Here are some things to keep in mind when shooting the Northern Lights:
- Deactivate the camera flash and automatic settings.
- Always shoot RAW format - it will give you the most data to work with later. Feel free to shot JPG at the same time, though, if your camera supports it. Most do.
- Focus manually to infinity. Switch off the camera's autofocus to be on the safe side.
- Open up the lens aperture. You need to admit a lot of light, so shoot wide open. This will be when the f-number is as low as possible, i.e. f/2.8 or lower for many pro-lenses, or f/3.5 or f/4 for many consumer zooms.
- Compose your shot. Remember that the Northern Lights need scale and context, so include the foreground in your shot. This can be a tree, a building, a car, or even just the horizon.
- Set the ISO to somewhere between 100 and 400, depending on what you need. The faster your lens and the longer your shutter speed, the lower your ISO can be, and vice versa.
- Start with a shutter speed between 4 and 12 seconds, and experiment from there. Avoid longer shutter speeds, as they will tend to blur the northerns lights as they move across the sky. Adjust ISO and/or aperture if neccessary.
- Keep the camera as still as possible while you are exposing. Use a tripod and a remote trigger if you have one, and the trigger delay function if you do not. Do not touch the camera until it is done exposing, and shield it from the wind if you can.
Keep in mind that you do not need complete darkness to see and photograph the Northern Lights. In fact, a certain glow over the horizon might add that special something to your pictures, so try to be ready to catch the magical light that can occur any time from an hour before sunset to an hour after. A full or partially full moon may also add a certain ghostly glow to your pictures. The key is to experiment and make the most of what you have available.