How to shoot the northern lights

Aurora is not a phenomenon that can be encountered all over the world. Whether you want to watch or photograph the Northern Lights, even if we do go to northern Norway and Iceland, there is no guarantee that we will see them. So how do you shoot the Northern Lights? Let's see:

Chapter 1: Equipment to be prepared

According to the principle, the Northern Lights can be seen in the Arctic Circle on sunny nights all year round, but they often appear in the night sky in winter, so the equipment needed for shooting the aurora is almost the same as that for shooting the night scene, including the following equipment: camera, tripod, pay-off, battery, lens (wide-angle lens, telephoto lens, fisheye lens, etc. ) and black card (optional).

1, one or two cameras

It is recommended to choose a camera in manual mode (M mode) or shutter mode (S/Tv mode). In addition, full-frame cameras will have an advantage when shooting at high ISO. Of course, if you have two cameras, you can also bring them at the same time, because you can capture different aurora patterns at the same time.

2. One or two tripods

We are going to shoot the tripod of the Northern Lights, which is also the "elite" in the tripod. It must withstand the strong wind blowing outdoors and remain as stable as a mountain, otherwise we can't take clear photos. In addition, it needs to have enough height, because if it is lifted by lifting the central axis, it will affect the stability of the tripod. Also, you need stable locking when using the tripod head and quick release board here.

A stable tripod is very important when shooting the Northern Lights.

Some tripods can be equipped with nail feet, which are suitable for use on ice.

3. Cable release

The function of cable release here is to avoid the vibration when the shutter is pressed, shorten the time of taking pictures, and make it possible to take several photos at the same position.

4. More than two batteries

Because batteries will be used faster in cold places, you need to prepare several spare batteries. If the camera runs out of power at the critical moment, you really want to cry.

5. Three commonly used lenses

In order to cope with the variety of aurora, I recommend three kinds of lenses here: one is a wide-angle lens (such as 1 1-24mm) for shooting large scenes; The second is the medium focal length (such as 50-70mm), which is used to shoot the picture of the subject with aurora; The third is the telephoto segment (such as 200-300mm), which is used to shoot large close-ups of the environment. In addition, you can also wear fisheye glasses, which can make your photos more changeable.

Although the shots to be taken in travel photography are random, it is best to shoot the Northern Lights with long, medium and short focal lengths. (network picture)

6. Black card

If there is no bright light source, you need to use a black card, depending on the actual shooting situation.

Fish-eye glasses can shoot aurora in a wide range.

Chapter 2: Camera Settings

First of all, you need to have experience in shooting night scenes, because their methods and skills are very similar, all based on "M-mode". Please refer to the following settings for specific settings: 1, and the aperture is generally set to the maximum (such as f/2.8, f/4); 2.ISO and shutter should be set according to the desired effect. If you want to shoot dark or flowing aurora, you can set a lower ISO (such as ISO 320,640, etc. )+slow shutter (for example, 20 seconds), if you want to shoot bright or dancing aurora, you can set a higher ISO (for example, ISO1600,3200, etc. 3. Set the white balance to automatic, or directly set it to sunshine/5000 K; 4. The functions that need to be turned off are shockproof, automatic ISO function and "long exposure denoising" function, all of which are to avoid wasting shooting time; 5. In terms of saving the photo format, I suggest RAW+JPG for post-production; 6. Because the autofocus function of the camera will fail in the dark, we can set the lens to "infinity" in two ways. First, set it to manual focus mode, and then use. The focusing ruler on the lens adjusts the lens to "∞" (infinity). Second, set it to autofocus first, then pick up the camera and press it half-way to focus on distant luminous objects (such as the moon, distant lights, houses, etc.). ).

If you use a slow shutter, you will shoot a flowing aurora.

If you use a faster shutter and a higher ISO, you can be afraid of the "jumping" aurora.

Chapter Three: Composition and Framework.

There is no fixed composition for shooting aurora. Because of the variability of the aurora, even in the same night, the time and direction of seeing the aurora will change, so we can only improvise on the composition. But there are some composition methods that we can learn in advance and can come in handy when shooting.

Method 1: Find "foreground" as a foil.

When shooting the aurora, find something as a "foreground" to set off, which will not make the photo monotonous but also enrich the picture. The prospect we are looking for is usually ice, mountains, forests or huts.

Adding a suitable foreground can enrich the whole photo.

Method 2: Find the diagonal of the aurora.

We can't predict the appearance of the aurora, but if you happen to see a long or curved aurora, you can shoot it sideways, so that you can shoot the dynamic beauty of the aurora.

Method 3: Take the aurora as the background and the sky or the ground as the protagonist.

When writing a composition, you should have a protagonist in mind. Although the aurora is our subject, it can also be used as a background to set off the main body of the surrounding environment, and it is also a pleasure to exchange subjects.

Shoot the hut with the northern lights.

Chapter IV: Matters needing attention

I believe you have seen many photos of aurora on the Internet. You will find that some photos have bright prospects, while others are very dark. The reason why the foreground is dark is the moon. At the full moon, the moon will illuminate the foreground. When there is no moon, the prospect will be dark, so you can take a look at the moon first and then arrange your trip.

postscript

It takes equipment and skill to make a satisfactory aurora work, but the ultimate element is luck. Because the aurora is a magical phenomenon in nature, its location, frequency and range vary greatly. You can use some websites or apps to predict the intensity of the aurora in advance, but even local people in Iceland say that it is still difficult to "predict" the appearance of the aurora. Sometimes the prediction is weak but it is brilliant when it appears. In addition, the aurora is also affected by the weather, and cloudy days, rainy days (snowy days) and so on will also affect the viewing of the aurora. Therefore, if conditions permit, you can extend your stay and pray for good luck. I hope that all the students who are "tall" can make full preparations for chasing the aurora through this article.