Simple steps to get the most out of your Northern (or Southern) Lights shots
Even when you’ve nailed the shot, aurora photos usually need a bit of editing to really shine. That doesn’t mean going overboard—it means correcting color, reducing noise, and tastefully bringing out those vibrant bands of green, pink, and red. In this guide, we’ll walk through the essential steps for how to edit aurora photos like a pro.
Start With a RAW File
Make sure you are shooting in a RAW file format—this gives you more data and flexibility to adjust white balance, exposure, and colors. If you’re working with JPEGs, you can still improve things, but the results might be more limited.
Basic Edits
I use Lightroom, but any high-end editing software will do the job.
Apply Lens Corrections
Before you start making adjustments, turn on profile corrections and remove chromatic aberration. This helps correct any distortion or vignetting from your lens and sets you up for cleaner edits down the line.
White Balance
Auto white balance often messes up aurora colors. Rather than using a preset, try manually adjusting the greens and magentas to bring out the aurora colors. Natural aurora greens tend to lean toward a cool, slightly bluish hue—not neon or lime green—while magentas usually appear soft and dusty, not overly saturated. As you adjust, also keep an eye on the foreground so it doesn’t become overly blue.
Exposure & Contrast
Bump exposure slightly if needed, but don’t blow out the aurora. Add a bit of contrast to give the aurora and the stars some pop. Keep an eye on your histogram—stay out of the red zone on either end.
Dehaze & Clarity
Lightroom’s Dehaze slider is designed to cut through atmospheric interference like smoke, mist, or light pollution. Use it sparingly—it can boost contrast and saturation quickly. Try adding just a touch (+5 to +15) when the sky looks flat or washed out, especially in hazy or foggy scenarios.
Dehaze works differently from Clarity: Dehaze is especially useful for cutting through atmospheric interference, such as fog or haze. Clarity, on the other hand, targets midtone contrast and adds texture, useful for deepening colors and enhancing details in the aurora or foreground. Just be cautious—overusing it can create halos and make your image look unnatural.
Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks
- Lower Highlights: This can help recover details in the brightest areas of the image.
- Lift Shadows: Bring out a dark foreground—but gently. If you want to bring out a particular object in the foreground, use a masking tool. (See the Targeted Edits with Local Tools section below.)
- Whites & Blacks: Increasing whites and decreasing blacks can help darken the sky and bring out the aurora. Push until it looks clean, not unrealistic.
Enhance Aurora Colors
Vibrance Before Saturation
Vibrance targets muted tones without turning your image into a neon sign. Use it first. Saturation affects everything—go easy if you use it at all. You might try adjusting the overall vibrance, or for more control, adjust individual color ranges in the HSL panel.
Fine-Tune in the HSL (hue, saturation, and luminance) Panel
- Shift green or magenta hues slightly if they look off.
- Boost luminance to brighten specific colors.
- Gently boost the saturation of individual aurora colors to help them pop.
Noise Reduction & Detail
Shooting at night typically requires using a high ISO, which results in noise in your images. Even the cleanest aurora shots will usually have some level of noise, especially in the shadows and sky.
- Luminance Noise: Gently adjust this to reduce noise in the sky. Don’t go too far or your image will begin to look plasticky.
- Color Noise: Try adjusting this if you’ve got unwanted color artifacts in the image.
- Sharpening: In Lightroom, you can use the Masking Slider in the Sharpening panel to target sharpening only where it’s needed—on the aurora and stars, not in the noisy sky. Hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key while dragging the Masking slider to see a black-and-white preview: white areas will be sharpened, black areas will be protected. Drag the slider right until only the important details are highlighted in white.
Targeted Edits with Local Tools
Brush Tool
Use the brush tool to target specific parts of the image. Before applying, take a moment to adjust the brush settings: use a high Feather value (75–100) for smooth, natural transitions. Keep Flow and Density around 70–90 for better control—this lets you build up the effect gradually instead of applying it all at once. Lower Opacity if you want very subtle adjustments. Use a soft-edged brush for most edits to avoid creating harsh lines in the sky or aurora.
- Brighten the Aurora: Increase exposure just where you want it.
- Noise Reduction on Foreground: Brush it in selectively to keep things clean without flattening the sky.
- Bring Out Foreground Subjects: Increase the exposure and adjust the color and noise on interesting objects in the foreground to make them pop.
Remove Distractions
Get rid of power lines, sensor dust, or other distractions with a spot healing brush.
Crop and Straighten (Optional)
Before wrapping up your edits, take a moment to evaluate your composition.
- Straighten the Horizon: Especially important if you’re shooting over water or with a visible skyline. A slightly tilted image can be distracting.
- Crop for Impact: Use the crop tool to fine-tune your framing. Try the rule of thirds to position the aurora, foreground elements, or silhouettes in more dynamic spots.
Final Thoughts
Editing aurora photos doesn’t have to be complicated. Most of the time, a few simple adjustments in Lightroom are all you need to take your shot from flat to fantastic. But don’t overdo it. The aurora does most of the work. You’re just helping it stand out.
Looking for more aurora tips? Check out my aurora guides:
Aurora Photography: A No-Nonsense Guide to Capturing the Northern (and Southern) Lights
15 Common Aurora Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Essential Aurora Photography Gear: What You Actually Need To Shoot The Northern (Or Southern) Lights
