Tips for Taking Real Ghost Pictures During a Ghost Hunt

Unfortunately, taking pictures of ghosts is hit or miss (mostly missing). There is no definitive guide to successfully photographing the paranormal, though by following the tips below you can improve your chances of capturing that elusive shot.

Be aware of your surroundings. Most of the photos that claim to show ghosts or other paranormal occurrences often show that they are caused by natural phenomena. Things such as: dust, insects, smoke, humidity, lighting and shadows have been presented as “evidence” of ghost photography. Being aware of your surroundings and surroundings can help you decide if you really captured something worth sharing or not. For example, if you’re on a ghost hunt and taking photos in the basement, there’s a good chance it’s going to be very dusty, which will likely result in you getting ‘orbs’ in all of your photos. Another would be for you to take a photograph and see what appears to be a ghostly mist, but if you had been aware of your surroundings, you would have known that your Aunt Pat was smoking cunningly at the time, which would explain the anomaly.

Make sure the shot is clear. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve excitedly thought for a moment that I’d caught something, but upon closer examination I realized it was actually the camera strap or the tip of a finger. I learned my lesson and now I know how to have the strap around my neck or wrist and hold the camera correctly. The camera should be held between your thumb at the bottom and your index and middle fingers at the top, neither overlapping the front edge of the camera. The ring and little fingers should be bent towards the palm. If there is enough light where you are, then a quick glance at the cameras preview screen before each shot will show any obstructions.

Try to use the film. For the youngsters reading this, there was a time, believe it or not, when digital cameras were only available to those willing to spend thousands of pounds on one. The rest of us depended on film photography and had to try to make every shot count. Many researchers believe that film photography is better for capturing images of the paranormal and only use digital as a last resort. If you want to try film photography, I advise you to use a 35mm film camera with a film speed of 400. Different types of film can be useful for ghost hunting, black and white film and infrared film have been used to capture interesting results. .

Stand still and shoot. When taking pictures trying to catch ghosts or other anomalies, you should always take multiple pictures at once. Moving as little as possible between each shot should be your goal. We do this because you see a lot of true paranormal photos in one photograph, but in the next one it may have moved a bit or, in most cases, completely disappeared, even though it was taken just a few seconds later. Natural explanations, such as a stain on the wall or a reflection, will remain in place, allowing us to dismiss them for what they are.

Doubles the power. Using a camera on a ghost hunt in conjunction with an EMF meter or temperature reader can really help you get results. Obviously, once you get an anomalous EMF reading, you’ll want to take multiple photos (see tip above) of that area. For use with a temperature reader, I would wait to find a cold spot or sudden drop in temperature before going back to taking multiple photos of the area.

Do not discard. If you were using a digital camera on your ghost hunt, chances are you got a little lighthearted (which is a good thing) and took a lot of photos. It would be easy and less time-consuming to quickly scan through them, looking for anomalies using only your cameras’ built-in viewfinder, weeding out the ones you don’t see at all as you go, but that would be a mistake. Most paranormal anomalies are not noticed until the photo is viewed at a larger size because they are sometimes faint and difficult to see. Take the time to upload photos from your camera memory card to your PC/Laptop and review them one by one in full screen, looking at them carefully. If you find something worth looking into further, you should first make a copy of that photo. Any enhancements you make, such as cropping or altering the lighting, should be done on the copy only, ALWAYS leave the original as it is.

And finally we come to the most important tip for ghost hunting photography that I can sum up in just three words: Carry extra batteries 🙂