Northern Lights Photography in Alaska: A Real-World Guide From Crew Who’ve Filmed There

There’s a reason people from around the world dream about shooting northern lights photography in Alaska. On the right night, the sky can feel alive. Green ribbons twist over frozen mountains, reflections dance across icy lakes, and suddenly reds and purples begin erupting across the horizon like something out of a Tolkien novel. When the aurora truly goes off, it can be almost spiritual.

But what some people don’t realize is that northern lights photography in Alaska can also be brutally difficult.

Cameras freeze. Batteries die in minutes. Lenses frost over. You’ll stand outside at 2 AM questioning your life decisions while staring at a black sky… until suddenly the entire horizon explodes into movement and color.

After years working and filming in Alaska alongside Emmy Award-winning camera teams and productions for National Geographic, Discovery, and Disney — we’ve spent a lot of time shooting in harsh conditions, from remote fishing towns to subzero Interior nights. This guide is built around real-world experience, not just “ideal settings” copied from a photography forum.

Whether you’re visiting Alaska for the first time or trying to finally capture the aurora properly, here’s what actually matters.

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Quick Northern Lights Camera Settings

• Mode: Manual
• Aperture: f/1.4–f/2.8
• ISO: 1600–3200
• Shutter: 2–15 sec
• Focus: Manual / near infinity
• File Type: RAW
• Tripod: Yes

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Why Alaska Is One of the Best Places in the World for Northern Lights Photography

Alaska is one of the best places on earth to photograph the aurora borealis for a few simple reasons:

• Long dark winters
• Huge areas with minimal light pollution
• Extremely northern latitude
• Accessible road systems
• Wild landscapes that look incredible in photos

The Interior of Alaska — especially around Fairbanks — sits directly beneath the auroral oval, which is basically the “hot zone” for northern lights activity. When solar activity picks up, the sky can absolutely erupt.

And unlike places where you need multi-day expeditions to reach dark skies, Alaska often gives photographers relatively easy access. You can drive half an hour outside Fairbanks and find conditions that feel completely remote.

That said, Alaska is also enormous, and not every part of the state is equally good for aurora photography.

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Where to Shot Northern Lights Photography in Alaska: The Interior vs. Coastal Alaska

This map shows a typical night during Alaska’s aurora season based on average aurora activity patterns. The northern lights constantly shift with solar activity, but in general, Interior and northern Alaska consistently sit beneath the most active part of the auroral oval.

One of the biggest mistakes visitors make is assuming they can photograph the northern lights equally well anywhere in Alaska.

And technically… you can. Technically you don’t even need to leave the Lower 48 to see the aurora. And technically, I saw Pink Floyd in college. But in reality, it was the Australian Pink Floyd cover band.

If you want to properly photograph the northern lights — consistently, clearly, and without fighting weather every night — where you choose to base yourself matters enormously.

Coastal Alaska is stunning, but it also deals with constant moisture, storms, cloud cover, and rapidly changing weather systems coming off the ocean. Places like Homer, Seward, Kodiak, and Juneau absolutely can see the northern lights during strong activity, but visibility is far less reliable than Interior Alaska.

Southeast Alaska is especially tricky. The scenery is incredible, but the combination of coastal weather, steep terrain, dense forest, and limited road systems can make finding open viewpoints looking north surprisingly difficult.

Think of it this way. Do you want to stare out over the horizon at something far off? Or do you want to lay down, look straight up, and have aurora dancing directly above you? Don’t go to where you can see the northern lights, go to where they are. Chase the rainbow.

Interior Alaska tends to have:

• Colder temperatures
• More stable winter weather
• Lower humidity
• More frequent clear skies
• Darker viewing conditions
• Better road access to wide-open landscapes
• Stronger and more consistent aurora activity

And honestly, that last point matters most.

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Best Places in Alaska for Northern Lights Photography

Fairbanks

Fairbanks sits directly beneath the auroral oval — the band of heightened geomagnetic activity where the northern lights are most consistently visible. On clear nights during aurora season, there’s a very real chance you’ll see activity without needing a major solar storm.

With all that considered, I’d strongly recommend basing your trip around the Fairbanks area if northern lights photography is your primary goal.

Now to be clear: Fairbanks in the dead of winter kind of sucks. It can be brutally cold, dark, icy, and a little unforgiving. But it is the best area in North America to reliably photograph the aurora.

You can often see the lights directly from town, and the area has:

• solid lodging options
• serviceable restaurants
• winter infrastructure
• good breweries (essential in staving off the chill of winter)
• photography tours
• nearby hot springs (this is my favorite way to view the northern lights)
• easy access to remote shooting locations with darker skies

Fairbanks averages over 200 visible aurora nights per year, if northern lights photography is your goal in Alaska, it’s kind of a no brainer.

Photo Tip

The best photos usually happen outside the city itself. Drive away from lights and look for some fun foreground elements.

Hatcher Pass

If you’re based around Anchorage and don’t want to commit to a full Interior Alaska trip, Hatcher Pass is a great option for dramatic northern lights photography.

Located roughly 90 minutes north of Anchorage, the area gives photographers access to rugged mountain landscapes, old mining structures, winding alpine roads, and wide-open valleys that look incredible beneath the aurora.

What makes Hatcher Pass especially photogenic is the foreground potential.

A lot of northern lights photos end up just being green sky over dark trees. Those are fun to take and neat memories, but we both know your photo album is already overstuffed, and a green sky alone isn’t frame worthy.

Hatcher lets you create images that actually feel cinematic and distinctly Alaskan. Old mining ruins from the historic Independence Mine State Historical Park can add texture and scale to your compositions, while the surrounding Talkeetna Mountains create dramatic silhouettes and leading lines.

On clear nights with fresh snow, the whole area can almost glow beneath the aurora.

Pro Tip

Scout the area during daylight or arrive before dark and find a few frames you already like. If the lights do go off, you’ll want to be prepared.

Denali Area

The Denali region can produce some of the most iconic northern lights photography in Alaska.

Massive mountain landscapes, wide-open valleys, frozen rivers, snow-covered spruce forests, and extremely dark skies all combine to create incredible conditions when the aurora shows up. On the right night, seeing the northern lights dance above the Alaska Range feels less like photography and more like standing inside a painting.

And if Denali itself happens to be visible? Forget about it. That’s bucket-list stuff.

Unlike some Interior locations that can feel visually flat, the Denali region naturally creates depth and scale in images.

That said, Denali comes with a major caveat: Access

Winter access is more limited than many first-time visitors expect. While the Parks Highway stays open year-round and the areas surrounding Denali remain accessible, much of the National Park itself, including the main Park Road, closes to regular vehicle traffic during winter.

Anchorage (Reality Check)

Can you photograph the northern lights in Anchorage? Absolutely. Is it the best place in Alaska for aurora photography? Not even close.

Anchorage is a great home base for a larger Alaska trip, but the city’s light pollution and coastal weather make aurora viewing far less reliable than Interior Alaska. Even decent aurora activity can get washed out by the glow from downtown, traffic, and streetlights.

That said, there are still some solid shooting locations within an hour or two of the city:

• Hatcher Pass
• Glen Alps
• Point Woronzof
• Eagle River
• Palmer

And honestly, if there’s a really strong aurora show happening, don’t be afraid to shoot in or around the city itself. I actually think those photos can be way more interesting.

Airplane lights streaking toward the aurora. Neon signs glowing beneath green skies. A drunk stumbling out of a bar while the entire horizon explodes overhead.

That stuff is rad, it has personality.

Not every northern lights photo needs to be a perfectly clean mountain landscape. Sometimes the contrast between everyday city life and something as surreal as the aurora creates the most memorable images.

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Best Time to Photograph the Northern Lights in Alaska

Aurora season in Alaska generally runs from late August through early April.

And in our very experienced opinion, the best time for northern lights photography in Alaska is also the worst time to visit Alaska, in general.

But hey… life is trade-offs, right?

If your only goal is photographing the aurora borealis, the darkest parts of winter usually offer the highest odds and strongest displays. If your goal is balancing northern lights photography with an enjoyable Alaska trip that doesn’t feel like survival training, the answer gets a little more complicated.

Here’s a realistic breakdown of what each part of the season is actually like.

May – August

In parts of northern Alaska, you might get lucky during early May or late August when nights begin darkening again. But you should absolutely NOT plan a trip around aurora photography during Alaska’s summer months.

There’s simply too much daylight. Even when aurora activity exists overhead, the sky often never gets dark enough to properly see or photograph it.

Come during summer for:

• wildlife
• fishing
• road trips
• incredible weather

Not for the aurora.

If Bob Dylan were a summer calendar singing to eager aurora photographers, he’d probably be humming: “It ain’t me, babe.”

Late August & September

This is where aurora season technically begins, especially in Interior Alaska.

If you catch the northern lights in August or September, it’s usually the cherry on top of a larger Alaska adventure — not something you should fully count on.

There’s still a lot of ambient light in the sky, especially earlier in the season, and temperatures often haven’t dropped enough yet for consistently dark, crisp viewing conditions.

That said, by mid to late September, northern lights photography becomes very realistic in Interior Alaska.

And remember, your camera sees more than your eyes do. Modern mirrorless and DSLR cameras can pull surprising amounts of light and color out of weak aurora activity, especially with long exposures.

So if you’re a bit of a gambler, September is a fantastic option. You get:

• Milder temperatures
• Easier driving conditions
• Fall colors
• Open water reflections
• More comfortable shooting conditions
• Less snow logistics

But I gotta keep it real, it is a gamble and the light displays aren’t usually as intense.

September is honestly my favorite month to visit Alaska, it’s a bummer it’s NOT the best time for northern lights photography however.

October & November

This is where things start getting serious. Personally, if I were planning a trip specifically around photographing the northern lights in Alaska, this might be my ideal window.

You get:

• long dark nights
• frequent aurora activity
• snow-covered landscapes
• frozen lakes
• dramatic winter scenery

…but without the truly soul-crushing cold of midwinter.

Temperatures drop fast across Interior Alaska, nights become properly dark, and the state starts transforming into the winter landscape most people imagine when they think about Alaska.

Roads are usually more manageable, temperatures are less extreme, and simply existing outside with a camera becomes far more enjoyable. For many photographers, this is probably the best overall balance between:

• and aurora potential
• comfort
• access
• scenery

December & January

Peak darkness. Peak winter. Peak Northern Lights. Peak suffering.

You’ll get extremely long nights and incredible aurora potential, but it’s also harder to just exist. Let alone maintain a working camera and the enthusiasm to capture and create memorable shots.

Just getting to your vantage point is going to be more work because they’ll be way more snow, less light, and you’ll have to do everything in 6 layers of clothing.

Major drawbacks to this time of year are:

• Dangerous cold
• General misery
• Harsh road conditions
• Difficult to operate camera

If minus 40 is your jam, come photograph the aurora borealis in December or January, then get your head checked. For everyone else, this is The Worst Time To Visit Alaska, for any reason.

February & March

This is another excellent sweet spot. You still get:

• strong aurora potential
• long nights
• snowy landscapes
• deep winter atmosphere
• excellent aurora visibility

The biggest thing you’ll still contend with is snow.

By late winter, everything is deeply buried. Roads are lined with snowbanks, trails disappear, and accessing certain viewpoints can still require effort.

That’s not necessarily bad — it creates beautiful winter landscapes — but it’s a logistical factor worth considering compared to fall travel.

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Camera Settings for Northern Lights Photography

There is no single perfect camera setting for northern lights photography.

Aurora changes constantly. One minute it’s a faint green glow near the horizon, and the next it’s ripping across the sky in bright curtains of green, red, and purple. Your settings need to change with it.

That said, here’s a good place to start.

Basic Northern Lights Camera Settings

Start with:

• Manual mode
• Aperture: as wide open as your lens allows, ideally f/1.4–f/2.8
• ISO: 1600–3200
• Shutter speed: 2–15 seconds
• Focus: manual focus
• File type: RAW

A fast aperture matters because you’re trying to collect as much light as possible. The more light your lens lets in, the more flexibility you’ll have with shutter speed and ISO.

Aperture: Open It Up

For most aurora photography, shoot as wide open as your lens allows.

If your lens opens to f/2.8, start there. If it opens to f/1.8 or f/1.4, even better.

A wider aperture helps tremendously when the lights are weak, moving quickly, or partially hidden behind thin clouds.

ISO: Don’t Just Crank It

A lot of people immediately jump to insanely high ISO settings, but I’d rather stay closer to the cleaner range of the camera and adjust shutter speed first.

For most modern cameras, ISO 1600–3200 is a strong starting point. If the aurora is dim, push it higher. If the lights are bright, bring it back down.

The goal isn’t just to capture the scene — it’s to capture a file you can actually work with later without turning the sky into a noisy disaster.

Shutter Speed: This Changes the Entire Feel

Your shutter speed controls more than brightness. It changes the mood and feel of the image itself.

Shorter shutter speeds, around 2–5 seconds, preserve more detail and structure when the aurora is moving quickly.

Longer shutter speeds create a softer, dreamier look. Personally, I love longer exposures when the conditions support it. Water becomes milky. Clouds blur and streak. Headlights stretch across the frame. You can even use light painting to subtly illuminate cabins, tents, or foreground elements.

Neither approach is wrong. It depends on the story you’re trying to tell.

Focus: Sky or Foreground?

Most of the time, you’ll manually focus near infinity and make sure the stars are sharp.

But focus is also a creative decision.

Are you telling a story about the sky itself? Then prioritize the stars and aurora.

Are you telling a story about a person, cabin, vehicle, frozen river, or landscape in the foreground? Then you may want the foreground tack sharp, even if the stars soften slightly.

The important thing is making that choice intentionally.

Shoot RAW. Always.

Always shoot RAW for northern lights photography.

RAW files preserve dramatically more information than JPEGs and give you far more flexibility while editing. You’ll be able to recover shadows, adjust white balance, reduce noise, and fine-tune colors without destroying the image.

Aurora photos almost always need at least some editing. Shooting RAW gives you the best possible file to work with.

Stay Vigilant

Northern lights photography is not a “set it and forget it” situation.

The light changes constantly. Moonlight, cloud cover, snow reflection, city glow, headlights, and aurora intensity can all completely change your exposure within minutes.

Take a shot. Check it. Adjust.

Then do it again.

Modern cameras are honestly getting ridiculous in low light. During a strong aurora show, you may even be able to grab handheld shots with a fast lens and high ISO.

But if you want consistently clean, intentional, professional-looking images, you’re still going to want the next piece of gear more than almost anything else: a tripod.

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Northern Lights Timelapse Photography

Photos are incredible, but timelapses capture something closer to what the aurora actually feels like in real life. The movement, pulsing light, shifting colors, and waves across the sky suddenly make sense once you see them in motion.

And the good news is, if you already understand basic northern lights photography settings, you’re most of the way there. The biggest difference with timelapses is consistency.

You’ll want:

• a stable tripod
• fully manual settings
• extra batteries
• lots of memory cards
• and patience

Lots of patience. For most aurora timelapses, I’ll usually shoot somewhere around:

• 2–10 second exposures
• lower to moderate ISO
• wide aperture
• manual focus
• RAW files if storage allows

Then let the camera continuously fire for long stretches while the aurora moves overhead.

Interval timing matters too. If your shutter stays open for 5 seconds, your interval probably shouldn’t also be 5 seconds or the camera can struggle to keep up. Giving the camera a tiny buffer between shots usually helps.

And honestly, the biggest challenge with timelapses in Alaska usually isn’t camera settings — it’s surviving the environment long enough to let the camera roll. Cold destroys batteries. Lenses freeze over. Snow builds up. Condensation becomes a nightmare.

After you’re done shooting, you’ll also need to compile all those individual frames into an actual video.

There are a million ways to do this now, but programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and even Lightroom can all handle basic timelapse workflows.

Most of the process is honestly pretty straightforward:

• edit one frame
• apply those settings across the sequence
• export the image series
• then stitch everything into video

There’s also an entire rabbit hole beyond the basics — anti-flicker workflows, motion-controlled timelapse rigs, advanced color grading, exposure ramping, and more — but this is the foundational process that gets most people started.

Pro Tip: Hand Warmers on the Lens

During overnight shoots, I’ll sometimes tape hand warmers directly to the lens barrel to help prevent freezing and condensation buildup. It looks ridiculous, but it works surprisingly well.

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What Gear Actually Matters When Photographing the Northern Lights in Alaska

You do not need a $10,000 camera setup to photograph the northern lights in Alaska.

Honestly, modern cameras are getting ridiculously good in low light. Technique, weather, composition, and patience matter way more than owning the newest camera body on earth.

That said, a few pieces of gear genuinely make a huge difference when you’re standing outside in the dark at -10°F trying to photograph a moving sky.

Tripods Matter More Than Cameras

If there’s one piece of gear I’d prioritize for northern lights photography, it’s honestly a good tripod.

Long exposures and shaky hands don’t mix.

Personally, I prefer lightweight tripods with:

• quick release plates
• fast leg locks
• easy open-and-close mechanisms

The easier your tripod is to operate in the dark with frozen fingers, the better.

I’m personally not a huge fan of the twist-and-tighten leg systems. They’re sleek, but fumbling around trying to tighten frozen tripod legs at 2 AM while wearing gloves gets old fast. Maybe it’s just me, but I can never remember which way does what. I’ll be twisting and twisting in a hurry, wondering why the leg still isn’t locking, getting frustrated, and missing the shot.

Quick flip-lock legs are just simpler in bad conditions.

Peak Design is honestly crushing it in almost every aspect of camera gear right now. I own several of their camera bags, multiple straps, and I genuinely love their tripods. Their travel tripod is a fantastic option for northern lights photography in Alaska.

And no, they’re not sponsoring me. I just genuinely like their gear.

Wide Angle Lenses Are Your Best Friend

Most northern lights photography is shot with wide-angle lenses for a reason.

A wider lens:

• captures more of the sky
• creates stronger landscapes
• allows longer exposures before star trails become noticeable
• helps make the aurora feel massive inside the frame

A 16–35mm lens is one I’ve used constantly for aurora photography and general Alaska work. It’s flexible, reliable, and wide enough for most situations without getting too distorted.

You can go wider — 14mm and even fisheye lenses are popular for astrophotography — but personally I think things can start looking a little wonky if you overdo it. Ultra-wide lenses can stretch horizons, warp foregrounds, and make mountains or trees feel oddly distorted near the edges of the frame.

Sometimes that look is awesome. Sometimes it just looks like your cabin is being sucked into a black hole.

I also love fast primes.

A good 20mm or 24mm prime lens can be amazing for northern lights photography because they often offer much faster apertures than zoom lenses. More light means cleaner files, lower ISO, and better low-light performance overall.

Pro Tip: Star Trails and Earth Rotation

The Earth is moving whether you think about it or not.

During longer exposures, that movement causes stars to slowly streak across the frame instead of remaining perfectly sharp. Those are star trails.

Wide-angle lenses help minimize this effect because they spread the sky across a larger field of view. Longer lenses magnify the movement, which means star trails appear much faster and more dramatically during long exposures.

Sometimes that’s not what you want. Sometimes it looks awesome. Again, it comes down to what kind of image you’re trying to create.

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Most Modern Cameras Are More Than Capable

People obsess over camera bodies way too much.

When I first started getting into astrophotography, I used a Canon 7D for years and absolutely loved it. Even though it wasn’t a full-frame camera, I was still able to create images I was genuinely proud of.

Later, I moved to a Canon 5D Mark III and used that camera for nearly a decade. Honestly, it’s still an incredibly capable camera today. The Mark IV is even better and still holds up extremely well for northern lights photography in Alaska.

Eventually I switched over to mirrorless systems and currently shoot with a Sony A7R V, which is honestly absurd in low light situations.

But the bigger point is this:
you do not need the newest flagship camera to photograph the aurora.

Most modern mirrorless cameras today are fantastic in low light.

Great Beginner Options

• Canon R8 – best beginner full-frame option
• Sony a6700 – best compact APS-C/travel option

Great Mid-Level Options

• Sony A7 IV – really powerful mid-range option
• Canon 5D Mark III & IV – great budget DSLR option if you don’t mind older gear

Professional-Level Options

• Sony A7R V – my personal setup
• Sony A1 – a true beast, but you’ll pay for it
• Canon R5 Mark II – I’ll always love canon, this is a great option

Honestly though, if you already own a decent camera with manual controls and a reasonably fast lens, start there before spending thousands chasing gear.

Extra Batteries Are Mandatory

Cold destroys battery life. Bring more batteries than you think you’ll need and keep extras somewhere warm — ideally inside your jacket close to your body heat.

Battery grips can also help tremendously during long nights or timelapse sessions.

There’s nothing worse than finally getting a strong aurora show overhead and watching your battery immediately die.

Battery banks can also be incredibly useful during long nights or timelapse shoots, especially with newer mirrorless cameras that support USB-C charging. Just remember: the cold affects battery banks too, so keep them insulated or tucked somewhere warm whenever possible.

A Headlamp Is Non-Negotiable

You need to be able to see.

A good headlamp makes life dramatically easier when:

• adjusting camera settings
• hiking to locations
• swapping batteries
• packing gear
• avoiding eating shit on ice

If it has a red-light mode, even better. Red light preserves your night vision and doesn’t blind everyone around you.

Stay Warm and Enjoy Yourself

This sounds obvious, but people constantly underestimate how miserable winter photography can become in Alaska. Dress appropriately, layer properly, and wear better boots than you think you need.

We have a whole guide on What to Pack in Alaska.

And honestly? Have some fun with it. Bring coffee bourbon, stay warm and get creative.

Northern lights photography shouldn’t feel like punishment the entire time. Some of my favorite nights weren’t even the best aurora shows — they were just good friends standing in the snow staring at the sky together.

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Common Northern Lights Photography Mistakes

The hardest part about northern lights photography in Alaska usually isn’t the camera settings. It’s patience, preparation, and adapting when conditions inevitably change.

Here are a few mistakes almost everyone makes at first.

Leaving Too Early

Some of the best aurora shows happen late at night after people give up and head home.

Aurora activity changes constantly. Weak movement can suddenly explode into an incredible show within minutes. If conditions are clear and you don’t have to be up early, it’s usually worth staying out a little longer.

Ignoring Foregrounds

A bright green sky alone gets repetitive fast. The best northern lights photos usually have something grounding the image, a cabin, a boat, something. Alaska gives you incredible scenery. Use it.

Not Scouting Locations Before Dark

Trying to build compositions in complete darkness is a great way to waste an entire aurora show.

Scout locations during daylight or arrive early enough to understand the terrain, foregrounds, and safest shooting spots before the lights appear.

Trusting Autofocus

Autofocus struggles badly at night.

Use manual focus and check it often. Tiny bumps or temperature shifts can throw things slightly out of focus without you realizing it.

Over Editing Photos

This is probably the biggest modern aurora photography mistake.

Yes, the colors can become incredibly vivid in real life. But cranking saturation until the sky looks radioactive usually makes images feel fake fast.

Mother nature is the featured artist here, don’t try and out do her.

Forgetting to Enjoy It

This sounds cheesy, but it matters.

The first time the entire sky starts moving above your head, don’t spend every second staring at the back of your camera screen trying to perfect settings.

Take the shot. Then look up for a minute. The aurora borealis is one of the greatest natural phenomenons we can witness.

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How We Edit Northern Lights Photos

Editing is a huge part of photography no matter what you’re shooting, but that’s especially true for northern lights photography.

RAW aurora files usually come out of the camera looking darker, flatter, and noisier than the scene actually felt in real life. That’s normal. Cameras are incredible now, but they still don’t fully capture the experience of standing beneath a sky that’s actively moving and glowing overhead.

Personally, I do almost all my editing in Adobe Lightroom. Modern editing software is unbelievably powerful, especially for recovering shadows, balancing exposure, and cleaning up noise in low-light images.

But honestly, restraint is probably the most important editing skill when it comes to aurora photography.

A lot of northern lights photos online get pushed way too far. Oversaturated greens, crunchy clarity sliders, fake-looking skies, and aggressive edits can quickly make an image feel more like digital art than photography.

The best aurora edits usually still feel natural. Most of my editing is honestly pretty simple:

• exposure adjustments
• shadow recovery
• contrast tweaks
• slight color balancing
• noise reduction
• small composition crops

That’s usually enough.

The newer AI denoise tools inside Lightroom are honestly kind of insane. They can rescue images that would’ve been borderline unusable a few years ago, especially high ISO files shot in dark conditions.

But they can also go too far fast.

Push denoise too aggressively and everything starts looking plasticky and artificial, almost like an AI-generated image where all the texture and atmosphere disappear.

Personally, I’d rather keep a little natural grain and texture than completely sterilize the image.

At the end of the day, editing is another creative phase of photography that comes down to personal preference, style, and intent.

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Can You Photograph the Northern Lights With an iPhone?

Honestly? It pains me to say this, but yeah — you absolutely can.

I took these three shots on an iPhone 14 Pro in 2024, and phone cameras have only gotten crazier since then.

Newer iPhones are capable of surprisingly good northern lights photos, especially during strong aurora activity. Night mode and long-exposure processing have gotten unbelievably powerful, and under the right conditions you can absolutely capture recognizable movement, color, reflections, and some genuinely cool moments.

That said, there’s still a big difference between capturing a memory and creating a high-end photograph.

Most phone aurora shots look best on a phone screen or social media. Start zooming in or printing them larger and the limitations become obvious pretty quickly. Noise reduction gets aggressive, fine detail disappears, and the heavy computational processing can start making images feel smudgy or artificial.

But honestly, the fact phones can even do this at all now is kind of insane.

If you already own a newer iPhone and happen to catch a strong aurora show, absolutely try shooting it. You might be shocked by how decent the results are.

I just wouldn’t plan an entire northern lights photography trip to Alaska armed only with a phone.

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Are Alaska Northern Lights Photography Tours Worth It?

Honestly? I’ve never done one.

I’ve always felt like the sky is free, why would I pay someone to tell me when to look at it? Half the fun of northern lights photography is the adventure itself — checking forecasts, driving dark roads, pulling over in random places, and watching the sky slowly come alive overhead.

And honestly, if you stay around Fairbanks during aurora season, there’s a decent chance you won’t need a tour at all. On strong nights, people regularly see the northern lights right from cabins, roadside pullouts, and random parking lots outside town.

Or, you could literally sit in the hot water at Chena Hot Springs Resort watching the aurora overhead while everyone else piles into tour vans pretending they’ve discovered some secret portal to the sky.

The truth is, there’s no magical hidden location for the northern lights. If the skies are clear and the aurora is active, you’ll see it. If they aren’t, you won’t.

That said, I can see the appeal of actual photography workshops.

And to be clear, that’s different than just piling into a van chasing the aurora around.

A lot of the better workshops seem to include daytime instruction on:

• camera settings
• composition
• editing
• timelapses
• astrophotography workflow

…then you head out at night and actually put those ideas into practice in real conditions.

Honestly, if you’re brand new to astrophotography, I could absolutely see the value in that. Northern lights photography has a pretty steep learning curve at first, especially in cold conditions and darkness.

Personally, I still prefer figuring things out on my own.

But if your goal is learning photography — not just getting driven around looking at the sky — then I think a good workshop probably makes a lot more sense.

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Final Thoughts

Northern lights photography in Alaska is unpredictable, uncomfortable, occasionally frustrating, and completely worth it.

Some nights nothing happens. Other nights the entire sky erupts overhead and you forget about the cold instantly.

Do your planning. Learn your camera. Scout locations. Bring the right gear. Be prepared.

But also be prepared for conditions to change constantly.

The aurora does whatever it wants. You don’t control it — you dance to its rhythm.

At the end of the day, try not to get so focused on chasing the perfect photo that you forget to actually enjoy where you are. Rent the cabin. Drive the dark road. Stay outside a little longer. Look up more than you look at the back of your camera.

And when Alaska finally decides to put on a show for you, enjoy it.

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More Alaska Photography & Filmmaking

Northern lights photography is just one small part of what makes Alaska incredible for cameras. If you want to dive deeper into filmmaking, production logistics, and shooting in extreme conditions, check out our full guide to filming in Alaska.

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More Alaska Photography Guides

Planning a photography trip to Alaska? These guides can help:

• Best Time to Visit Alaska
• What to Pack for Alaska
• Best Shoes for Alaska Travel
• Rain Gear Alaska: A Working Filmmaker’s Guide to What Actually Holds Up

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Northern Lights Photography in Alaska: FAQ’s

What is the best camera for northern lights photography?

Any camera with strong low-light performance and manual controls can work well. Full-frame cameras generally perform best, but modern mirrorless and even some crop-sensor cameras produce excellent results. I personally use the Sony A7R V.

What lenses are best for aurora photography?

Wide-angle lenses with fast apertures are ideal. Something in the 14mm–24mm range works great for most northern lights photography. My favorite lens for photographing the northern lights in Alaska is a 16-35mm.

Can you see the northern lights in Anchorage?

Yes, especially during strong aurora activity, but Fairbanks and Interior Alaska generally offer much better viewing conditions.

Do you need a tripod for northern lights photography?

While not mandatory, I would say YES. Long exposures require a stable tripod, especially in cold and windy conditions. I recommend Peak Designs Travel Tripod

Is Fairbanks the best place in Alaska to photograph the northern lights?

For most travelers, yes. Fairbanks offers reliable aurora visibility, dark skies, winter infrastructure, and easy access to photography locations.