You too can get photographic evidence of life after death.  All you need is a camera and a haunted location.  Well, that and the cojones to hang out in really creepy places at night, in the dark.....

Ghost Photography Techniques

• Take photos in no light or low light, using a flash
   
• Be careful of reflective surfaces, such as windows, mirrors, puddles of water, automobiles,
   
• Take photos with people in them, ghosts like to hang out near the living.
   
• Take photos behind you, ghosts like to follow the living.
   
• Talk to ghosts as you investigate, treat them as if they are with you.  Quite possibly they are.
   
• Concentrate on areas that elicit an emotion from you, such as sadness, anger, fear or even joy.  Ghosts can effect our emotions.
   
• No smoking during an investigation.  The smoke looks like ecto in photos.  One person smoking during an investigation will cause the legitimacy of all results to be questioned.  Be respectful of your time and money as well as that of your fellow investigators. 
   
• Do not consume alcohol during an investigation.  Not only can it make you careless and more prone to accident, but it also makes you an unreliable witness to whatever phenomena you may encounter.

Outdoors

• Watch for light pollution.  Avoid taking photos with lights in them.
   
• Be aware of weather conditions.  Avoid taking photos when its raining, snowing or foggy.
   
• When investigating outdoors, be sure to thoroughly photograph any structures in the area.  Ghosts like buildings.
   
• Be sure to photograph the gate or entrance as you depart an investigation.  Tell the ghosts that this is their last chance to be photographed.
   
• Avoid taking photos of huge open areas, your flash will have a hard time illuminating it and auto focus cameras will have a hard time focusing in low light.  Instead, have something fairly close in your background, such as a tree, structure or gravestone.
   
• Be respectful when investigating cemeteries.  Do not leave trash behind.  Do not disturb grave offerings.  Many ghost hunters will pick up garbage when they arrive at a cemetery and straighten offerings. 
   
• If possible do not use a flashlight.  The light from it can create a false positive in the other investigators photos.  Also, many ghosts seem to prefer the dark.
   
• Be aware of your surroundings.  Look for oddities, things out of place, such as graves facing an unusual direction, graves off by themselves or areas with lots of child burials.
   
• Give the local authorities a heads up.  Call the non-emergency number, tell the dispatcher your name, the name of the location you will be investigating, what you will be doing and an approximate arrival time. 
   
• Follow posted restrictions.  If there is a sign on the gate saying the location closes at dusk do not enter it after dusk without permission.  Areas controlled by the State or Federal government, such as parks and historic areas are prone to surveillance.
   
• If you are able, adjust the flash on your camera in relation to the distance covered in each photo.  For example; if your taking photos in a wide open area you will need the flash to be as high as you can get it.  (for night photography) .  However, if you are photographing in a more crowded setting, such as a cemetery or wooded area you will need to lower your flash level somewhat.  Keep your flash settings as low as you can to avoid excess flash bounce.

Indoors

·       Pay special attention to stairways, ghosts like to hang out in them.

·       Pay special  attention to doorways, ghosts like to hang out in them.

·       Attics and basements are often haunted, as are bathrooms.

·       Be aware that some glossy wall paints can reflect your flash, as can posters, and even white items.

·       Your flash level may need to be adjusted.  As a general rule, indoor low light photography requires a low flash setting.  However, if you are investigating a large open area, such as a warehouse or gymnasium, you may need to increase the setting to high.

·       It is never safe to investigate decrepit buildings.  However, I have learned that you are much less likely to fall through a floor if you walk along the wall as opposed to walking through the middle of a room.   Also, before entering a room check out the ceiling for water stains and avoid those areas of the floor.  Leaks can weaken a floor.  Walk as close to the wall as possible when ascending or descending stairways. 

Video

Many of the same rules apply to video photography as do to still photography.  However, there are some additional tips to follow;

·       In order to see ghosts in a low light video recording it is necessary to record the image in infra-red.  On Sony cameras this format is known as “Nightshot”. 

·       Generally ghostly phenomena moves very fast, so in order to record the image the video camera needs to either be stationary, or moved very slowly. 

Be sure to let me know how these work for you, and I would love to see your results ~Kriss

back