In brief
To photograph an aurora from France, a tripod and a 4-15 second exposure are enough, with a wide-angle lens open (f/2.8 or faster), ISO 1600-3200, focus at infinity. A recent smartphone in night mode also gives good results.
Minimum gear
No need for a pro body. In a comfortable setup:
- A mirrorless or DSLR camera (even entry-level) with manual mode.
- A fast wide-angle lens: 14-24mm f/2.8 on full-frame, 10-18mm f/2.8 on APS-C. A 18-55 f/3.5 kit lens as last resort.
- A stable tripod: mandatory. A 10-second handheld exposure yields nothing.
- Wired or wireless remote: avoids shutter shake. A 2 s self-timer also works.
- Spare batteries: cold drains them fast, keep them warm in an inside pocket.
For a recent smartphone (iPhone 14+, Pixel 7+, Samsung S22+), a phone-holder tripod is enough; no lens needed.
Camera settings
Starting point, adjust per intensity:
| Aurora | Aperture | ISO | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faint | f/2.8 | 3200 | 10-15 s |
| Moderate | f/2.8 | 1600-3200 | 5-8 s |
| Strong | f/2.8 or f/4 | 800-1600 | 2-4 s |
| Very strong (Kp 9) | f/4 or f/5.6 | 400-800 | 1-2 s |
Key points:
- RAW format mandatory: you gain 2-3 stops in post.
- White balance: auto to start, then fix to 3500-4000 K for faithful colours.
- Manual focus at infinity: in live view, zoom 10x on a bright star and adjust for sharpest point. Do not touch the ring again.
- Stabilisation off when on tripod (it can introduce micro-shakes).
- Mirror lock-up or silent mode on DSLR, to avoid vibration.
Composition
A standalone aurora photo is often dull. Add a foreground element that gives scale and location:
- A tree silhouette, a castle, an isolated church.
- Reflection on a still body of water (lake, pond, marsh).
- A mountain chain on the horizon (Vosges, Pyrenees, Alps).
- A row of stones, a small cairn, the friends you are with.
Favour landscape orientation to convey the aurora's breadth. Portrait for capturing the vertical rays of intense auroras.
Smartphone
Night modes on recent smartphones are impressive for auroras.
- iPhone: enable automatic Night mode, 10 s if possible. Disable flash.
- Pixel: Astrophotography mode (extended Night Sight) from Pixel 4 onwards. Up to 4-minute exposures.
- Samsung Galaxy S22+: Pro Expert mode, 10-30 s exposure, ISO manual 1600-3200.
A phone-holder tripod (5-10€) radically transforms the result. Do not use the phone during exposure: any vibration ruins the image.
Post-processing
From RAW, light processing makes images far more striking than straight out of camera.
- Exposure: +0.5 to +1 stop if needed.
- Shadows: raise +30 to +50 to recover dark detail.
- Highlights: drop -20 to -40 for very bright auroras.
- Vibrance: +15 to +25 max. Avoid saturation bumps: they make greens cartoonish.
- Noise reduction: aggressive on flats (sky), light on aurora detail (which contains real structured noise).
Free tools: Darktable, RawTherapee. Lightroom Mobile free tier on a phone does the job just fine.