The colours in aurora photos are real but exaggerated by camera exposures: the shutter opens; light accumulates on the electronic sensor, rendering pale and faint subjects bold and vivid.
All tour operators to the frozen north will tell you that bookings for aurora hunting have boomed in recent years, and I'd wager that increase is directly proportional to the proliferation of digital cameras. More people are taking and sharing photos, and the "myth" perpetuates.
Of course, I was lucky to see anything at all. On most trips the lights remain hidden thanks to cloud cover or a poor performance from the sun, whose electrically charged particles aren't bombarding our magnetic poles with quite the violence needed to excite the colourful gases that create the aurora. The Northern Lights are elusive, which should make them all the more magical. But now, when you come to see the real thing, it can be pretty underwhelming.
One tour operator told me he wanted to invent aurora glasses that do what the camera does, to guarantee a satisfying viewing experience. And yet, if we didn't have this supercharged virtual version to compare to, the real thing would be magical enough. Especially when embroidered by ancient associated folktales. In Sami Finland, these usually involve an Arctic fox with an artistic bent, which touches the mountains with its fur, throwing sparks or snow into the sky. My daughter, at least, was more mesmerised by these myths than the light show on the camera lens.