Photographing the northern lights in Saariselkä

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

A camera often shows more of the aurora than your eyes do, because a long exposure gathers colour that looks faint or grey to the naked eye. Around Saariselkä you need little more than a steady camera, focus set by hand and some patience in the cold. The regional tourist office gives September to April as the aurora season, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute names the hours either side of midnight as the best time to look up.

A steady base comes first

The shutter stays open for seconds at a time, and no pair of hands keeps a camera still that long: stars turn into streaks and the spruces go soft. A tripod fixes that. The photographer quoted by the Royal Museums Greenwich, who lives in Yellowknife in northern Canada, notes that tripods with few plastic parts cope better with the cold. Pick one you can open and lock while wearing mittens.

Your finger on the button adds a small jolt just as the picture starts. The Greenwich guide packs a cable release for this; the camera's self-timer, set to a couple of seconds, is a free alternative. Go through the setup at home or in your room first, so the menus are familiar before your fingers get cold.

Settings in plain terms

Switch the camera to manual mode and set the focus by hand. The Greenwich guide suggests presetting it to just short of infinity before you leave, since autofocus struggles to find anything in the dark. Take a test shot of a bright star and zoom in on the screen to check that it is a sharp point.

The usual practice is to open the aperture as wide as the lens allows, raise the sensitivity well above daytime levels and expose for several seconds. Then adjust from what you see on the screen. A wide-angle lens fits more sky and landscape into the frame. When the aurora is bright and moving fast, shorten the exposure: the Greenwich guide warns that long exposures can turn distinct bands into a green haze.

Many phones have a night mode that keeps the shutter open longer. It works best when the phone rests on something firm, such as a small tripod, a backpack or a fence post.

Batteries and cold fingers

Weather records give an average of roughly −12 °C in Saariselkä in January, and the tourist office warns that it can fall below −30 °C. Cold drains batteries. Sony's manual says the running time of a battery is shorter in cold places and recommends keeping it in a pocket close to your body, putting it in the camera just before shooting and preparing spares. Keep keys and coins out of that pocket, since metal can short-circuit a loose battery.

Charge everything before the evening, phone included. Thin liner gloves under mittens let you work the buttons without exposing bare skin for long, and a head torch with a red light lets you see the controls without blinding the people next to you.

Back inside without a foggy lens

The tricky part is the walk back indoors. Bring a cold camera into warm, moist air and water condenses on the lens and inside the body. Sony's advice is to put the camera in a plastic bag and seal it before you go indoors, then leave it there for about an hour until it has reached room temperature. If condensation has already formed, switch the camera off and wait about an hour before using it. If you cannot wait to see the results, slip the memory card out before the camera goes into the bag.

Dark skies and a foreground

Street lights and floodlit slopes wash out a weak aurora. The Greenwich guide puts distance from artificial light near the top of its list, and the tourist office describes the area as having wide open skies and wilderness free from artificial light. The lit streets and slopes of the village are bright, so even a short drive or walk away from them helps. Check the cloud forecast too, because the aurora shines above the clouds. The Finnish Meteorological Institute publishes an aurora probability chart and images from its all-sky cameras.

The moon matters as well. New moon falls on 9 December 2026 and on 7 January 2027, so the nights around those dates have the darkest skies of the polar night. A brighter moon lights up the snow, which can help with the landscape but washes out faint aurora.

Pictures of sky alone tend to look alike. Put a snow-laden spruce, the outline of a fell or a person standing still along the lower edge. The Greenwich guide suggests lighting the foreground briefly with a torch during the exposure. On guided tours, follow the guide's rules on lights. The reindeer sled ride after dark from Saariselkä, for example, strictly forbids flashlights during the tour.

People, reindeer and permission

The whole municipality of Inari, including Saariselkä and Ivalo, lies in the Sámi homeland. The Sámi Parliament's guidelines for tourism ask visitors not to photograph people in Sámi dress who are not working in tourism without their consent, and to respect a refusal. Church ceremonies such as weddings and funerals are not to be photographed without the community's permission. Reindeer fences, herders' cabins and feeding sites are workplaces, and a herd must never be approached without the owner's permission, which includes walking up to it for a closer shot. Our page on reindeer and Sámi culture covers visits run with herding families.

Photo tours from Saariselkä

Guides know which direction is clear on a given night and where the dark spots are, which saves you the guesswork. Arctic Timetravels picks up within 15 km of the village centre and drives in a minivan as far as needed to find a clear sky. The guide takes photos with a professional camera, warm drinks and snacks are included, and warm clothing is available on request. Children from 1 year can join.

Arctic Tours Oy collects guests in a Mercedes minibus from as far as Kiilopää, Kakslauttanen and Laanila and shares group aurora photos afterwards. It serves no hot drinks and lends no clothing, so dress for standing outside. The tour runs with at least three booked guests, and the operator recommends rebooking when clouds are forecast for the whole region.

From Ivalo, Arctic Guides gives a short photography lesson on a four-hour tour by car, but it picks up only within 10 km of Ivalo. At Muotka, a snowmobile pulls a wooden sleigh into the night while the guide shares tips for aurora photos. One small-group tour from Saariselkä promises a full refund if no aurora is captured on camera during its eight hours, and it sends the photos by link afterwards. The northern lights tours page compares the wider choice.

Autumn before the snow

The aurora season starts in September, weeks before the snow settles. Northwild runs an autumn photo tour by van with a short walk outdoors, a warm drink and a homemade snack, for at most eight guests aged 10 and over. Photos taken by the guide are shared afterwards. The tour page says toilets may not be available on the way. The Finnish Meteorological Institute counts early autumn and late winter among the statistically best periods for auroras.