GHOST PHOTOGRAPHY

Ghost photography harkens back to the early to mid 1800’s.  These days, computers make it easy to create ghost photos, but there are other ways, besides Photoshop, to add a ghost to a photograph.

In 1985 I read a half-page story about ghost photos in a photography magazine; I was intrigued and decided to try it.  I created my first ghost photograph using a Canon AE1 35mm.  It didn’t come out quite right, but it whetted my appetite for more. 

After my father passed away, I inherited his old camera, a Super Richoflex twin lens that went out of production in 1962, and decided that if this camera couldn’t do it, none could.  In 1986-87 I began attending the Fall Muster at Beauvior (the last home of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy) in Biloxi, Miss. During the muster, the grounds are overrun with Civil War re-enactors, who love to be photographed.   I thought they were perfect subjects, so I told them what I wanted to do.  The rest is history.  (As you can see from these photos, things turned out nicely.)

Ghost photography is an old-school process.  Basically, it involves two photos on the same film frame (no computer involved!).  There are two types of photos – one with two totally different photos laid one over the other, and in the other photo, it looks like just one photo.

Let’s begin with the latter.  First, I frame my photo, which includes people and background, in the way I want it to look.  (A good tripod comes in handy; be sure to lock it down.)  Next, I meter the light to get the proper exposure.  I use a Canon AE1 35mm camera because the twin lens has no meter or electronics in it.  Now, I cut my meter reading by half so that each of the two photos has half the light.  Next, I set up my twin-lens camera and take the first shot and then move the people and take the second shot, being sure not to move the camera. The first shot puts the whole scene on the film.  The second shot puts the background onto the film.  That’s what gives the people their see-through appearance, or ghost look.

The second type of photo is a little easier.  In taking this one, you get to move the camera.  Basically, I first decide what I want the photo to look like.  I then set up the camera and take the first shot.  Now I can move the camera on to the next shot to finish the photo. The most difficult aspect of this photo type is the lighting.  Cutting the meter reading by half may work about a third of the time, but there is a lot to be said for shooting the same shot two or three times .  By making two or three versions of the same shot you can play with the lighting to be sure you get at least one good take.

Enjoy my site, and tell me what you think.  Later!

Click here to visit the Ghost Photography Gallery.

Contact Rich: richkoppphoto@aol.com

Ghost print pricing:

12X12 (Full Frame): $55
16X16: $85
20X20 (Full Frame): $110

Shipping and Handling: $10

Ghost Prints are only printed square (Full Frame)

** These are prints only - no Mat and no Frame **