed tips. Now lets hope we can see the northern lights!!!
Fingers crossed for you!
What a great post and beautiful photos. Thanks for all the practical photography tips, can’t wait to try it out!
Thank you, Amber. Fingers crossed you get to see the Northern Lights!
Hey!
Do you think that getting a GoPro 6 for iceland would be a smart idea? Not only for photographing the northern lights, but for other outdoor activities as well!
Thanks!
Hi Jackie, I really don’t know, I guess it depends on what other camera you have and also what kind of activities you’re planning. I didn’t take my GoPro to Iceland, never missed it. We use ours mainly for outdoor activities, but it’s so limited in what it can. Video quality is amazing and the size is a big advantage, but I’d never use it for pictures.
My friend took a GoPro one to photograph the Northern Lights when we travelled in November a few years back, and while she could take some time laps shots, she wasn’t really happy with the quality.
So it really depends on what you already have and what kind of photography/ video you are planning to shoot.
Hi Jurga. We’ll be going to Iceland in March. Your post is extremely helpful as we’re very very novice photographer. We’ve never own a nice camera before. Which camera did you use or what would you recommend? It would be nice if the camera can take good pictures of the aurora, waterfall and the icecave. We do have a budget and would love to get one under $1000. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Tina
Hi Tina, it’s really so difficult to advise as there are so many cameras on the market. Do you want a DSLR, mirrorless, or just simple point and shoot… If you are somewhat serious about photography, then in this budget consider DSLR, something like Canon EOS 60d or a smaller Canon EOS Rebel. And get a wide angle lens for Northern Lights and wide landscapes. For your budget you could get this Canon 10-18mm lens. And make sure to get a tripod for night photography. I love Manfrotto tripods, here is their budget model.
If you don’t like changing lenses, then there are many options like e.g. this Panasonic camera. I have no idea how it is for night photography like auroras though, but I heard from many people that it’s a nice versatile camera.
As I said, there are thousands of choices, but here are some suggestions that hopefully will get you started.
is it possible getting pictures with an iphone
Honestly – it’s really difficult to get any decent pictures of the Northern Lights on your phone. Even if you know the settings and your phone has a good camera, you still have to able to keep it very still for a few seconds. If you are lucky to see very bright auroras you will probably be able to photograph some unsharp greenish sky, but if you want good pictures you really need a good camera and a tripod. And even then it’s not easy for the first time.
There are apps for phones that will work, Try “Slow Shutter” this app can be purchased for $2 U.S. You will need a tripod and a holder for the phone. This app allows the phone to be set with a time exposure and you are also able to adjust the ISO. Since the aperture is fixed you just need to get the right ISO and shutter speed combo correct for a nice photo.
Thanks for sharing this Jim. I’d really be curious to see how those pictures look like. I’m just back from a wonderful winter trip in Tromso Norway and nobody who was using the phone (various apps) got any decent shots of auroras. Even with smaller simple cameras it’s really difficult, even though we got a really nice and quite strong aurora show that went on for several hours giving everyone plenty of time to practice photography.
There is a 99 cents app for the iPhone (Northern Lights Photo Taker by Lazily Inspired) that take half way decent pictures. Not the great pictures you get with DSLR, but enough to document your sighting.
Thanks for sharing this, Victor. Might be useful to many readers.
Thanks for such a detailed post. This will be so useful when we set on a journey to see the northern lights, one day 😀 Pinned on Pinterest for future reference! 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Kristina. Appreciate it!
Love your pictures and tips. Seeing the Northern Lights is near the top of my bucket list but I’ve never thought about the practical aspect of night photography – which is so relevant.
I guess you’re right, Sara. Usually we don’t think about the practical side of photography in certain circumstances before we actually try to take a picture and realise that it won’t work with a simple push of a button. At least now you know where to start when you find yourself in such situation, right? 😉
Thanks for the tips, Jurga. Your post was just in time for our trip to Iceland last week. We saw auroras! They were everything we expected them to be. Tried taking several pictures using your tips here, but with the camera equipment we had they didn’t turn out as nice as yours. Note to self: get a better camera for future trips. Anyway just wanted to let you know.
Glad to hear you saw the Northern Lights, Paul. It’s the experience that counts at the end and not the pictures. But indeed good camera equipment is essential for some types of photography. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I read this with interest and I really hope one day I will get to use your advice! I never knew that about batteries and the cold!
This is great! I’ve always wondered how to do this even though we haven’t been able to travel for the Northern Lights yet. The only other thing I’d recommend if possible is a remote for the camera. My husband LOVES have a remote so you don’t have to touch the camera 🙂
That’s a good tip indeed, Jessica. I bought a remote for my camera
too and it’s the best 20$ investment ever 🙂
This is so helpful – thank you! I’m still learning how to use the settings on my camera and I love having quick-reference guides without having to fluff around forever getting things ‘just right’ – half the time I miss the shot in doing so! Filing this away as I’d love to get to Iceland either this winter or next.
Great article. I was lucky to see it once in my own country the netherlands during unusual high activity. So beautiful.
The Netherlands? Really? Let me know next time – I might jump in the car and come over. 😉
There are some awesome tips in this post, thanks! I’ve seen the Northern Lights countless times in Norway, Canada and Alaska, but I always left the photography part to someone else. I might try it next time though 🙂
Lucky you! The more practice you get with photography, the easier it will be, so I’d say definitely give it a try next time!
Thank you for all these tips!! I’m originally from Canada and have only been able to enjoy them, not photograph them. Now I know the right kind of camera and settings I need for my next trip back. I suppose I’ll also need a new coat…
There is always a good excuse to go shopping, Leslie, whether it’s a new camera or a jacket. 😉 Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Great post about how to photograph the northern lights. I love that you indicated which camera functions you used under each picture and I found where you described the settings you’d need for the northern lights very useful. Got this post saved for when I (hopefully!) visit Iceland one day!
I’m so glad you posted this! Myself and my friend are travelling to Tromsø in February and hope to catch the aurora. I take photos all the time during the day but was a little unsure how to shoot at night and get good results. This post has helped so much and actually makes me realise it’s not as hard to set my DSLR up for it as I thought it would be.
Thanks for your feedback, Corinne. I hope you’ll see some spectacular auroras in Norway! These tips are indeed meant for complete beginners who never photographed Northern Lights before. Just set the camera to suggested settings and you have a starting point from which to adjust if needed.
What a great post and beautiful photos. I have been wanting to know how to use my SLR for taking night pictures better. Thanks for the tips they were great.
Glad you found it useful, Melissa. Looking forward to seeing some night photography on your blog. 😉
Brilliant article Jurga! The photographs are beautiful! I need to book that trip to Iceland! Pinned for later so I will know what to do to get the shots! Thank you! Ps adding a new camera to my Xmas list!!
Thank you Tracy. Any excuse is good to get a good camera, isn’t it? 😉
Hi Jurga!
So me and my partner are off to iceland in a few days. We are doing the ring road. (after a lot of research). I just wanted to ask your opinion on the tours for the northern lights.
We have a car but are abit concerned about hunting for them at night ourselves. how does one know where to go? also since we are doing it in winter we are skeptical about driving at night ourselves. Do you think we should join a tour for the northern lights instead?
How do you hunt for them on your own?
Thank you Jurga! this is my dream!
Hi Naina, we didn’t go anywhere special just kept an eye on the aurora forecast and spent lots of time outside waiting. When the forecast was good (aurora activity of at least 2-3) and the sky was clear at the location where we were, we went outside. All the Northern Lights we saw was just outside our hotels.
If you have a car, you could drive to some nice place nearby if the aurora forecast is really good and you want a nice foreground for your pictures. Otherwise just go outside at your hotel. Some hotels even provide aurora wake-up service, so if they see a really strong aurora at night they can come and knock on your door if you ask for it. But sometimes auroras are quickly gone, so you have to be ready quickly :). In general, you don’t need any tour if you are already outside of the city. If the auroras are strong you will see them no matter where you are.
Good luck and enjoy your trip!