Entries Tagged 'Ghost Hunting Tips' ↓

This paranormal photography tips article has been copied with permission from Larry DP written for the Facebook Group Paranormal Evidence Analysis.

Lets look at basic night time photography tips.  Remember this is just a basic guide as all cameras will vary slightly. You may still need to experiment to get the correct settings.

Flash: Some cameras allow you to adjust your flash strength, I suggest turning it up all the way to increase your depth of field.

Night scene or night shot, some cameras have this and if you’re using a tripod fine but without one you stand a great chance of blur or light trails because night scene gives your camera a longer exposure time.  Many mistakes are made here.

Exposure is the time your aperture is open.  What happens in many cases you take a picture, your flash goes off and you lower your camera. Well many times your camera aperture is still open so  the picture will show light trails or blurring of the brighter objects.  You should not use a long exposure UNLESS your shooting off a tripod.  Hearing is very important when taking pictures at night.  You need to listen for your camera to finish a picture before you move it.  I have seen many pictures claimed to be paranormal that were up to 8 seconds  exposure times. YOU WILL GET MOVEMENT unless shooting off a tripod. The longer your exposure the more movement in your picture becomes see thru.  See those claimed apparition on the internet where a person is see through? Its movement with long exposure. See light trails? These are long exposure.

Exposure is measured by f-stops  Remember the lower the F-stop the more light your camera lets in.

F1 being largest F 64 being a pin hole  Now your camera may be limited so select a low setting so more light enters your camera.

ISO:   ISO speed affects the shutter speed / aperture combinations you can use to obtain correct exposure.  The higher the ISO the more pixilation you get.

Now using a flash at night you want an ISO that is appropriate. 400 to 640 are good all around settings. If you have a 12 mega pixel or higher camera you can even go up to an 800 ISO.  Do not go higher unless your shooting off a tripod without a flash. Also do not drop to a 200 or 100 ISO unless your shooting off a tripod WITH flash.

Foreign objects in your picture, when using a flash any foreign particle, from lint to pollen, even moisture appear as objects in your picture if they are near your lens, they often give the illusion of being further away from the lens. Remember your shooting in 2D. Many small point and shoot cameras catch a sleeve, a finger even camera straps or lens cap strings  in the flash. These appear as a bright objects often reported as ghosts or a vortex. But once again understand your equipment.

Shadows:  Many times a dark shadow or spot is misperception. A finger blocking a portion of a flash will appear as a dark shape. When taking pictures an object off the side can appear as a larger shape when the flash creates a shadow. I have seen a vase as a cowboy.

Always try to pay attention to your surroundings. Take control shots with the lights on as a reference.  When taking pictures at night take a couple from each position so you have another picture to reference.

Most digital cameras have an exif file attached to your pictures. They explain what settings your camera had. You can look at these to see if a flash went off, your ISO, your exposure time, your f-stop along with many other settings. We are only looking at the basics as we aren’t professionals.  Windows 7 allows you to see photo properties. Photo shop paint shop, and many other software allow you to look at your exif. Photome  is a great FREE program to view your exif.

I hope this will help you understand and take better photographs at night.

Ghosteyes: Thanks for the paranormal photography tips.  I think of all the findings people send us and post online, photos are the hardest to figure out.  

What is EMF and how does it pertain to the paranormal? Honestly no one can answer that whole question directly. We can break it down and answer one part directly, EMF is “invisible lines of force that surround any electrical device that is plugged in and turned on. EMF is made up of waves of electric and magnetic energy moving together (radiating) through space. Electric fields are produced by electric charges and magnetic fields are produced by the flow of current through wires or electrical devices.”

What of the other? What relationship does EMF have with the paranormal? That is not so clear but when coming up with possible options as to what is going on during an investigation, knowing what effects EMF can have, can go a long way into reassuring a client.

Commonly people think of power lines when you mention EMF. There is debate as to whether exposure to this EMF over time can cause serious harm to people but what if you are sensitive to EMF. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is a condition where some people can experience a variety of health issues depending on how sensitive they are and how long the exposure.

It is even possible that someone can be hypersensitive and not even know it. So as investigators it is important to know that in situations where you find continuous high levels of EMF in a home or area of a home, that some of the symptoms of EHS could be interpreted as paranormal. Also note that some people susceptible to EHS may only display one symptom while others can display multiples.

We as investigators are there to help explain what may be happening to a client and explaining the symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity could be a possible answer if the environment they live in is conducive. It is also a basic safety concern for anyone that may be hypersensitive.

If you haven’t already, add this to your arsenal of possible answers.

Some EHS symptoms could be:

• Fatigue
• Stress
• Trouble sleeping
• Facial prickling sensation
• Burning sensation on skin
• Skin rashes
• Pain and ache in muscles
• Eyes burning
• Ear, nose, and throat symptoms
• Digestive disorders
• Complications in breathing
• Balance issues
• Emotional difficulties such as depression
• Concentration issues
• Problems with memory
• Mild to severe headaches
• Ringing in the ears
• Mild to severe dizziness
• Nausea with and without vomiting
• Complications in breathing
• Balance issues
• Paranoia, feeling nervous or dreamy

There are a lot of opinions across many teams about the paranormal in general. For the most part the paranormal community is moving forward as a whole. Just like anything that opinions play a part in, the paranormal community has its extremists on all sides thus making it debatable on how fast we are moving forward but hopefully we can all agree movement is being made.

The same can be said for the personal paranormal experience. There have always been debates about whether a paranormal team’s personal experiences should be conveyed to a client because there is no “proof” behind it. On one side, opinions are that a paranormal personal experience should be considered proof all into itself and conveyed to the client as such. On the other side, beliefs are that these personal experiences do not hold enough weight to be considered as paranormal findings. Still others weigh in with the all to over used word “scientific”.

Can any ghost story or haunted location be researched thoroughly and it NOT start with someone’s paranormal personal experience? Without first having a personal experience there would be nothing to investigate. A personal experience, after being evaluated to exclude any other explanation should be a viable finding to share. Let’s not forget the human body can be a paranormal tool as well.

As far as science is concerned, I am quite sure that getting an evp saying “leave” at the same time your EMF detector went off and you started to feel unwanted and then a door flew open, though quite impressive, would not pass as scientific method. By pure definition paranormal means “beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation” so to prove something of paranormal nature using scientific methods would not make it paranormal, but indeed science.

A “paranormal science” is a true oxymoron but trying to find a truly scientific, repeatable way to measure the paranormal is something we are all trying to find. Just try and remember to stay away from extremes and don’t rule out what started all this in the first place. Maybe the equipment needed to measure or confirm what we are doing hasn’t been invented yet? Maybe the scientific method needed is just one step away? With out a paranormal personal experience to start with however, it may not even matter.

Stay true to your beliefs and convictions, keep chasing those hypotheses’ and stay focused but also keep a little open mind to how all this got started and the possibility that a little bit of what everyone thinks is part of the solution. A good many people are investigating the paranormal due to a personal experience and most haunted locations available today are there because someone believed in someone else’s experience.