by Jim Ross

Created on: October 18, 2008

I know there are a lot of avid spiritual photographers out there - all eager beavers to capture that one great shot, but have any of you ever tried your hand at true spirit photography?

True spirit photography is where you capture an image of a dead person, or animal in greater detail - perhaps a face, or a full body, standing, or sitting next to someone being photographed, possibly YOU (The self-timer works wonders here!).

Many years ago, when the ghosts/spirits of the Odeon film theatre in Sunderland, took hold, I began an interest in this kind of photography, and became very successful at it using 35mm SLR camera's that were loaded with Kodak black and white infra red film, and for some reason, no other film would work for me

As such, in the last couple of months I've been wondering whether or not it could be made possible with a digital camera? Recent evidence seen on different websites would seem to suggest it can - spirit willing!

To this end, I am going to share with you my knowledge on the subject, and it would be real interesting to see if any of you can capture our elusive friends on digital media!

First thing on your camera to look for are the settings. I use a Nikon Coolpix; it has a function called "copy" in its settings. When this is selected, I can take a shot anywhere that will be recorded in monochrome. This is the first thing to check your camera with. If your camera does not support this function, no need to worry, most software like Paint Shop Pro, etc, will allow you to change your picture from colour, to black and white, or Infra Red, at the click of a mouse.

The next thing you need is a large dark backdrop, with a comfortable chair in front (a high backed kitchen chair will do fine) perhaps one or two feet ahead of the backdrop. (The backdrop can be made from a large bed sheet died with a dark colour and pinned to the wall.)

After this, all you need is a red light in the room and a tripod. Spirit, for some reason, when this kind of close-up photography is being carried out, prefer the red light approach, and IT DOES help with results. You can try taking photographs using flash, but I would recommend against it. Let the camera take the shot, even if it's a slow exposure!

The last thing to carry out just before you start, maybe five or ten minutes beforehand, is the safety issue!

When calling out to spirit to help, without protection, it's like using a Ouija Board Anything and everything can come through, and trust me, you don't want that!

Therefore, whether you're religious, or not, say a prayer. Ask for love, light, and protection, for yourself, any friend(s) in the room with you, and your visiting guests from the other side. Everyone has Guides, Helpers, and Inspirers, ask them to help you and to only allow those through, that come through your Guides - and don't be too upset if at first you don't succeed, it can, at times, take a while to get something you can call a hit!

You can ask for certain people to try and come through, but its best sometimes to just allow the events to unfold around you, plus you get a bigger surprise from not knowing "who does," until you look!

After the shoot, view your pictures in black and white, and then look again by changing them to infra red, Paint Shop Pro 10 does this for you - so perhaps you'll get lucky, I hope you do!

If you want to try using the original media mentioned, you'll need a changing bag to install and remove the film from your camera, and you'll need to read the enclosed information relating to adjusting the focus, F-Stop on your lens, and shutter speed.

Good hunting folks!

Now, Ye may sit on the chair, and take photos with an accomplice, or with the self timer!

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