The first piece of equipment you will need is a good 35mm camera. It does not have to be an expensive camera, but we do not recommend disposable cameras! Polaroid and digital are fine, but you must know how to properly use them on investigations! Digital and polaroid cameras should not be the only cameras used during an investigation. The reason for this is that with digital cameras you do not have strong evidence, like a 35mm would give you through negatives. You might get a great apparition photo and you will definitely want some proof to back up your story!
The next thing you need to do is remove the camera strap, if it has one, or place it around your neck. The reason for this is so it will not fall in front of the lens and create a false anomaly on film! I have looked at a lot of pictures from people who thought they had captured a vortex or other paranormal anomaly on film, but the anomaly was just simply a camera strap!
We use Kodak Max 400 to 800 speed film. Slower speed films will not capture good images at night and will not catch the faster moving objects with as much clarity as the faster speed films will . Black and White film can aslo be used and sometimes it is very effective! More detail can sometimes be seen in Black and White film than in color. I would recommend you try Black and White film at least once!
If you have not taken pictures at night with your camera, you should go out and take a roll of film, snaping pictures of different objects at different distances. When you get your film developed you will then know how well your camera performes in low light conditions before you actually conduct an investigation!
Rules and guide lines should also be followed while trying to take your own ghost photos!
Make sure your camera lens is clean at all times while taking pictures and your camera strap is removed (as mentioned above).
Do not try to take pictures while it is raining, snowing, dusty, foggy, or when the wind is blowing hard! These conditions will all cause false orb shaped anomalies on film. Dust particles are the main cause of false paranormal anomalies on film and many people who do not know the difference are posting pictures of dust particles claiming that they are spirit Orbs.
It is also important to hold your breath when taking pictures in cold conditions to avoid capturing your breath on film. One definitely should not smoke while on an investigation! It will create falso ecto mist pictures. If you are investigating during the summer season then you should be very aware of bugs. Mosquitoes and other bugs will show up as bright objects on your pictures, most of the time you can make out wings or legs in the photo ruling them out as a paranormal anomaly.
A good piece of equipment to have a long is a powerful spot light to shine in the air and check for dust particles and bugs flying around, before you start taking pictures!
I recommend you start out by going to an old cemetery or house and make sure you bring a lot of film with you. We use three rolls of film at each location. Start taking pictures where you fell there might be something. Upon getting your film developed , you will often find that you have captured a paranormal anomaly in the spot where you had a strange felling. Snap as many pictures as possible, but not all at once. The longer you stay in a location the better chance you have of getting something on film, so spred your pictures out! If you do get a strange felling in a particular place take at least three pictures in that spot.
We use a point and shoot method. We hold our camera at arms length and usually do not use the view finder because it is sometimes difficult to see through in dark conditions.
Make sure your flash lights are off when taking pictures! At night the black back ground highlights the Orbs and other paranormal anomalies as the flash goes off. This is the reason that day time is not a good time to conduct an investigation. Although I have seen great pictures of paranormal anomalies taken during the day, the light back ground usually prevents the objects from showing up! Ghost and spirits are there during the day it is just harder to photograph them!
Paranormal anomalies will usually not be seen at the location you are investigating! It is only when you get your film developed that they become visible. The camera sees things differently then the human eye does. One theory is that the brain only sees what it wants to see and we have been told from an early age that ghost do not exist! The camera does not know any different and takes pictures of what it sees. Another theory is that ghosts and spirits exist in the infra-red spectrum of light which is not visible to the human eye or that they are made up of some light source our eye can not comprehend! We can not hear a dog whistle but a dog can, so just because we can't see ghost or spirits it does not mean they are not right in front of us!
It would also be a good idea to go out a couple of nights and take pictures of rain, fog, snow, and kick up some dust so you know what natural anomalies look like with your camera! Also take some pictures of your camera strap and a few bugs. It will help you determine the difference between natural anomalies and paranormal anomalies!
When you go to get your film developed make sure you tell them that you want all your pictures developed and that they were taken at night. A lot of times they will discard pictures that they think are bad and it might be a great picture of an apparition! If they ask why, tell them you just got your camera and was experimenting taking pictures at night and you want to see how they all came out!
If you follow the rules you should have a great and successful time trying to capture your own ghost pictures!
Happy Ghost Hunting!!