Taking photos of the northern lights with your smartphone? Tips to get the best picture

The northern lights can be seen again tonight in many parts of the northern United States. Displaying many colors from light pink to dark grays, the phenomenon in the sky is an event you’d want to capture.

Starting on Friday, May 10 many residents across the United States documented their pictures of the phenomenon on social media. The pictures, that look like wallpaper photos, have shown palm trees with an Ombre pink background and metro cities with a distinctive overcast.

Forecasters are predicting that many parts of the northern United States will see the aurora borealis again tonight and on Sunday night between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. local time.

Most people are looking up and capturing the beauty of the northern lights with amazing photos. And unless you’re a professional photographer with a DSLR handy, most are doing so with their smartphones.

In a call with reporters on Friday, Brent Gordon, Chief of Space Weather Services Branch for SWPC, said that using your smartphone could be the best way to view the northern lights. Even better than the human eye.

If you want to capture the northern lights perfectly on your smartphone, here are some tips.

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How to get the best photos of the northern lights

Experts say you can capture memorable photos of the northern lights on your smartphone by adjusting the exposure time and enabling night mode if the feature is available on your device. Additionally, you can try out types of compositions on your smartphone for the best shots:

Wide-angle shot: Holding your phone horizontally you can achieve a wide angle shot. To get that wallpaper type picture you’ll want to use this angle to capture everything in front of you.

Pan: If you have the pano feature on your phone, you can flip your phone, either horizontally or vertically, to achieve a good photo that will also capture everything around you.

C or S Curve: Are the lights glowing on the street in your area? Snap a photo of it! C or S Curve photos are used to bring you in and out of a photo hypothetically. To achieve this, a curve has to be present and make the letter "C" or "S" in the photo.

Candid: Are you viewing the northern lights with family or friends? They can get in on the photo too! Standing behind them, you can capture their shadows as they look at the northern lights. You can also have your photo subjects walk in front of the lens as you take the photo. The style of shot is meant to be fun so there’s no right or wrong way you can achieve this.

Photos aside, remember to embrace this event

Yes, you want to get the perfect photo to post on social media or show off to your friends. However, you should still try to make memories with those around you to be able to talk about this event in the future. Remember that photos capture a moment of our lives, but memories are recorded events that we replay again and again in our heads for years to come.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter)