Bonus Photography Tips For Northern Lights Photography
Best Time of the Month To Go – The best time to photograph the northern lights are the nights preceding and following the New Moon. In an ideal world, I would be out photographing the northern lights 3 nights prior to 3 nights after the dates of the new moon.
Here is the website I use to identify moon cycles. – https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/ You can find the moon cycles for any location from now to the year, 2040.
Battery Tip – Keep spare batteries in an inside pocket when you are outside. I keep them in the front pockets of my track pants that are under my outer layers.
Photographing With Others – Communicating is the key to success. Everyone should check their cameras at the same time, and take photos at the same time. It can be very frustrating for those taking photos when a headlamp lights up their foregrounds.
Keep The Vehicle Running – If you are near your vehicle, keep it running so you can get warm. Turn off all the exterior and interior lights and just keep it running. I will go as far as to turn the heater on the vent setting and turn them in such a way that you only have to stick your hands inside the open windows to warm them up.
Watch for Temperature Changes in Cold Weather – You are better to leave your camera outside versus taking it in and out of the vehicle. If you are changing locations put your camera away in your bag that is in the back seat or trunk. You DO NOT want that cold camera to warm up.
Patience – Have some patience. The Northern Lights can appear at any time. They can last from just a few minutes, or curl in the skies all night long. If you are with a group, take turns watching the skies, sleep while you can, and make sure you are ready to go when the lights are spotted.
Take As Many Photos As You Can – I speak from experience when I say that the northern lights constantly change. I will keep taking photos when the lights are in the sky. Occasionally checking focus, composition, and exposures every 5-10 images.
One of the keys to capturing those special images is to just keep clicking the shutter button on the remote.
Take Two Images - When the aurora dances in the sky you are exposing for the aurora. You are not paying attention to the foreground exposures. This will introduce significant noise into the shadows and dark foreground because you are using high ISO.
I will take two images. The first at an exposure time to capture the aurora properly. I will then increase the length of the exposure by 100% to 200%. For example, a 5-second exposure for the aurora will be a 10 second or 20-second exposure to capture a well-exposed foreground. I will then blend these two images together in photoshop to create an Aurora image that has much lower noise in the shadows.
Wired Remotes – Be careful moving that remote around in extremely cold temperatures. That thin cable will freeze, and snap when its below the freezing mark. I wrap it around my tripod, just below the camera. That eliminates movement.
You can also set your remote on the lock position. It will continually fire shots without touching anything.
LCD Screen Brightness – Turn down the brightness of the LCD screen. When photographing at night the brightness of the LCD screen can trick you into thinking you’ve got the correct exposure. I turn down the brightness to 75% so that I can assure that I am getting the correct brightness in my images. The histogram will tell the true tale of your exposures, but when a quick check is needed, this little tip will help you ensure proper exposure.
Noise Reduction – Turn off noise reduction on your camera. It takes as long to apply noise reduction in your camera as it does to take the photo. This will cut your images in half. Any noise reduction can be done in post-processing