How to Photograph Ghosts

Whenever I relay the story I am about to tell you, which is very true, my friends who have a keen interest in the paranormal always ask to see my photographs. I have yet to dig them out for them, but it does inspire photographers to wonder, how exactly does one photograph a ghost.

When I was about nine years old, we lived next door to a cemetery for a short time while our new home was being constructed. I was pretty convinced that nothing good was going to come of that year of looking out the north windows to see rich green grass with headstones peeking out of the ground. Eventually I eased up, so much so that my friends and me got dressed in our imaginative costumes and sheets and ran through the small plot pretending to be Wonder Woman or Batman and Robin. We had some fun times in the cemetery.

When the time came to move to our house, I had to acknowledge that I didn’t ever meet the ghosts I was convinced that I would – and that most likely that was because there was no such thing as a ghost.

As a college student, just to pass the time, a group of us gathered on the stage of the local auditorium that was named after the legendary musical director, Mr. Gene Witherspoon. We turned out all the lights, lit the candles, held hands in a circle and quietly said, “Come here, Mr. Witherspoon. Come here.”

I guess there were at least a few who were convinced that we would indeed see the dearly departed Mr. Witherspoon in our midst as we eventually left in a dejected mood and slumped shoulders. “Next time,” we said. Of course, that never happened.

And, there was also the time a friend introduced me to a Ouija Board. Once again, convinced that it was either fakery or that I had the appeal to spirits of a piece of cardboard, I moved along.

But then, as I entered my mid-20s, things got weird. 

There’s really no other way I can put it. And, as I still maintained my disbelief that spirits either can or choose to be in our midst, things continued to happen that I couldn’t explain.

I will spare you the details of most, but one in particular definitely changed my ideas of what can happen that we do not see with human eyes.

One evening, I gathered with some girlfriends to photograph a “witch session” at a small, ancient nearby cemetery. Keep in mind, these girls are sweet Southern ladies who simply wanted to have a bit of fun. There was simply nothing that could have been considered negative on any level at all. 

When I arrived, as the photographer, along with my husband and son who helped me unload gear, the witches were already there twirling, fixing dresses, dancing, and of course, uploading live to Tik Tok. My guys hit the road to take a drive as they preferred not to be involved in the girl stuff.

I took a deep breath, because as a young girl, my dad had always taught me to respect cemeteries and the dead. So, ever so carefully I located a wide open area with no graves to create some group shots and scenes with movement. 

In my mind, of course, I was constantly making sure that I respected where we stepped while looking for the oldest and most distinguished headstones. I muttered under my breath, I will make sure to edit the names of the deceased off of the photos – just in case anyone was listening.

With this group, we gathered some wonderful keepsake moments that were so fun and lively. 

But then, we began to take some individual poses near an area that had several graves and was separated by a border made from railroad ties. I immediately sensed in my gut that this otherwise inconspicuous spot might not be the best idea, but with everyone in place for pictures I plunged forward with the intention of making this spot a really fast one.

After I had taken about 10 or so individual photos of my model, out of nowhere every single one of my flash lights went down and no longer put out any light. Obviously, I was embarrassed right away as I wondered why I hadn’t taken the time to give my light batteries an extra charge. I apologized profusely.

I knew that with a really high ISO setting in my camera coupled with some serious denoise software, I could still make this happen.

Thankfully I had brought candles, several of them in fact. We used these for a single pose of the youngest witch as she sat encircled by them. We also used candles to have enough light for the spiciest witch to read her favorite book entitled….something about *ucking the patriarchy. 

These were all wonderful moments and the shots that I had gotten were so fun. But, I won’t lie. When my hubby and kiddo pulled up to come help me gather everything up – I was more relieved than I would admit. We had to keep headlights on just to keep from tripping over ourselves or the grave markers. 

I lost a black cloak that I have no idea where it went. And, one of the girls lost a ring that she had been wearing. Of course, in the dark, it was just going to have to wait for the next day.

As everyone loaded into their respective vehicles and my lights and gear were swiftly, but carefully, placed in the back seat of our vehicle we backed out of the parking area. 

As we left the parking area and pulled out onto the dirt road our entire vehicle lit up. Every single one of my lights had suddenly come back on.

Have you ever experienced a paranormal experience, intentional or not, during a photoshoot? If so, please share more about it in the comment section.

I let out a scream. My husband, taken by surprise by what I told him had just happened, also gets visibly upset. 

“You better not be bringing anyone home with us!”

Well, I don’t think we did. More on that another time. Because there just may be room for only so many spirits from a different realm in one house at one time.

Oh, and my friend did find her ring the very next day in the daylight – right beside those railroad ties.

Q&A

Q: What is meant by being able to continue a photoshoot with high ISO?

A:  When you get to know your camera, it’s important to know its limitations that it can go to in dark scenes. When the sensor is able to detect light in low light settings this is referred to as a high ISO. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.