Anyone that has worked with me or APS will know that I will dismiss about 99% of the photos that are sent. Not only am I a paranormal researcher and investigator, I am also a photographer. Orbs are nothing more than reflections of light coming from either moisture (like rain, snow, fog, haze, etc.) or a light source (street lights, window reflection, car lights, etc.). The shapes you see inside the orbs, are nothing more that the nucleus of a dust particle, light, or moisture. If you don’t see an orb with your naked eye, but you capture it on camera, ESPECIALLY after using a flash, it’s light. That’s it. End of story.

Not to mention, bugs and other weird things like camera straps, smoke, and hair can look rather spooky when out of focus, all the while managing to sneak into your shot. Again, it’s not paranormal. We are spending and wasting so much time looking at things that have an explanation and missing out on the truly incredible parts of the paranormal field.

But does this mean that I don’t believe in ghosts? Of course not. Does this mean that I don’t believe in orbs? Actually, no. I have seen “orbs” or balls of light with my naked eye. Was I lucky enough to snap a picture? No. I was so mesmerized and taken by what I saw, I didn’t think to snap a photo. Between realizing my fellow investigator seeing the anomaly, trying to process and debunk what I was seeing, and the tech going out, taking a photo wasn’t possible. I want to so badly see this phenomenon again in my lifetime. However, if I were lucky enough to snap a photo, it will likely be debunked. And I’m okay with that. I know what I saw.

In order for ghosts to appear in a photo, they have to reflect light in some way. What we see with our eyes and what the camera is capturing is all a reflection of light. Our minds are trained to make out familiar patterns out of nothing. Take clouds for example! We can see dragons, faces, and amazing things in the clouds. But that is all because our mind is creating familiar images for us to interpret. The same goes for 90% of spirit photography. That shape you see in that blurry photo is most likely your mind playing tricks on you.

So when someone debunks your photo as light, smoke, moisture, hair, etc., and those elements were indeed present, move on. Yes, it’s going to hurt. You will be disappointed. If you post a photo in a public forum, expect to get feedback. Expect to be debunked. Picking a fight or trying to discredit the debunker will not help your cause at all.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that you aren’t being visited by ghosts, it’s just that anomaly you captured on camera isn’t it. As you learn more about paranormal photography, try to be a good sport. If you’re serious about it, invest in a DSLR camera and stop using your phone and a point-and-shoot. You’re less likely to capture those hundreds of orbs in that photo you took on a foggy day, or that smoke you captured while your buddy was smoking a cigarette.

Have I captured or seen photos that I can’t debunk? Yes. They are extraordinary. If you really want to get an honest assessment of a photo you took, take it to a professional photographer and get their feedback. To quote a famous meme, when it comes to orbs, ghost hunters see spirits, photographers see crap on their lens! If you are sure you caught something paranormal, APS is more than happy to take a look, but you will be asked about environmental factors, what you used to take the photo, etc. If that photo you took after the death of a loved one is that confirmation you needed that they’re okay, while I may not agree, I will respect that.

Finally, if you use a Ghost App ghost to try to lie and fool people, then you’re a moron and deserve every bit of scrutiny that comes your way.

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Most in the paranormal field credit William Mumler with the first paranormal photograph.  Unfortunately, Mr. Campbell, of New Jersey, is forgotten in Mumler’s famed glory.  A year before Mumler’s first spirit photograph of himself and his deceased cousin, W. Campbell took a test photograph of an empty chair, only to discover upon development, a young boy in the photograph.It is easy to see how this original photograph was looked over, with the remarkable photographs of Mumler overshadowing.  Of course, as we know today, Mumler was the inventor of the original “Photoshop”.  Through manipulation of long exposures and burning and dodging during development, he was able to add images of “spirits” into his photography.  Most famously of which is a portrait of the disturbed and misunderstood Mary Todd Lincoln and the spirit of her dead husband, Abraham.

The direct contrast between these two photographers is exactly what has made one obscured, and one infamous.  Mumler went on, after that first fateful photograph, to have a very successful career in spirit photography.  And although, several respected photographers sat for portraits and watched the entire development process with no explanation to the figures behind them, he is easily debunked and mocked today.  But Mr. W. Campbell, what became of him?  He fell into obscurity.  He was so shocked by his discovery that he attempted to recreate it over and over again, with no luck.  He eventually faded and was erased from the Paranormal History Books.

Mumler paved the way for countless photographers to take advantage of unsuspecting patrons.  For decades, people across the country would line up for their chance to have a picture made with a photography medium.  Most of these images are so obviously faked it is hard not to laugh.  But of course, at the time, the living being in those photos was incredibly grateful for the closure they brought.

After the rise of the Photography Mediums, we start seeing what many argue as genuine spirit photographs.  The Brown Lady, Lord Combermere, Mrs. Chinnery’s Mother, Freddy Jackson…  Photos that still spark legend and interest today.  But as both a photographer and a Paranormal Investigator, I always go back to Mumler and Campbell.

I often wonder what became of Mr. Campbell when he and his photograph fell into obscurity.  Did he continue to pursue the paranormal?  Did he continue to attempt to recreate his photograph?  Whatever became of him, I respect him so much more than Mr. Mumler.  He stood by his photograph.  He felt he found true evidence of the other side.  He did not go on to use that photograph to make his fortune.  He did not exploit his evidence to take photographs of widowed First Ladies.  He simply held it close as a proud moment in his life.

How much is there to be learned from these two?  To truly respect this field, you do it for the knowledge, for the amount you can help others and for the respect of both your evidence and the spirits themselves.    To be truly successful in your work, often means remaining obscure to the masses.

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1. HAVE BACKUPS! Especially batteries/storage cards. Also doesn’t hurt to have a backup camera if possible. Equipment can, and usually does fail at the worse times. Given the nature of the paranormal and how some “otherworldly influences” can drain the power from devices pretty quickly, having backup power sources is paramount. The more the better.
2. For photography, I recommend getting the best camera you can afford, or at least, feel comfortable bringing to an investigation. Face it, when you go to an investigation, you never know what kind of entity you may encounter. It could be a docile, non-threatening “being”, it could be a very aggressively pissed off spirit or perhaps even an entity of the demonic persuasion. I don’t know about you, but I’d be pretty ticked off and upset if my higher end, $3000 camera suffered some sort of damage due to a malevolent being. So get a nice decent consumer/prosumer-level camera. You can get a decent one typically between $500-$750. Or check around online for deals, or even a local pawn shop or a camera / photography store. Many stand-alone camera shops will have used/second-hand cameras available for a decent price (TEST BEFORE YOU BUY!) Although the quality of camera phones has gotten better over the years, in my opinion they still fall behind when compared to a good “real” camera….plus there is also that whole concept of projecting the image of being a professional. A client will be a lot more impressed with a team pulling out Nikons, Canons, or Sonys, just to name a few, instead of a smart phone or tablet. Key word – IMAGE
3. Once you get your brand new or used camera, play with it, get a feel for it, experiment and get comfortable with the feel of the camera as well as the settings. Check the intensity of the flash. If it is not up to par, depending on the sort of camera you have, you may want to consider investing in a speedlight/off camera flash unit. But check your camera first, you may be able to adjust the intensity through the camera settings, or you may have to increase the “Exposure Compensation” or the ISO, or F-stop (the smaller the number, the more “light” entering the lens/iris, the higher the number, the smaller amount of “light” entering the lens/iris. So a photo shot with an F-stop setting of F5 is typically brighter than a photo shot at a setting of F22….depending on other settings, of course…but I’m getting way ahead)
4. Unless you really have serious aspirations or an interest in photography, one thing I have noticed based on the investigations I have been on is that most of the time, you can get by just using the “program” or “automatic” setting on the camera.  Face it, this really isn’t an “artsy fartsy” type thing, so there really isn’t a need to get all fancy. However, one feature that does come in handy is the timer. That’s a feature where you enter  how often the camera will automatically take pictures without you having to constantly press the shutter. One main caveat to this though, make sure that the photos that are being taken are in focus. Autofocus is NOT always the answer, and depending on the camera and how you have the settings fixed, the camera will not take a shot if it senses that the photo is not in focus. So if you use this feature, let it take a couple of auto shots on its own and then check them before walking away. You might have to switch the camera over to manual focus and set the focus. In cases like this, I normally zoom the camera lens all the way out and set the focus ring to the infinity setting (on many lenses it looks like a sideways “8”)
5. PERSONAL PET PEEVE. Check the quality level and size of the image! How many times have you looked at a photo online posted by someone claiming that there is some sort of weird apparition or whatever and you’re literally squinting trying to make something out because the photo is slightly bigger than a thumbnail? Obviously, it is a lot easier to pick things out if you have a nice high-resolution photo to review. Common sense really. So before the investigation, or if you’re just out doing your own thing, shoot at the highest quality your camera (and storage space) will allow. For our purposes I’m not saying shoot at the TIFF or RAW level, but a NORM or FINE JPG level is definitely good and will suffice. Personally, for investigations, I typically shoot using the FINE JPG setting at the LARGE image size level, which is 4288 x 2848, but that is just my preference and that size is definitely big enough that will make picking out anomalies a little bit easier. It’s a lot easier to shrink a photo down and maintain acceptable quality than it is to take a small photo and try to enlarge it. That’s where you get problems with quality loss, pixelation, etc.
6. I know this seems like a silly thing, but many people forget. Before a shoot, make sure the lens is clean. Lenses do get dirty and dust and other things such as fingerprints do end up on the lens sometimes. It happens. One good practice to have is to replace the lens cap as soon as you are done taking a shot (then again maybe I’m just a little anal about my gear).
7. In closing, the camera, whether it is still or video, is one of the most important tools in evidence gathering. Without photographic or video evidence, then there is no ocular, concrete proof as to proving the existence of paranormal entities. These days, people want proof about things they do not understand, have not personally experienced, or are skeptical about. Capturing good quality visual evidence in the eye of the camera lens is a key way to opening the door to understanding that there is something beyond the physical world in which we now dwell.

Duke Richards is a senior member of the APS-San Diego team and owns his own photography business.

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