Northern Lights Photography Tours in Alta

If you mainly want a good photo of yourself under the aurora, book the Northern Lights Adventure Tour with Fire & Free Photos. Professional photos are included in the price, which was $129 per person on its first date, 13 November 2026, and it has 4.8 from 41 reviews. The Northern Lights Tour with Guide and Photos also includes photos of your evening, adds thermal clothing and caps the bus at 25 guests, for $193 on 6 November. Our review of the fire and photos tour →

If you would rather take the pictures yourself with a guide beside you, look at the small-group tours further down.

What “photos included” means on each tour

On the Amazing Aurora fire tour, two guides take professional photos of guests under the lights, and reviewers say they were free to download. Most reviews of the photos are warm, one called them awesome, but one guest in October 2026 said their group got no photos and nobody explained why. It is a big bus, the night can last up to six hours, and one guest counted about 60 people around two small fires, so expect to queue for your turn in front of the camera on a busy night.

The Luuso Travel tour lists “photography of your Aurora experience” as included, along with thermal clothing, a bus with a toilet and hot drinks. It runs from 19:00 to midnight and accepts all ages, so it suits families. It has a perfect 5.0, but from only 6 reviews. Our review →

If you want to take your own pictures

The Northern Lights Hunt and Arctic Animals Adventure from Finnmark Adventure is the one to book if you want help with your own camera. Each car takes at most eight people, the listing includes photo stops and help getting the shot, and the operator asks you to bring a tripod. The night starts with a visit to llamas, alpacas, woolly pigs and horses. It was $268 on 5 November 2026, with 4.3 from 7 reviews. Our review →

On the Small-Group Guided Northern Lights Tour, photography is not a listed extra, but guests say the guides helped people with camera problems and took pictures of guests with the lights on request. With up to 13 people there is time for that. It was $258 on 4 November 2026, with 4.6 from 152 reviews, and tripods are not provided. Our review →

The cheaper Northern Lights Bus is a fine way to see the lights, but its listing excludes photography assistance, so you are on your own there. Our bus tours page has the details.

Setting up your own shot

Treat the following as a starting point. Photography guides generally agree on the basics for a camera that lets you set things by hand:

• Put the camera in manual mode and open the aperture as wide as it goes, f/2.8 or wider if your lens allows.
• Start somewhere around ISO 3200 to 8000.
• Use an exposure of about 1 to 12 seconds: shorter when the lights move fast, longer when they are faint and still.
• Focus manually at infinity, and turn the flash off.
• Use a tripod and a remote or the 2-second timer, so pressing the button does not shake the picture.
• Shoot in RAW if you can, take a test shot, check it and adjust.

Set these up before you leave the hotel. Finnmark Adventure suggests it too, and it is much easier in a warm room than with gloves on in the dark. If you only have a phone, one guest on the bus tour recommends bringing a small tripod for it so you can take long exposures.

Do not be surprised if your photos look brighter than what you saw. Alta Adventure warns that pictures often show the colors of the northern lights stronger than they look to the naked eye.

Timing and expectations

Aurora is usually seen best between about 20:00 and 02:00, and the evening tours are built around that window. Visit Alta gives the season as September to early April, with November to March the best months, but it does not promise clear skies on any night, and none of these tours refunds you if the lights stay hidden. All of them have free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Book a night early in your stay so you have a second chance, and see the best time to see the northern lights in Alta for the dark hours by month.

Still deciding between tour types? Our guide to which Alta northern lights tour to book puts them side by side, and the small-group tours page covers the 8- and 13-guest chases.