1. A tripod is a must! Your camera is trying to capture as much light as it can so it needs to be super stable – so much that if it’s windy you may want to put a weight on it to keep it from the slightest of movements.
2. High ISO! ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light. Set this at 1600-8000 depending on how bright they are. The brighter the northern lights, the lower your ISO will be because the more light your camera can see means the less sensitivity it has.
3. Use a wide aperture! Aperture is the size of the opening of the lens, controlling how much light enters the camera. Use the widest aperture your lens can go. f/2.8 is a good rule of thumb.
4. Long shutter speed! Shutter speed is the speed that the shutter closes. Capturing as much light as it can, start it at 1 second and go up from there depending on how much they’re moving and the strength of them. The less vibrant and active the aurora is, the longer your shutter speed will be. The longer the shutter stays open and the slower the shutter speed is, the longer the exposure it creates, (faster shutter, shorter exposure – slower shutter, longer exposure) 
5. Other tips: 
   1. find clear skies
   2. get out of the city light
   3. Keep your settings in mind if the moon is out – that’s a big bright light! 
   4. In Live View – get your camera in focus by focusing on a bright star. 
   5. Always shoot in RAW – it captures all raw photo info from the camera sensor (light, shadows, highlights, color, etc) resulting in a bigger file and higher quality photo
6. Fun Fact: A camera has better photoreceptors than a human eye, which is why they often appear brighter and more luminescent through the camera and darker through our eyes. A human eye sees it on a more dimmer, grey scale.

Photos By: Lacey Denise Photography