NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTO CHECKLIST
Focus your lens at infinity during the day time and mark an area on your lens with a pen so you know exactly where to turn it in the dark.
Find your settings home, or in the warm car on the way to the spot. Often to cold to do this outside.
Aperture as low as possible.
Shutter as low as possible.
ISO as low as possible but still get good pictures. Normally 800-2500 ISO is best.
Use timer.
Turn off timer sound.
Lens on infinity.
Shoot in RAW format, if possible.
Set LCD Brightness to low.
Remove the filter from your lens, or you will end up with an undesirable aberration on all your images.
White balance best to set to appr. 3000-4000 Kelvin.
Have at least 2 batteries, and recommended 2 flash cards. Change often and keep in warm place.
Use a tall but sturdy tripod.
Use your lens hood to protect against frost/condensation on your lens.
Put black tape over your red processing light under the wheel.
Have some references like mountains, ocean, building, lakes etc.
Have a nice foreground, not only the sky. Be creative.
Most important is, not forget to enjoy the lights also! Balance taking pictures and enjoying it.