David Smith - State Farm Insurance Agent

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Here is a basic how to guide for cameras and phones to capture the auroras. Please share to everyone you know so they capture the auroras as well!!!

I've been receiving so many comments on how to capture them on camera, and as a professional photographer, I figured I would share some tricks to help most people capture the lights (I've included multiple images of the Auroras I've captured). A tripod is recommended for everything below. These settings are subject to chance based on conditions so adjust as needed.

CAMERAS:

- Find and select manual mode on your camera
- Shutter speed: Around 10 seconds is best if the auroras are far away and not moving fast. If the auroras are directly overhead and moving fast, 2 - 4 seconds is best.
- F stop: As low as it possibly goes for the lens that you are using. For example, my primary aurora lens goes down to F 2.8, and that's what I keep it at.
- ISO: This will depend on the quality of your camera. My ISO is normally between 800 - 1600 but you might have go higher if your images are darker. Be aware that the higher your ISO is, the "grainier" your picture will look.
- RAW vs JPEG. I always use RAW if you are doing any real editing. JPEG is fine for those who don't plan on doing much to the photo.
- Turn off autofocus. Manually focus your lens to just below the crosshairs of infinity. This will give you better control to get sharp images.
- Unless you have a remote shutter, turn on a 2 second timer to avoid any camera shake.
That is the basic starting point for your cameras. From there, you can adjust the settings to get your images perfect.

IPHONE SETTINGS:

- Use Night mode (iPhone 11 and later) or manual mode (third-party apps).
- Set exposure: 3-10 seconds
- ISO: Start between 400 - 600 and adjust as needed
- Turn off flash
- Focus: Manual or Infinity
- Use a 3-second timer to avoid any camera shake
- Turn on RAW Max if it is available on your phone to get the best quality

ANDROID SETTINGS:

- Use Pro/Manual/Night mode
- Set exposure: 3 - 10 seconds.
- ISO: Start between 400 - 600 and adjust as needed
- Turn off flash
- Focus: Manual or Infinity
- Use a 3-second timer to avoid any camera shake
- Turn on RAW if it is available on your phone to get the best quality

Info originally created by Tony Bendele with extra info and modifications by myself.