{"id":1488,"date":"2024-01-26T15:22:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T15:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rany.co.uk\/?page_id=1488"},"modified":"2026-02-10T14:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T14:54:33","slug":"how-to-aurora","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rany.co.uk\/index.php\/how-to-aurora\/","title":{"rendered":"How To: Aurora"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most of my Aurora Photography is done on Cruises to Norway, I have done some in the UK but the Aurora tends to be a lot more impressive inside the Arctic Circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equipment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Clothing:<\/strong> If you are out photographing the Aurora it is almost certainly going to be cold (it can be as low as – 25 degrees Centigrade), so you need to think about how much you feel the cold.
    To protect yourself from the cold you need to wear layers and the layers need to be Wool or Synthetics NOT Cotton. Cotton absorbs moisture and gets colder, Wool and Synthetics draw the moisture away from you.
    The best series of layers are:
    a. a base layer usually synthetic,
    b. followed by a merino wool layer,
    c. followed by a fleece layer,
    d. finishing off with a windproof \/ waterproof layer
    Only you will know what you need as everybody’s body temperature is different.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Hands, Feet & Head:<\/strong> Again layers are good, thermal liners followed by wool and\/or fleece. Again top layer think windproof.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Photography Accessories:<\/strong>
    a. Tripod<\/strong> is essential to keep your camera still whilst taking long exposure shots.
    b. Headlamp<\/strong> preferably with a red light to help preserve night vision. A headlamp to keep both hands free and red to preserve your and others night vision (it takes 5 to 8 minutes for your eyes to start adjusting to darkness, but they don\u2019t reach maximum adjustment until you\u2019ve been in the dark for about 40 minutes).
    c. Remote Shutter Release<\/strong>, these come in many formats from App’s and Bluetooth to Basic Cabled gadgets. The Basic Cabled variety is the most reliable (no battery required, batteries loose their power quickly in the cold).
    d. Extra Batteries<\/strong>, for both your camera and headlamp.
    e. Extra Memory Cards<\/strong>, you do not want to run out of memory space if the Aurora is really spectacular.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Camera:<\/strong> This can be anything from a Mobile Phone (with the right App). Sorry you are on your own with Mobiles and App’s as they vary so much and one App might be good for one phone and not another. Added to this many of the newer Mobiles have technology built into them to take photos of the night sky now. Check out App’s that are Night sky or Aurora or Northern Lights and check they are compatible with your model of phone (worth testing it beforehand).

    To a DSLR or Mirrorless Camera and the settings for these is basically all the same. However if you have the choice of selecting a Camera for Night Photography then here is the advice. The best type of Camera is what is termed Full Frame and a sensor with 12-30 megapixels. The most recently released camera the better (camera sensor technology is advancing very fast). My current choice is the Canon R6 Full Frame 20Mp & Canon R6 mkIII 32Mp Mirrorless Cameras (my previous camera was a Canon 6Dmkii Full Frame 24MP DSLR).
    Having said this you can get some good images with a crop sensor APS-C camera and the right settings. You need to expose for longer at lower ISO values.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The Lens:<\/strong> This needs to be as wide angle as possible as the Aurora can occur over a vast area of sky 10mm to 24mm and as wide an aperture as possible f1.4-f4.0.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The Aurora<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The first thing to know is that you are not going to see with the Naked Eye as much as the Camera will see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is because of how our eyes work,
    most people will see this when looking at the Aurora….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    it can easily be mistaken for cloud, but if you look closely you can see stars through it (click image to enlarge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    and with the Camera we can see this….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Photographing the Aurora isn\u2019t an exact science, there are a lot of variables to consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All cameras and lenses will give different results, so a bit of trial and error is needed to find out what works best for you and your equipment set up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s also important to remember that no two auroras are the same. This means that settings which work one night may not work the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It all depends what you want to do with the images, if you want to post on social media then a phone is fine, but if you want a photo to go on your wall or a large screen you will need a DSLR or Mirrorless Camera to get all the detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many people say it is not the Camera it is the Photographer, yes this is true about most photography. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When it comes to the Aurora though, you need the right technology for the job and it does make a difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most recently released Mirrorless Cameras have the latest Sensors and these have improved in their ability to handle Electronic Noise (this appears as grainy patterns) at very high ISO’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the Equipment above I said that the best Camera to have was Full Frame. Here the outer red frame shows an image taken at 16mm full frame, the orange frame shows what you would get a 24mm or with a 16mm on a crop sensor camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The two images for comparison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    So for comparison:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lens Marking<\/td>Full Frame Sensor<\/td>APS-C Crop Sensor<\/td><\/tr>
    10mm<\/td>10mm<\/td>15 \/ 16mm<\/td><\/tr>
    14mm<\/td>14mm<\/td>21 \/ 22.5mm<\/td><\/tr>
    16mm<\/td>16mm<\/td>24 \/ 25.5mm<\/td><\/tr>
    20mm<\/td>20mm<\/td>30 \/ 32mm<\/td><\/tr>
    24mm<\/td>24mm<\/td>36 \/ 38.5mm<\/td><\/tr>
    28mm<\/td>28mm<\/td>42 \/ 45mm<\/td><\/tr>
    35mm<\/td>35mm<\/td>52.5 \/ 56mm<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n