
Quick guide
to aurora
photography
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Capturing the northern lights is a truly rewarding experience, and with these settings, you’ll be prepared for success! And remember, our guides are always available to help if you need extra guidance with your device. Enjoy this unforgettable night and get ready to capture memories to last a lifetime!
1. SMARTPHONES
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iPhone 11 OR NEWER

Turn off flash
The flash can interfere with the natural colors of the aurora, so make sure it’s off. Also it disturb others, it should be turned off. Then iPhone will allow to take photos with longer shutter speed.
Adjust the exposure manually
In additional settings you need to find yellow dot (the same like in the graph above), click it and then change exposure from 3 seconds to 10 seconds.
Now try to take a photo
iPhone doesn't need any tripod, basically just more or less hold it still for 10 seconds. Some of the photos might be out of focus, so it's just a matter of trying, because everything is automatic.
Video of the northern lights
Newest iPhones, like 14 pro, 15 pro or 16 pro, are able to take decent videos. You don't need to adjust any settings, if Aurora is bright and strong enough you can just start to do the video.
ANDROID SMARTPHONES

Turn off flash
The flash can interfere with the natural colors of the aurora, so make sure it’s off. Also it disturb others, it should be turned off. Then iPhone will allow to take photos with longer shutter speed.
Night mode
Most modern smartphones have a Night Mode (usually moon symbol). Activate it and set the exposure to the longest setting available (typically 10 seconds or more). This is the easiest way how to take a photo. Not every smartphone is capable to do the night photos, but at least you can try. If you have more advance smartphones, you might find something called PRO Mode.
ISO (PRO)
ISO sensitivity should be set between 1000 and 2000 ISO.
S - shutter speed (PRO)
Shutter speed allows you to take longer shots. Depend on the smartphone probably you will be able to choose up to 10 seconds or even 30 seconds.
AF/MF (PRO)
Change autofocus (AF) into manual focus (MF). Probably then you will have to set the focus manualy, so remember to set it at infinity, market with ∞ or by the small tree.
WB - white balance (PRO)
Sometimes it's possible to set as well white balance. To have more realistic colours, you should choose around 3300K.

2. DSLR CAMERAS
Turn off flash
Never use flash! So many tourists trying to take a picture of Aurora use the automatic settings which, in darkness, release the flash. This is shameful as it blinds both the photographer and those around him and, what`s more, the precious time of adapting the eyes to the dark is wasted. The most important thing is that a flash photography in this case will never be successful. The only thing you will see in the photo would be the overexposed grass within a meter from the camera.
Autofocus
First of all, you have to change autofocus mode (AF) into manual focus mode (MF), otherwise your camera will be constantly looking for a point of focus. Depend on the camera and lens, sometimes it's a small button on the lens (AF/MF) or in many different cameras you can find AF/MF button. Then probably you will realise, that your picture might be blury. So here is the most difficult thing, you need to find right focus.To focus on stars, set the lens to the infinity value (marked with the symbol ∞). Some lenses do not have this scale, then unfortunately by trial and error method you need to find some distant light and try to sharpen this point. It's worthy to practise that in the daylight.
Shutter speed
There is no universal shutter speed, it all depends on the intensity of Aurora Borealis and the lens aperture. In such a case, we can assume the output value of 15 seconds. If the photo is too bright, just set a few less seconds of shutter speed, if it is too dark that means that your photo needs longer time (e.x. 25 seconds). If you have a good lens with aperture around 1.4 or 1.8 you can try to shot 3 seconds. After a few shots probably you will start to 'feel' which value is enough.
Aperture
In cameras the aperture is marked with the symbol F, the minimum of the aperture are marked on each lens. It is worth to set the aperture value to the lowest possible one (preferably below F3.5). If you have standard kit lens then you should set 3.5, if you have better lens then lower is better. The best are below F 2.0.
ISO sensivity
To not to lose too much photo quality, it is worth to set a maximum of ISO1000, sometimes ISO 1600 is also accepted. Otherwise your picture will grainy with bad quality. However you need to remember that with ISO 100 it's almost impossible to shot good picture in the darkness (or at least not in 10 seconds). Owners of full-frame cameras usually exactly know what ISO they can afford without losing quality.
Shutter delay
This is something extra, what will help you to have sharp photos. To avoid vibrations when pressing the shutter button, it is a good idea to additionally set a delay of 2 seconds. Usually in the cameras you can choose between 2 and 10 seconds delay.
WB - white balance
That`s an additional setting that will improve the color of your photo. The value should be around 3300K (or you can set the WB for the Incandescent Light). Then the sky should be in the correct navy blue shades.