As the desire to photograph the captivating Northern Lights in the United States rises, a lot of spectators are curious about how to record the show on camera.
While taking a picture of the Aurora Borealis can capture a single point in time, shooting it involves adjusting exposure settings to accurately capture the rapidly changing colors and movements.
Continue reading if you want to capture the Northern Lights phenomenon over American sky this weekend forever.
How to photograph the Northern Lights
Real-time Aurora Borealis observation requires a “delicate balance of shutter speed, ISO and aperture settings.” In contrast to photography, where longer exposures yield greater light and detail, smooth action in filming necessitates shutter speeds of at least 1/30 or 1/25 of a second.
The observatory states that this limitation “restricts the amount of incoming light, necessitating adjustments to ISO settings, often exceeding 12800 to compensate for the reduced exposure.”
“Selecting the right equipment is crucial for successful real-time filming,” according to experts who have shot the Northern Lights at the Aurora Borealis Observatory.
The observatory states that because they can tolerate extremely low light circumstances, cameras with high ISO capabilities—like the Sony a7s series or the Canon R6—are recommended.
The Aurora Borealis Observatory states that precise calibration of parameters like shutter speed, ISO, and aperture is necessary to get the best results.
. While choosing the right picture profile (PP) can have a big impact on the final footage, lower shutter speeds and higher ISO settings are still required for optimum exposure. Additionally, the observatory notes that while Cine 2 gamma may provide superior images right out of the camera, especially for noise reduction, pros sometimes choose Log gamma profiles to improve dynamic range.
Using a smartphone to take pictures of the Northern Lights
Hello Aurora, a blog, claims that you can “record impressive videos under the right conditions” with an iPhone or Android phone even if you don’t have a good camera. To that end, Hello Aurora suggests taking the following actions:
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Step 1: Launch the camera app and select “Photo” mode.
Hello Aurora claims that because a longer exposure period is utilized when taking a picture, the aurora is more visible in your camera’s Photo mode than in Video mode.
Step 2: Record your screen by using your phone’s screen recording capability.
Step Three: Modify
Hello Aurora advises deleting the first section of your recorded video where you enabled screen recording in order to obtain the finest possible video. Crop the screen then however you’d like.
Hello Aurora claims that utilizing Photo mode “minimizes camera shake and makes sharper images,” while actual results may differ based on the manufacturer and software version of your phone.
Visit Iceland advises utilizing Night mode on iPhone 11 Pro and up, advising users to “use it to adjust your exposure time (around 10-15 seconds) to capture the aurora’s dance.”
Hopefully, this weekend will see the elusive Green Lady dancing across the night skies of the United States.