A striking number of the aurora photos shared online in the last few years were taken on an ordinary phone, not a dedicated camera — modern computational night modes have made this a genuinely viable option, not just a fallback. Getting a good result still requires understanding a few real limitations.
Use night mode, not the default camera
Almost every modern smartphone camera app includes a dedicated night or “astro” mode, which automatically extends the exposure time over several seconds and combines multiple frames to reduce noise — this is the mode to use, not the standard photo mode, which is built around much shorter, brighter-daylight exposures and will typically produce a near-black, useless frame at night. On most phones this mode activates automatically in very low light, or can be selected manually from the camera app’s mode list. Some phones also offer an explicit long-exposure or manual slider within night mode, letting you extend or shorten the total capture time — worth experimenting with, since a fixed automatic exposure isn’t always tuned correctly for a fast-moving, bright substorm versus a faint, static arc.
Stability matters as much as it does for a real camera
Night mode’s multi-second exposure means the same rule applies as for any other aurora photography: camera shake ruins the shot. A small tripod with a phone clamp is ideal, but resting the phone against a stable surface — a car roof, a railing, a stack of rocks — works in a pinch. Some phones’ night modes can partially compensate for minor movement by aligning multiple short frames, but a genuinely stable phone still produces a noticeably sharper, cleaner result.
RAW capture on phones
Many recent phones offer a RAW or manufacturer-specific enhanced RAW capture mode (often branded as something like ProRAW), alongside the standard compressed image format. As with a dedicated camera (see aurora photography: camera settings that actually work), RAW preserves considerably more shadow and colour detail, and allows white balance and exposure to be fine-tuned afterward without the quality loss a compressed format would suffer under the same adjustment. The trade-offs are larger file sizes — worth checking you have enough storage before a big trip — and the expectation that you’ll do at least some basic editing afterward rather than sharing the file straight out of the camera roll.
Manual camera apps: usually unnecessary, sometimes worth it
Third-party manual camera apps, which expose direct control over ISO, shutter speed and focus, exist for most phone platforms, but for the majority of aurora photographers they’re not necessary: built-in night modes are computationally sophisticated, combining and aligning multiple frames in ways that are genuinely difficult to beat with manual settings alone, especially for a beginner working in the cold and dark. A manual app becomes more useful once you have a specific, deliberate exposure in mind — for example, deliberately shortening exposure time below what automatic night mode would choose, to freeze more structure in a fast-moving substorm — similar to the reasoning covered in the dedicated-camera guide.
Why stills usually beat video or Live Photos for aurora
It’s tempting to simply record video of a display, especially a dramatic, fast-moving one, but video generally performs worse than a still night-mode photo for aurora specifically: video frame exposure times are far shorter than a multi-second still exposure, so a video frame gathers far less light and shows far less colour and structure than the same moment captured as a still. Live Photos or similar short-burst modes have the same limitation. If you want to document a display’s motion, a better approach is often to take a rapid sequence of still night-mode photos and either review them individually or combine them afterward into a timelapse using a dedicated app, rather than relying on standard video capture.
Basic editing on the phone afterward
Even a single-tap adjustment in your phone’s built-in photo editor can meaningfully improve an aurora shot: nudging exposure down slightly if the sky background looks washed out, increasing contrast a little to help the aurora’s structure stand out from the sky, and correcting white balance if the automatic night mode rendered the sky an unwanted colour cast. If you shot RAW, a more capable editing app gives finer control over these same adjustments without the quality loss a compressed format would suffer. It’s worth resisting the temptation to push saturation too far, though — an aurora photo that looks obviously over-processed tends to look less credible, not more impressive, and honest colour is part of what makes a genuine sighting worth sharing in the first place.
What to actually expect
For a moderate-to-bright aurora display, a recent-generation phone in night mode can produce a genuinely good, shareable photo — clear green (and sometimes red or pink) colour, real structure in the display, and a usable foreground if there’s enough ambient light. For a faint, subtle glow, phones are noticeably more limited than a dedicated mirrorless or DSLR camera with a fast wide-angle lens: smaller sensors gather less light overall, and very faint displays may render as a barely-there smudge or not register meaningfully at all. If you’re in a genuinely storm-only, mid-latitude city like London, Edinburgh or New York hoping to catch a rare event, a phone is a perfectly reasonable primary tool, but don’t expect it to reveal a display too faint to notice at all with the naked eye.
Practical tips specific to phones
Turn off flash and any auto-brightening features that might trigger unexpectedly and ruin an exposure or wash out the sky.
Avoid digital zoom entirely. It crops and upscales the image after the fact rather than capturing genuinely more detail, and it amplifies noise in an already noise-prone low-light shot. A wider field of view usually suits aurora photography better in any case, since a genuinely active display can span a large arc of sky.
Keep the lens clean and dry — condensation forms quickly on a cold phone brought out of a warm pocket, and it will blur an entire frame invisibly until you check the result. This is a particular risk in humid, coastal destinations such as Reykjavík or Tromsø.
Manage battery drain. Cold weather and long-exposure processing both drain phone batteries considerably faster than normal use; keep the phone in an inner pocket between shots if you’re somewhere genuinely cold, and consider a portable battery pack for a long viewing session.
Solve the glove problem before you need to. Touchscreen-compatible glove liners are cheap and solve most of the “how do I operate a touchscreen with cold hands” problem; a physical remote shutter or a case with a physical button is a further option worth considering for a serious, extended session.
Try a few different exposure lengths if your phone allows manual control within night mode — a fast-moving, bright substorm (see substorms explained) can smear into a featureless glow at the longest available exposure, the same issue that affects dedicated cameras.
Moving up from a phone
If phone photography becomes a regular habit, the natural next step is a mirrorless or DSLR camera with a fast, wide-angle lens and full manual control — see aurora photography: camera settings that actually work for where to start once you’re ready to make that jump.
Frequently asked questions
Can a phone really capture the aurora, or do I need a real camera?
A modern phone with a functioning night mode can genuinely capture a real, if moderate, aurora display — dedicated cameras still outperform phones for faint or fast-moving displays and for print-quality detail, but the gap has narrowed considerably in recent years.
Do I need a tripod for phone aurora photography?
Yes, or at minimum a stable surface to rest the phone on. Night mode exposures on phones commonly run several seconds, and handheld shake will blur the result just as it would with any other camera.
Why does my phone show more aurora than I can see with my eyes?
Because it's true, and it's the same underlying reason cameras generally out-see the naked eye at night — see why aurora is green, red and pink for the physiology behind it. A phone's night mode integrates light over several seconds, revealing colour and structure the human eye, especially its low-light rod cells, cannot register in real time.
Should I trust what my phone shows me as proof the aurora is really there?
Largely yes for a genuine display, but be aware phones can also reveal airglow or faint light pollution as a green or orange tinge that isn't aurora at all — see STEVE, airglow, and other things that aren't the aurora for how to tell the difference.
Should I shoot RAW on my phone if it supports it?
It's worth trying if your phone offers it (often called ProRAW, RAW, or a similar name depending on manufacturer), since it preserves more shadow and colour detail for later adjustment, the same benefit RAW offers on a dedicated camera. The trade-off is much larger file sizes and the need for at least basic editing afterward, so it's a reasonable option for a considered shot, less so if you're quickly checking whether a display is visible at all.
Are third-party manual camera apps worth using instead of the built-in camera app?
For most people, no, at least at first -- modern built-in night modes are computationally sophisticated and generally outperform manual control for a beginner. A manual app becomes worth exploring once you specifically want full control over ISO, shutter speed and focus independent of the phone's automatic night-mode processing, similar to shooting manually on a dedicated camera.
Does phone zoom help get a closer shot of the aurora?
Avoid digital zoom entirely -- it crops and upscales the image after capture, discarding real resolution and amplifying noise, which is particularly damaging in an already noise-prone low-light photo. If your phone has a genuine second optical zoom lens, it can be used, but a wider field of view generally suits aurora photography better anyway, since displays often span a large part of the sky.
How do I operate a touchscreen while wearing gloves in the cold?
Touchscreen-compatible glove liners are inexpensive and solve most of this problem; a physical camera remote or a phone case with physical shutter buttons is another option. Repeatedly removing bare hands from gloves to operate a touchscreen in genuinely cold conditions is both uncomfortable and a real frostbite risk on the coldest nights, so it is worth solving before you are standing outside at -25°C.