How to Photograph the Northern Lights | Camera Settings & Setup

Рет қаралды 15,770

Жыл бұрын

#northernlights #auroraborealis #astrophotography
I've been fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) twice -- in Iceland and off the coast of Newfoundland. In this video, I will take you through my top 7 tips for capturing the best photographs of the northern lights. We'll cover shutter speed, aperture, ISO and so much more. Enjoy!
Northern lights in Canada: • 10-Day Canada & New En...
Northern lights in Iceland: • How to plan Ring Road ...
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Пікірлер: 38

@LexaLianne 5 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for explaining everything. I know nothing about cameras and have watched so many videos without any idea of what they're saying, they're just throwing numbers at me. I'm going to Alaska next month to see the auroras but have no clue what camera to get that's affordable and easy to use. Do you have any recommendations? Which one do you use?

@akfasso 5 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching! It means a lot. First of all, Alaska is going to be amazing! Have fun. :) Secondly, the camera game has changed since I first started, but if I were to begin right now with the intent on photographing northern lights (or the night sky in general), I would invest in a mirrorless camera, but more importantly, you want to make sure you get decent lenses. I have an Amazon Storefront where I just created a small section -- inspired by your question! -- featuring items I would get if I were just beginning now: www.amazon.com/shop/akfasso (Please keep in mind, I get a small kickback if you choose to purchase anything through this link. Thank you!) Best of luck!!

@MehmudButt Жыл бұрын

Thanks for very informative video.I m so much interested in Northern nights but had never chance to see them n photograph them.Your video will help me in this matter.

@WilnaWanderlust Жыл бұрын

thanks for the tips! gotta see the northern light this coming october hopefully we have best of the best of our luck during 3 night stay.

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

My fingers are crossed for you!

@chaosxawoken86 2 ай бұрын

Last night near the middle of the United States. I did have a fair amount of light pollution from being in the city but got some decent pictures with my iPhone 15+ camera and was hoping to learn how to get better pictures with my eos rebel t3 that I normally use as a webcam. This video had all the tips I was looking for. Thanks!

@akfasso 2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found this helpful. I was also out last night trying to take photos, but it was pretty cloudy here in NYC. Trying again tonight! Best of luck!

@susanpool4544 2 ай бұрын

@@akfasso Exactly why I searched for this video. Reading the manual for my canon eos5Dsr is always informative but the real life experience, trial & error bring it to life! Shooting Northern Lights in Ohio! Something I never imagined i would do.

@akfasso 2 ай бұрын

@susanpool4544 wow! Hope you were able to capture some shots! How lucky you are to see them! It’s been cloudy both nights in NYC. Super bummed, but am loving seeing everyone else’s photos all around the country. :)

@AnyaFortygin 11 ай бұрын

Hi there, thank you for your video. I enjoyed the structure of information you had set up and followed to explain how to take photographs of the northern lights. I am so pleased to see we use similar fujifilm cameras to take pictures of the night sky. Please excuse me, but I must call out your factoids on focus. You had said (one ex: focus on the tree and then the stars will be in focus behind it) When you focus on an object in the foreground, everything before and after will not be in focus. I use a fujifilm as well- and I find it useful to think about focusing in meters. On some lenses, you have the manual focus ring that has focus all the way up to infinity- you change the settings to manual focus tracking of your preference and try to get as close to infinity as possible for the stars to be crisp. That’s at f-stop 2.0 - 1.0. If you are at f-8- you will have more longer depth of view naturally, and more objects will be in focus as in relation to your lense. Thank you for this video and happy photography!

@akfasso 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for the feedback and info!

@AdrianWingate2010 8 ай бұрын

Another tip you've not mentioned is to take spare batteries. In the cold, the batteries do not last as long. Also, try to keep any spare batteries somewhere warm (your jacket/coat) so they don't run low either

@robertdoyle8972 8 ай бұрын

You should come to Alaska to see the northern lights and yes they do get even brighter then what you showed in your pics and people can even take pics of them when they are like that with there phone but when they are like that using a really good camera you still get a lot better results I just got the Sony A7R V and looking to get the Sony A1 also now and also I live here in Alaska have for almost thirty years now

@attilajenkins1580 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to Iceland in December and I've been more worried about what gear to bring than clothes.

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

I hope you see the northern lights! That’s a prime time to go. :)

@PeterSchurte Жыл бұрын

@CeliaSchaefer 9 ай бұрын

Hi! This is great guidance on photography for the Northern Lights. Quick question: I see a few of your photos are from onboard the cruise ship: did you use a tripod onboard? Did the motion of the ship render that more, or less, important? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts!

@akfasso 9 ай бұрын

Thanks! I did use a tripod for the cruise ship shots to stabilize as best as I could, but the movement of the ocean was certainly a factor in the resulting images. Fortunately, it was a VERY calm sea, but I did lower my shutter speed to a few seconds instead of 10-15 seconds because I knew the motion would blur the resulting images.

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

Have you had an opportunity to see the northern lights? If so, where?!

@chrisstreet1994 Жыл бұрын

I love to photograph the North lights! I live in northern Saskatchewan. Great video

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

@@chrisstreet1994 how lucky you are to live in a place where northern lights are a little more frequent. I never see them here in NY. 😂

@keithskravings5283 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips!

@12388753 Жыл бұрын

I live in the far south of Norway (Agder). And I have seen good aurora with colors (green, pink) twice this season. Yesterday and in october. I have, however seen it many times when it was just grey :)

@12388753 Жыл бұрын

Update! Make that 4 times with colour. I also saw it tonight and yesterday. I love going for a walk in the forest and seeing the lights :)

@RondasBlog Жыл бұрын

Great video!! I dream of seeing the Northern lights… I just got the Canon EOS RP with a 24-105mm lens…. Will this be good? I have the iPhone 14 pro with amazing features + low aperture.

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

That’s a great lens and camera. Try to keep the lens as close to 24mm as you can. It’ll give you the widest shot. As far as the iPhone goes… I have not upgraded yet, but will be excited to test the low light capabilities once I get it. :)

@RondasBlog Жыл бұрын

@@akfasso sweet thanks!! I’m just getting acclimated with my canon & just starting my photography journey 🙃!! I’ll eventually get a different lens to add to my collection….!! The 14 pro has a beautiful camera!! The lowest aperture is 1.4 in portrait mode.. stunning background effects. 😍also can get a wide angle shots with a .5 setting! Def an upgrade from my iPhone 8+!

@cre8tivity06 Жыл бұрын

That whole bit about ISO is dependent on your location. I was just out in very, very dark Sedona, Arizona shooting the Milky Way and I used an ISO of between 16,000 and 25,000 and my photos look amazing.

@akfasso Жыл бұрын

That’s great! 🙌🏻 I believe it is also camera-dependent since it is a digital enhancement. My Fuji camera shot much crisper photos than my old Canon did at high ISOs.

@nigelfosh73 4 ай бұрын

What month did you go to Iceland? I am going in late April/ early May 2024. Night's are shorter but I'm still hoping to catch something... thx ;-)

@akfasso 4 ай бұрын

Have a great time! I went end of March / beginning of April. :)

@spraystruck1375 10 ай бұрын

I laughed out loud at 20% being a low percentage! I’ve seen them at 1% with that app lol most times it’s 8% or lower

@akfasso 10 ай бұрын

Yeah! I’ve seen them at 4%, so I guess anything greater than 0% means “likely.” 😅

@AdrianWingate2010 8 ай бұрын

You missed it a VERY important tip. You did not mention to either use a Bluetooth shutter release or to set the timer to 2 second before taking a photo. This will stop any movement

@akfasso 8 ай бұрын

Great tip! I have never really experienced a problem pressing the shutter, but yes… if you want to eliminate every possible bit of movement, hitting the shutter wirelessly or using a timer can definitely help!