Ghost Photography 101
© 2001 - 2004, by Aisling D'Art

You've heard about a place that is haunted, and you'd love to capture a "ghost" on film. You can be successful on your first attempt.

Please note that I put the word ghost in quotations. That's because we don't know what causes the orbs and other anomalies that we capture on film. We don't know if ghosts are real; we only use the word "ghost" so that everyone knows what we're talking about. If someone wants to assure you that a location is a "ghost portal" or make broad (or wild) generalizations about the paranormal, be very skeptical.

First, photography is an art and a science. Follow the rules to get the best results. Learn all that you can about cameras and photography, to improve your "ghost hunting" photos.

However, ghost photography is not a well-defined science. Most of us are sorting this out as we go along.

Beginners should read everything they can about the subject. You'll find conflicting opinions in some cases. Keep reading; there is plenty online. Links are listed, below.

I'm still learning, but here is what I've figured out so far:

• Don't snap pictures facing the sun, or even at a right angle to the sun. The light can flare off the lens and create a false anomaly.

• A bright or full moon can cause flares, too. There is an attachment for cameras that shields the lens from direct light from the sun, moon, streetlights, and so on. Consider this if you're doing a lot of outdoor photography.

• Avoid taking pictures where things may be mistaken for anomalies, including city lights, headlights, streetlights, reflecting street signs, joggers, dust, rain, fog, floating milkweed "puffs", insects (esp. lightning bugs), and so on. You may remember what they were when you first see your photos, but when you are weeding through your pix three years from now, you may forget and say, "Cool! Why didn't I notice that anomaly before?"

• Be very careful when shooting indoors, as there are many things that can reflect your flash, creating a false anomaly: windows, television sets, metal items, glass, polished furniture, even polished floors.

• Keep your camera strap, fingers, and rings away from the lens, as they can creat false anomalies. If you have a camera strap, either remove it or place it around your neck (or your wrist, if it's a short loop) to keep it out of the way. Remove rings that can reflect the flash, if your fingers are at the front of the camera as you support it.

  Likewise, keep your hair from in front of the lens. If you've got odd streaks in your prints, make certain that hair couldn't be a factor.

  If you have a Polaroid camera, or a digital with a preview screen, check to see if you're getting reflections with sample photos, before taking lots of pictures.

• Don't expect lots of anomalies, even the best suggest that one or two anomalies per one hundred photos is very good. (Digital cameras record far more anomalies.)

  However, if you're getting far more than, say, five anomalies per hundred photos, either you're in a profoundly haunted location or you're picking up reflections from natural sources. Rule out the logical explanations before deciding that you've got ghosts.

  At sites such as Gilson Road Cemetery in Nashua, NH, even beginners can get two or three orb photos per roll of film. That's unusual. At most sites, one "odd" photo per roll of film is good.

• Wait 20-30 minutes before taking photos when you arrive at a site, for best results. Some profoundly haunted cemeteries produce anomalies on film from the start. However, most haunted settings should be very quietly assessed for about half an hour before attempting to capture hard evidence of ghosts: photos, EVP recordings, and so on.

• More sensitive film speeds picks up clearer anomalies, so choose 400 or 800 ASA films for dusk and night photography. Some people advise using 1000 ASA at the very least, while others complain that the results are too grainy-looking. I have captured an anomaly at dusk using 200 ASA film, but currently recommend 400 ASA. At much higher speeds, I have difficulty determining the edges of an anomaly. Experiment, and see what you prefer.

  (ASA and ISO numbers are the same. ASA is an older term among photographers.)

• Digital cameras pick up more anomalies. Digital cameras work slightly different from film cameras. Because of this, they generally pick up more orbs than film cameras. However, at night the photos can be more grainy than what you'd get with film. Digital cameras can be a substitute for film cameras, but they're even better for on-the-spot identification of "hot" spots. Check your screen to review digital images before using a lot of film in any "haunted" location.
• If you're using film, use traditional 35mm cameras. "Advantix" cameras cost about four times as much, per print. Also, you can easily find 800+ ASA film for 35mm if you like that speed, while Advantix-type films are generally in the lower ASAs.

• Use more than one camera for each shoot, if you can. Or take along a friend with a camera. Similar anomalies on different rolls of film help confirm what was there and establish credibility.

• However, time your flashes, so overlapping flashes won't create a false anomaly. Agree ahead of time how you're going to alert each other that you're about to snap a photo.

• Take at least two photos each time, without moving, as soon as your flash is ready again. Don't move a muscle between photos! Some anomalies do a "now you see it, now you don't" routine. If at least one photo taken at the time shows no anomaly, this helps prove that it wasn't a reflection, something metallic on a tree, an animal's eyes, or whatever. Anomalies move, shift, and otherwise change. Beer cans in the grass don't. Shiny spots on headstones don't. (However, if you even breathe deeply, you may shift just enough to make a natural reflection seem to move. I cannot stress this enough!)

• If you see a "dazzle" or sparkling effect when you're taking photos, quickly take several more. Often, the "dazzle" indicates you may be capturing an anomaly, perhaps even a portal manifestation.

• Go with your "gut feeling," and start snapping photos when the hair on the back of your neck starts to rise. I recently took a daytime photo of a supposedly haunted hotel, but was more drawn to a house two doors away. I later found out that the house was the scene of a 19th-century murder, while the hotel has no violent history.

• Even better, use EMF meters or temperature gauges to identify the best areas to capture anomalies. In some settings, even a regular compass can provide hints about "hot" areas. A compass will detect EMF and, in my research, it's not only far less expensive than an EMF meter, but it's more reliable and sensitive as well.

• Save all of your photos, at least until you've taken about 1,000 pictures, or you've seen at least 15 - 20 anomalies in your photos. Until you're used to spotting faint orbs and traces of ectoplasm, it's easy to dismiss a photo as "nothing." Wait until you really know what you're looking for, before throwing out photos.

  Many times, anomalies are so faint, finding them is like a "Where's Waldo?" search. Look very, very carefully. I've discovered dark anomalies ("black" orbs) in prints only by enhancing the image with my computer graphics programs.

• Keep a disposable camera in your glove compartment, unless you always carry a camera with you. You never know when you'll be running an evening errand and the perfect "haunted" site will be nearby.

Links to others' ghost photography pages:

• The Shadowlands: Psychic Photography, a good starting point with even more info than I've mentioned.

• Ghost Photography, by IGHS's Dave Oester. Heavily commercial and opinionated, but there are some good tips there. some

• Ghosts on Film and other pages at the American Ghost Society offer strong opinions and advice.

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