Northern Lights Photography Settings, for a Camera or a Phone

For the northern lights, start with a tripod, manual focus at infinity, the widest aperture your lens has (f/2.8 or wider), ISO 1600 to 3200 and a shutter of 5 to 15 seconds; shorten the shutter when the lights move fast. On a phone, use night mode on a steady surface. The easier way is a tour with a photographer: Aurora Viking’s small-group tour from Reykjavik, from US$165 as of October 2026, sends you pro photos of yourself under the lights.

Check dates for Aurora Viking →

Camera settings

• Focus: manual, on a bright star or a distant light, then tape the ring. Autofocus hunts in the dark.
• Aperture: as wide as the lens goes. A wide-angle lens at f/2.8 or wider is the standard.
• ISO: 1600 to 3200 to start; lower on bright, fast displays.
• Shutter: 5 to 15 seconds. Longer blurs the curtains into a green smear; on a fast display, go shorter.
• White balance: around 3,500 to 4,000 K, or shoot RAW and set it later.
• Stability: a tripod and a two-second timer, so pressing the button does not shake the frame.

Phone settings

Modern phones have a night mode that stacks several exposures. Put the phone on something steady, or a small tripod, turn the flash off, and hold still for the count. Several tours lend tripods and set phones up for you: Lofoten Lights includes a tripod and a photographer who helps with phones.

The cold

Batteries drain fast in the cold: carry spares in an inside pocket. When you go back indoors, put the camera in a closed bag first, so condensation forms on the bag, not the lens.

Tours where someone photographs you

You can do all of this yourself, and the sky is free. What a photo tour adds is the picture you cannot take: you in the frame, lit, under the lights, while you watch rather than fiddle with settings.

Prices in US dollars, ratings and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026; they change with the date you pick.