{"id":716287,"date":"2026-06-05T07:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T07:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/716287\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T07:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T07:23:12","slug":"how-i-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-my-phone-by-an-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/716287\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Photograph The Northern Lights With My Phone \u2014 By An Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"woman<\/p>\n

With \u201cstrong\u201d and even \u201csevere\u201d northern lights forecast for North America on Thursday and Friday, here\u2019s how to photograph aurora with a smartphone.<\/p>\n

getty<\/p>\n

Can you take pictures of the northern lights<\/a> with a phone? It\u2019s a timely question today, with space weather forecasters warning that \u201cstrong\u201d to \u201csevere\u201d geomagnetic storms could cause displays of aurora in up to 25 U.S. states<\/a> on Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5. <\/p>\n

The good news is that not only is it easy to take pictures of the northern lights with a phone, but it\u2019s also a great tool for spotting their arrival. <\/p>\n

Forbes\u2018Severe\u2019 Northern Lights Alert For 23 States On Thursday And FridayBy Jamie Carter<\/a>Northern Lights Photography With A Smartphone<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve photographed aurora over frozen lakes in northern Sweden<\/a> and snow-covered mountains in Iceland<\/a>, and captured some of the brightest displays I\u2019ve ever seen in Churchill<\/a>, Manitoba. I use all kinds of cameras, including manual cameras, GoPros and 360-degree gadgets. What surprises most people is that I often begin with a very simple piece of equipment: my smartphone. <\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, using a smartphone for astrophotography would have sounded ridiculous. When I first started chasing aurora a decade ago, smartphone cameras were virtually useless after dark. Today they\u2019re so sensitive that professional aurora guides \u2014 like me \u2014 often use them to check whether a faint glow in the sky is actually the northern lights. Can I tell without a phone? Usually, yes \u2014 but it\u2019s always best to check before waking up guests. This is exactly what you can do tonight.<\/p>\n

ForbesUpgraded \u2018Severe\u2019 Northern Lights Alert For 25 States ThursdayBy Jamie Carter<\/a>Finding The Northern Lights With A Smartphone<\/p>\n

Aurora is often much fainter than people expect. Even when a display is active, it can appear to the naked eye as little more than a gray cloud. A smartphone camera gathers light for several seconds, revealing colors and structures that would otherwise remain hidden.<\/p>\n

So if you see a pale, almost colorless streak appear above the horizon tonight and you\u2019re not quite sure what you\u2019re looking at, take out a phone, point it towards the north and \u2014 if it\u2019s an aurora \u2014 the screen will feature some green or red color in the sky. The camera sees what the eye cannot. When you\u2019ve identified the aurora, you can set about taking a really good image \u2014 using your smartphone. <\/p>\n

Northern Lights Photography With A Smartphone: Night Mode<\/p>\n

Smartphones aren\u2019t just aurora-detection tools. Flagship models are now very capable in low light. If I\u2019m using an iPhone, I switch off the flash, make sure Night Mode is active and use the main camera rather than the ultra-wide lens. The primary lens is almost always better in low-light conditions and captures significantly more detail and color. <\/p>\n

A simple three-second Night Mode exposure is often enough to get an excellent image. But there are other options. <\/p>\n

ForbesVenus And Jupiter To Almost Touch After Sunset In Close ConjunctionBy Jamie Carter<\/a>Northern Lights Photography With A Smartphone: ChecklistTurn off the flash \u2014 it won\u2019t illuminate the night sky and can ruin your image by lighting up nearby objects.Set your phone camera to RAW or ProRAW if your phone offers it, giving you far more flexibility to enhance colors and recover detail when editing.Use the main camera lens rather than the ultra-wide lens, which generally performs much worse in low light.Enable Night Mode (or Astrophotography\/Pro Mode) to allow longer exposures and capture more detail.Take test shots even if the aurora looks faint. Smartphone sensors are often more sensitive than the human eye and can detect colors that may be difficult for the human eye to see.Keep the phone completely steady using a tripod, smartphone mount (or a solid surface such as a wall, fence or car roof)Use the longest exposure possible \u2014 typically between three and 10 seconds \u2014 to gather maximum light from faint aurora (three seconds is often enough). <\/p>\n

An image of the northern lights featuring people can often be the most memorable of all. <\/p>\n

Jamie Carter 2026Northern Lights Photography With A Smartphone: Tripods<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019ve learned from photographing aurora, it\u2019s that stability matters more than almost anything else. If you can, use a small tripod. If you don\u2019t have one, at least bring your elbows in to your body, thereby using your body to help stability. Or use the roof of a car or anything else stable. <\/p>\n

If you can use a tripod, there\u2019s a bonus feature in modern phones that recognizes when they\u2019re completely stable. On an iPhone, for example, Night Mode exposures can extend far beyond the standard three seconds when the phone is mounted on a tripod, producing dramatically brighter and cleaner images. That might be crucial, depending on the display.<\/p>\n

Northern Lights Photography With A Smartphone: Composition<\/p>\n

Think about composition \u2014 photographs of green or red in the sky might seem spectacular to you, but without context, they will not be memorable in the long term. The most memorable images aren\u2019t necessarily the brightest aurora displays, but the photographs with a sense of place. The landscape provides context and scale. <\/p>\n

You can even try to get the people with you in a shot \u2014 and that\u2019s often the best souvenir shot of all. <\/p>\n

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.<\/p>\n