Famous Ghost Pictures

This occurred in 1861 when a Boston photographer named William H. Mumler discovered that "extras" could appear in a photo if the glass plate were a recycled one with a residual image. Spiritualism by then being all the rage, Mumler began to produce "spirit photographs" for credulous sitters, including - after the assassination of her husband - Mary Todd Lincoln. Eventually Mumler was exposed when it was discovered that some of the alleged spirits in his photos were still-living Bostonians!

There were - and are - many ways to produce fake spirit photos in addition to double exposures. One technique was used in earlier times when long exposures were necessary. A suitably garbed assistant would slip from behind a curtain, stand briefly, then disappear again - this taking place behind the unaware sitter who was intent on remaining motionless. The result would be a faint, transparent "spirit" image beside the solid posed figure.

These methods along with new methods are still in use today as people try and pass fake pictures off as paranormal. The internet has really contributed to these methods and pictures gaining popularity. You can even find web sites that ask for all your fake pictures, these later appear on other web sites as real.

Written by TalkParanormal.com member UglyNRude

See more Mumler photos below ~ Mumler Photos

Ghost stories and their appearance in pictures are often look realistic. If you are a believer chances are you will dress up in scary costumes for Halloween.Pure Costumes is the place to find all your scary gears!

Click the thumbnails to see the full size image and to read more details about each picture.

Double check all batteries before you go and take extras.

Set your cameras settings in advance so you aren't fumbling with it at the investigation.

When taking pictures always announce flash before snapping a picture. This allows others to close there eyes to not be blinded by the flash.

Never have a video camera aimed towards a mirror or window, you will get IR pollution and can be confused as to what it is.

Remove camera straps and make sure your hands are away from the lens. If you are using a larger heavy SLR camera a neck strap is ok but keep it around your neck.

Set your camera up in advance for shooting at night.

Night Time Investigations

For night time investigations (unless your shooting off a tripod ) set your ISO to 400 to 800. If your shooting under 9 mega pixel stay around a 400 ISO above that raise it to an 800 ISO.

Auto focus, if your camera is on auto focus and is constantly trying to focus at night then switch to manual focus. Set it on manual and adjust it for the room sizes your shooting. This will work for most investigations.

Shutter Speeds
(you can't expect great shots when your shutter is open 2 seconds or longer)

1/8000 will stop any motion
1/4000 high enough speed to take pictures while walking
1/2000 will stop most motion
1/1000 will stop bicyclists and runners
1/500 will freeze a person jumping in the air
1/250 will stop some motion
1/125 to avoid camera shake

Speeds that blur motion. Use a tripod for these speeds.

1/60 slight blurring of motion
1/30 very good speed to show a bit of blur when photographing dancers
1/15 the blurring of motion becomes clearly evident
1/8 the blurring motion becomes more pronounced
1/4 the blurring of motion becomes extreme
1/2 high speed motion begins to become invisible

Camera movement - This is a huge problem with paranormal photographers. At night when your camera is set wrong you must listen closely to make sure your shutter opens and closes. Just because the flash goes off doesn't mean the picture is done. Your shutter may remain open and when you move you add shadows and strange blurs to your shot.

Dust or moisture - When dust or moisture is present expect to capture orbs. These aren't paranormal and have been shown you can eliminate them by moving your flash further from your lens. Or by adding a shroud around the outside of your lens.

EXIF Information - Digital cameras have what is called EXIF information on every picture. If you have pictures not turning out then check your EXIF this will give you the settings you are using. Experiment with your camera and when you find EXIF settings that are perfect write them down and use them all the time.

I see hundreds of pictures of supposed paranormal every month and what I see in 99% is the wrong camera settings, pareidolia, matrixing and apophenia.

By following a few small suggestions you can take better paranormal shots. Also now if you catch something then we will be more apt to believe it when you have the correct settings. This was written by one of our forum members who goes by the ID "UglyNRude".

For more information about Paranormal Research and Investigation Methods

"While some believe in ghosts, others don't. Regardless of what you believe, Halloween is an increasingly popular holiday. And a ghost costume is one of the easiest Halloween costumes to make - simply cut two eyes in a white bed sheet and you're all set! What could be easier?"

Click the thumbnails to see the full size image and to read more details about each picture.

Any photo taken with a digital camera contains EXIF information. Its similar to a negative with a film camera except this actually gives information about all the camera settings. It tells camera model, ISO speed you used, if a flash was used, shutter speed.

Professional photographers like to remove this so people have a harder time copying custom pictures they do.

This is an example of exif information: So you can see with exif information you can read a story of what was taking place as the picture was taken and how the camera was used.

Filename : cove5.jpg
JFIF_APP1 : Exif
Main Information
Make : FUJIFILM
Model : FinePix S9000
Orientation : left-hand side
XResolution : 72/1
YResolution : 72/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
Software : Digital Camera FinePix S9000 Ver1.02
DateTime : 2009:06:19 07:47:55
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited
Copyright :
ExifInfoOffset : 252
Sub Information
ExposureTime : 1/1300Sec
FNumber : F7.1
ExposureProgram : Program Normal
ISOSpeedRatings : 400
ExifVersion : 0220
DateTimeOriginal : 2009:06:18 12:03:29
DateTimeDigitized : 2009:06:18 12:03:29
ComponentConfiguration : YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel : 20/10 (bit/pixel)
ShutterSpeedValue : 1/1278Sec
ApertureValue : F7.2
BrightnessValue : EV9.7
ExposureBiasValue : EV0.0
MaxApertureValue : F2.8
MeteringMode : Division
LightSource : Unidentified
Flash : Not fired(Compulsory)
FocalLength : 6.20(mm)
MakerNote : FUJIFILM Format : 310Bytes (Offset:836)
FlashPixVersion : 0100
ColorSpace : sRGB
ExifImageWidth : 650
ExifImageHeight : 488
ExifInteroperabilityOffset : 1154
FocalPlaneXResolution : 6663/1
FocalPlaneYResolution : 6663/1
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit : Centimeter
SensingMethod : OneChipColorArea sensor
FileSource : DSC
SceneType : A directly photographed image
CustomRendered : Normal process
ExposureMode : Auto
WhiteBalance : Auto
SceneCaptureType : Standard
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
SubjectDistanceRange : Unknown
Vendor Original Information
Version : 0130
Quality mode : NORMAL
Sharpness : NORMAL
White Balance : Auto
Color : NORMAL
Unknown (1006)3,1 : 0
Flash mode : Off
Flash strength : 0/100
Macro mode : Off
Focus mode : Auto Focus
Unknown (1022)3,1 : 1
Unknown (1023)3,2 : 1296,972
SlowSync : Off
Mode : Auto
Unknown (1032)3,1 : 1
Sequence Mode : Off
Unknown (1101)3,1 : 0
Unknown (1200)3,1 : 0
Unknown (1210)3,1 : 0
Blurring warning : No
Focus status : Nice
Exposure status : Nice
Unknown (1400)3,1 : 1
ExifR98
ExifR : R98
Version : 0100
Thumbnail Information
Compression : OLDJPEG
XResolution : 72/1
YResolution : 72/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
JPEGInterchangeFormat : 1295
JPEGInterchangeFormatLength : 2908
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited

Now most good photo programs allow you to look at this. Also vista allows you to right click on a photo and it gives you some information as well.

This was written by one of our forum members who goes by the ID "UglyNRude".

For more information about Paranormal Research and Investigation Methods