Best Camera Settings For Northern Lights Photography

For many people, seeing and photographing the Northern Lights is a once-in-a lifetime, bucket-list experience.

Perhaps that’s the same for you? Perhaps you already have a trip planned, and now you want to make sure you’re prepared?

Because with Northern Lights photography it’s really important to be ready. You may not get very long to get your images, and you don’t want to be fumbling around in the dark with freezing fingers trying to figure out the right camera settings.

So you’ve come to the right place! I’ve done the research and written this post for you, so that when you finally get your chance to take amazing Northern Lights images, you’ll be ready.

My first time photographing the Northern Lights

To be honest, although I was curious to see the famous Aurora Borealis, it wasn’t exactly something that was top of my wishlist.

I certainly wouldn’t have made a special trip to Iceland just to see them, that’s for sure.

But then I got sent there for work, so I packed my tripod, and made sure to do some research into the best camera settings for Northern Lights photography. You know, just in case they should appear.

As you can see, this preparation stood me in good stead when the amazing Aurora put on a fantastic show.

If you want to skip straight to the nuts and bolts, scroll down to the bottom of this post for my advice on the best camera settings for Northern Lights photography.

Otherwise, read on to hear my story and find out how I took these images.

A botched attempt to see the Northern Lights

I visited Iceland at the end of February, but it’s also possible to see the Northern Lights in Iceland in January, or indeed any time during the winter months between about September and April.

The first opportunity to see the Aurora came two days into the trip, and it happened to be my birthday.

I’d had a great but tiring day filming in a glacier ice cave and my lovely colleague had fed me just one G&T in the hotel as a birthday treat. It made me incredibly sleepy so I went to bed.

But just as I was falling asleep, there was excitement and chatter in the corridor outside my room. The news went quickly round the hotel: “The Northern Lights are out!”

Half asleep, I reluctantly followed the other guests across an icy car park and up a hill behind the hotel. No coat, no camera. Little wonder then that I only stayed for about 15 minutes before going to bed.

‘There’ll be another chance,’ I thought. Later, my colleague came back, breathless with excitement. He’d seen them! I was too tired to care.

But in the days that followed I wondered if I’d missed my only chance. It would be a serious shame to have come all this way and not photographed the Northern Lights. I began to hope I would.

Northern Lights photography: second time lucky

And as you can see from the photos, I did.

My lucky chance came after I had just spent a day in Reykjavik. The next day, I took a tour out along the south coast to see some other famous landmarks.

On the way back, the driver got word that there was going to be a lot of Aurora activity that evening. He asked the group if we wanted to stop for dinner and wait, or if we wanted to head back to Reykjavik. Of course we all agreed to wait!

After a quick dinner in a roadside service station, the guide took us a little way down the road, away from any light pollution, and pulled over by the side of a field.

We all piled out. And this is what we saw.

Seeing the Northern Lights in all their glory

A lot of people are disappointed when they experience the Aurora after having only seen photos. And I can see why.

The Northern Lights are nowhere near as bright to the naked eye, dancing in real time, as they are in a photograph taken with a long exposure.

All these images were taken with shutter speeds of between 3 and 10 seconds. That’s up to 10 seconds worth of Northern Lights activity all added together.

No wonder they look so vivid.

But out there in the cold and dark, with a coachload of tourists going a bit nuts about ten meters from me, I was still blown away.  

I’m not one for talking to myself, but even I couldn’t stop myself from breathing ‘Holy Cr*p!’ under my breath every time I took another shot!

The next morning I saw on the news that these Northern Lights had even been visible as far away as the UK, so I guess I really did get lucky.

What camera should you use for Northern Lights photography?

I used my lovely DSLR, which at the time was a Canon 5D Mark II. I’ve since graduated to a Mark IV, and more recently to a mirrorless Canon R5.

The best choice for taking Northern Lights pictures is typically a DSLR or mirrorless camera due to their manual control options, superior sensor performance, and interchangeable lenses.

Look for a model with good low-light capabilities, such as a full-frame sensor, which excels in capturing the subtle details of the Auroras in low-light conditions. Consider brands like Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Fujifilm for their high-quality options suited for astrophotography.

Read more: Using The Canon R5 For Wildlife Photography: A Full Review

A wide-angle lens with a large aperture (f/2.8 or lower) is also helpful to capture the expansive night sky.

A sturdy tripod is a must for long-exposure shots.

But while it’s definitely an advantage to have a Pro DSLR or mirrorless, a great camera is nothing if you don’t know how to use it and you don’t use the right settings for photographing the Northern Lights.

What’s more, you can still get great photos with any digital camera as long as you know how to use the manual controls.

Believe it or not you can even do Aurora photography with a GoPro.

Third attempt to photograph the Northern Lights in Iceland

A few nights later, flushed with success, I thought I’d try again.

This time I booked onto a specific tour from Reykjavik that included time in the evening to stop and view the Aurora. Of course there are no guarantees, but the skies were clear and the forecast looked good.

I’d heard that Iceland is expensive so I was worried that a tour might be pricey, but it only cost around £35, which I thought was pretty good value.

You can easily book tours like this online, or through your Reykjavik hotel.

As soon as it started to get dark, we pulled over into a parking area by the beautiful Hvalfjörður fjord, and while we waited I took a few photos of this gorgeous traditional wooden church, illuminated against the inky sky.

As the evening progressed, the stars started to come out. It was perfectly cold, crisp and still, and incredibly atmospheric. The Northern Lights hadn’t even arrived, and I couldn’t stop taking photos!

There were two or three other photographers in the group, and we got a bit competitive, seeing who could take the best picture.  I think the other members of the group might have found us a bit annoying, but that wasn’t going to stop me!

What happens when the Northern Lights don’t appear?

It was all impossibly stunning – you could see all the constellations.

I even recognised one or two: you can make out Orion’s belt and sword in the bottom left of the dark sky photo below. And although you can make out a sort of red tinge to the sky, there were no Northern Lights.

The thing is, being able to see the Northern Lights depends on two things – of course you need clear skies, but you also need lots of Aurora activity at the same time.

Sometimes you get loads of activity but it’s cloudy, so you can’t see it. And sometimes, like here, we had a stunning clear night, but very little activity.

How are the Northern Lights formed?

Buckle up, here comes the science part…

At the heart of this celestial spectacle lies the interaction between charged particles from the Sun and our planet’s magnetic field. Here’s how it unfolds:

1. Solar Wind: The Sun continually emits a stream of charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, known as the solar wind. When the Sun is particularly active, it releases more of these particles.
2. Earth’s Magnetosphere: Earth possesses a strong magnetic field, which surrounds the planet, creating a protective shield called the magnetosphere. This magnetic field deflects most of the solar wind away from Earth. However, some particles make it through and are channeled towards the polar regions.
3. Collision with Atmosphere: As these solar wind particles approach Earth’s polar regions, they collide with molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere, primarily oxygen and nitrogen. These collisions impart energy to the atmospheric gases, causing them to become excited.
4. Emission of Light: When the excited molecules return to their normal state, they release the excess energy in the form of light. The different colours of the Northern Lights depend on the specific gas molecules involved; oxygen produces the green and red hues I saw the previous night, while nitrogen contributes to purples, pinks, and blues.

This dance of charged particles and atmospheric molecules creates the mesmerising display we know as the Northern Lights, a natural wonder that has fascinated and inspired people for centuries.

Clear skies but no Northern Lights

But sadly for me on this particular evening, there was none of this solar activity. Still I didn’t really mind.

I’d seen just about the best display they’d had all winter on my first (well, second!) go.

And it turns out no Northern Lights can be pretty stunning too. Although we didn’t get a theatrical display like the last time, we did get this gentle red and then green glow.  

Though it was barely visible to the naked eye: this photo required a 20 second exposure to really bring out the colour.

So… how did I take the the images in this post, and what are the best camera settings for photographing the Northern Lights?

Best camera settings for Northern Lights photography with a DSLR or mirrorless

If you want to maximise your chances of getting great Northern Lights images, here are my top tips.

If you only have a smartphone, these tips are also helpful to understand the principles, and then you can scroll down to the next section for more specific information:

• Familiarise yourself with your camera before you go. The most important thing is that you have full manual control over your camera. 
• Check the forecast. You’ll need clear skies AND Aurora activity to be able to see the lights. In Iceland everyone uses the Aurora forecast website here.
• Get a tripod. If you don’t have one, you can possibly balance the camera on a bag, gatepost, or the floor, but if you’re really serious about getting good photos, you’ll need a tripod. Without one, you’ll definitely get camera shake and your photos will be blurry.
• To be doubly sure you don’t get camera shake, if you’re using a DSLR it’s also a good idea to use the mirror lockup function (check how to do this in your camera’s manual if you don’t already know). You should also use a remote shutter release, or use the self-timer function with a 2-second delay to avoid shaking the camera when you press the button.
• Be prepared! Have your camera, coat, tripod and spare battery close to hand. You don’t want to miss them, like I did, because you’ve left the tripod in the car and your coat in your hotel room…
• Put your camera on full manual setting.
• Set your focus to manual. If you leave it on auto, the focus will be hunting in the dark for something to lock onto, but in the black of night it simply won’t be able to. You’ll need to set the focus to infinity, or, if you can, focus on the brightest star in the sky.
• A good tip to help you focus is to turn on the focus magnification, find the brightest star in the sky, and then turn the focus ring until the blurry circle (the star!) is as small and crisp as possible. 
• If you can, for example if you’re photographing from your back garden, another way to be sure the focus is sharp is to set your camera up on the tripod during the day (focus on a cloud, for example) and then stick some tape on the ring and don’t touch it again!
• Set your ISO to as high as it can go without introducing too much noise into your shot. On most good cameras these days ISO 1600 is a good place to start.
• A wide aperture is fine. You don’t need much depth of field for this. These images were all shot on between f/2.8 and f.4.
• Now you have your ISO and aperture set, play with shutter speeds till you get it right. These photos were taken with shutter speeds of between 5 and 30 seconds. If the Aurora are really bright, you probably won’t need that long.
• To avoid getting blurry star trails, keep your shutter speed less than 30 seconds and ideally less than 20 seconds to be on the safe side. 

Northern Lights photography with a smartphone

You don’t need a super fancy SLR, but if you only have a smartphone, then unless you get lucky with the kind of headline-making display you only get once in a decade or so, you may struggle to get the best Northern Lights photos.

Very occasionally, however, you do get lucky and get a display of Aurora so bright you CAN capture them with a smartphone. Smartphone technology is so good these days that many camera phones will recognise the scene and automatically slow down the shutter speed and increase the saturation for you. 

So if you only have your phone, here are a few extra tips. 

• A slow shutter speed is still your friend. Your phone will probably want to do this for you. To avoid camera shake, use a tripod, a small gorilla pod, or prop your phone up on something. 
• Some newer smartphones (like iPhone 11 Pro and later) have a Night mode that can be helpful for capturing the Northern Lights. I have an iPhone so I’m not sure about other types, but on my iPhone the Night Mode (slow shutter speed) comes on automatically when it’s dark.
• If you have a manual mode, use that to get a slow shutter speed.
• If your camera has ‘Live’ mode or something similar, turn it on. When you take the photo, your camera will actually take short burst of photos. Then go into the photo and switch the Live mode to ‘Long Exposure’. This will join all the images together for the best and brightest image. For this to work best, you’ll need a tripod.
• Don’t forget to include something interesting in the foreground. This could be trees, a building, or silhouette of a person. If you’re near water, try to capture reflections. All of these will make for much more interesting images than just pointing straight up to the sky.
• If your phone’s built-in camera app lacks manual controls, consider using a third-party app like NightCap Camera, Snapseed, Camera+ or ProCamera. These offer more options for adjusting settings.
• Cold temperatures can drain your battery quickly. Pack a power bank to ensure you don’t miss a shot.

Where are the best places to go for Northern Lights photography?

To see and photograph the Northern Lights you need to head to regions near the northern polar circle. Here are some prime destinations:

1. Iceland: Known for its stunning landscapes, Iceland offers numerous opportunities to capture the Northern Lights against backdrops of glaciers, waterfalls, and volcanic formations. Popular spots include the Golden Circle, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, and the remote Westfjords.
2. Norway: Northern Norway, especially Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands, is famous for its frequent and vibrant aurora displays. Not only are the dramatic fjords and coastal vistas fantastic settings for an outdoors vacation, they also offer stunning landscapes for your Northern Lights images.
3. Sweden: Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland is renowned for its consistently clear skies and Northern Lights sightings. The park’s location within the “Aurora Oval” makes it an ideal destination for photographers.
4. Finland: The Finnish Lapland, including places like Rovaniemi and Inari, offers excellent aurora viewing opportunities. Combined with its unique winter landscapes and cozy glass igloos, it’s another dream destination for photographers.
5. Canada: Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories is renowned for its Northern Lights displays. The vast wilderness and frozen lakes make it a striking location for aurora photography. But you can also see them pretty much anywhere in Canada, such as Jasper’s Dark Sky Preserve in the stunning Canadian Rockies, or the east coast provinces like Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island.
6. Alaska, USA: Fairbanks and the remote Denali National Park are popular spots for Northern Lights photography in the United States. The pristine wilderness and lack of light pollution enhance the experience.
7. Greenland: This remote Arctic destination provides a unique backdrop for aurora photography, with its icebergs, fjords, and stunning Arctic landscapes.

When is the best time to photograph the Northern Lights?

When planning a Northern Lights photography trip, it’s crucial to consider factors like weather, seasonality, and light pollution.

It’s also advisable to check the aurora forecast and travel during the winter months when the nights are longest and darkest. This typically spans from late September to late March in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ideally, you should also aim for a time around the new moon when there is minimal moonlight interference, allowing the auroras to shine brightly against the backdrop.

While Auroras can occur at any time after dusk, they tend to be most active around midnight. Plan to be in your chosen location during these peak hours.

And finally… remember that patience is key when photographing the Northern Lights. It’s not uncommon to wait for hours in sub-zero temperatures for the perfect shot.

Be prepared with warm clothing, a sturdy tripod, and the right camera settings to capture this breathtaking natural phenomenon.

Now get out there, and good luck!

Liked these Iceland photography tips?

Why not try one of my other photography guides?

• 19 Easy Wildlife Photography Tips For Beginners
• 13 Top Tips For Taking Great Travel Photos Of Markets
• 25 Brilliant Tips For Travel Photography
• Travel Photography On The Road – My Photo Editing Workflow Tips
• 30 Top Travel Photography Blogs for 2023

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