Photographing your experiences - Tips and tricks

by Beth Trimble

  • Be aware of pareidolia - the human tendency to see faces or objects that are not there. (click term for wiki.) 

  • Good photographs are tough to get. You have to be in the right place at the right second and hope your lens cap is not on

  • We use photos to back up our other evidence. Getting a mist or strange orb shot (and most orbs are dust reflecting your flash) at the same time as an EVP? That's validation.  But there's always the chance that you will get something absolutely breath-taking. See examples below

  • Video is easier to catch movement, a door shutting, something standing in the corner that vanishes....video is great!

  • Usually, you find a great picture later, during your review, so now, in the age of digital photography, take as many as you can

  • Know where you are pointing: reflective surfaces may give false positive results

  • Know the range of your camera - images captured outside the range settings may be distorted

  • Say no to camera straps! These are often captured on film, and the results may resemble 'vortexes' or other lines that are misinterpreted. It is good practice to either remove the strap entirely, wear a neck strap instead, or to make sure, each and every time, that the strap is securely on your wrist and does not have enough allowance to spill over into the shot

  • How's your lens? Wide angle lens shots may produce 'barrel distortion', especially with infra-red technology. Barrel distortion can cause solid objects on the perimeter of your shot to appear transparent, distorted and ghostly

  • "Where's your hair?" Keep hair groomed and held back from your face. In addition, it is good form to get into the habit of holding the camera well away from your face, even at arm's length for each shot, to insure that a stray hair isn't photographed by mistake

  • Beware the dipping hat brim - don't capture it on film!

  • Get into the habit, winter or summer, of holding your breath for a two count before and after each shot. When this becomes habit, you rule out 'breath mist' being included in your shots

  • No smoking. No, we are not in cahoots with your doctor. However smoke makes the coolest images that are often mistaken for mysterious mists or ectoplasm.  Don't video or take pictures if you go on 'break'

  • What's the weather? Rain or humidity may cause droplets of water in the air to show up as orbs or more. In the summer, suspect insects (in videography, watch the movement of the objects that appear as orbs. Compare them to insect movement first)

  • In winter? See if there is a moisture source nearby. Frozen crystals in the air may also show up on film with interesting, yet false positive results

  • If possible, take two or more shots of the same location right after the other. Often, something may show up in one shot and not the next, or vice versa

  • Watch your settings! Night setting causes the shutter to slow it's speed down in order to try to capture darker images. A common result is that any reflective or light source will skew into a radiant gold streak. If you catch many 'plasma lights' in your work, suspect your camera settings first and change them

**SYNCHRONIZE YOUR EQUIPMENT!!** Get into the practice of synchronizing your video time and date with your camera time and date. This habit will save you immeasurable grief if you need to compare video footage vs. still shot photography

 

Types of Cameras to Try

  • Infra-red (or night shot) video cameras. (For optimum results, you may wish to attach an infra-red booster light

  • Digital cameras (still or video)

  • 35 mm cameras (still or video)

  • 3-D cameras (Loreo makes these but they are hard to find and you then have to find some place to develop the film. Tough to do these days)

  • Phone cameras often work well (please turn off ring and notification sounds, as well as vibrate if possible)

Examples of photos backing up other evidence

 

'Veenker'

First Veenker evp backing photo

On our EVP page we have a couple of EVPs from an entity that identified himself as Veenker.

The photo above was taken just as that EVP session started. A mist was following the investigator into the room,

and immediately afterwards, he captured an evp that is class A

 

 

 

'You're Entirely Welcome' 

RH orb - Yourentirelywelcome

 

RH orb closer study

 

Also on the EVP page, we have a short clip, as well as the full clip of "You're Entirely Welcome".

In the full clip, you can hear the beep of the camera, then one investigator says "It's right here in the hall" because she can see something bright right in front of her. Immediately after, they thanked any entities in the area and the EVP (voice of a woman) said

"You're entirely welcome".

The investigators were in the women's quarters at the time, which had been abandoned for twenty years.

Not only does this photo back up the EVP, it also clearly shows that no one else was in the area. We have included the original shot, as well as a closer study of the object in the air.

 

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