

“My pro guide to shooting the northern lights”
Award-winning photographer Tor-Ivar Næss shares his expert tips to elevate your shots of the spectacular night sky
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“Every good northern lights shot has a story of its own—so picking out a favorite one is difficult.” Acclaimed night and landscape photographer Tor-Ivar Næss has devoted much of the last 13 years to documenting one of the world’s greatest natural phenomena. Based in Nordreisa in the far north of Norway—“a coastal environment with big mountains, deep fjords, valleys… winters can be rough”—the lights have been an ever-present feature in his life.

“As a child and as I grew older, the northern lights were just as common as a colorful sunset,” he tells us from his home, attributing his first successful captures of the lights to “dumb luck” while experimenting with long exposures and a new DSLR camera.
Quitting a life as a World of Warcraft gamer in 2009, Næss quickly established a sizable following on social media for his remarkable images of the multicolored, luminous skies of his locality.
“At the time, I was one of the very few that did it because I had access to the northern lights, and I had a camera. So that combination alone was fairly rare. But today, you can capture the northern lights with your phone. The technology has definitely improved!” With this democratization of photography has come an increase in people wanting to shoot the northern lights, and Næss’s guided field trips are the perfect way for them to learn.
When the lights explode in the sky, you will be mesmerized
Tor-Ivar Næss
Interestingly, he finds the strongest reactions to the lights often come from people who have already seen them previously: “When you’ve never seen the northern lights, and it explodes in the sky, you will of course be mesmerized,” he says.
“But a person that has seen the lights before knows that an explosion in the sky like that happens maybe twice a month.” The instinctive reaction to the lights can be powerful: “In the dark, you will hear people screaming because the northern lights are so good.”

Næss explains how on every journey, every encounter with the lights is unique, because they manifest differently in every place. “Here, you are right below the aurora oval, so the northern lights will likely come above your head,” he says. “But the further south you are, say Iceland, you will get an angled view, so you will probably see more colors building up—from green, to magenta, even up to a blue.”
See below for Næss’s five tips for photographing the aurora borealis on your own trip, and make sure you’re fully prepared to document an experience like no other. “Remember, capturing the northern lights is often about patience and experimenting with settings, so don’t get discouraged if your first few shots don’t turn out as expected,” says Næss. “Keep trying!”
How to get a next-level shot of the northern lights, by Tor-Ivar Næss
- Use a tripod
Or place your phone on a sturdy surface, like a backpack. Stability is key for long-exposure photography. A tripod will keep your phone steady, crucial for capturing the slow-moving lights of the aurora without blur. You can shoot handheld, but it comes with disadvantages as the hardware and software of your phone will have to compensate for micro movements of your hand.
- Go to manual mode
If your smartphone camera allows manual settings, use them. Adjust the ISO (try starting around 800-1600), lower the shutter speed (several seconds), and set the aperture as wide as possible to let in as much light as you can.
- Focus to infinity
Ensure your camera’s focus is set to infinity. This is important because autofocus might have trouble in the dark, and you want the stars and lights to be sharp. You know you are in focus when the stars are at their smallest. Imagine you are trying to find focus with a pair of binoculars. It is the same concept, just with a different device.
- Use a remote shutter or timer
To avoid camera shake when you press the shutter button, use a remote control or the built-in timer function on your smartphone.
- Experiment with composition
The aurora is unpredictable, so try different compositions. Include interesting foregrounds for a sense of scale and place, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different angles and perspectives. And if the aurora is above you, do try to shoot straight up into it. This can give amazing results if there is some pace in the auroras.

Justin Quirk
Writer
Justin Quirk is Associate Creative Director of Editorial at Expedia Group, as well as a writer and editor who has worked for titles including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Esquire about music, design, and current affairs. He is also the author of Nothin’ But a Good Time, an acclaimed cultural history of 1980s heavy metal.

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