Spirit Photograph Techniques
Spirit photographers had a numerous ways to create a ghostly print. Photographers might use double exposure. The space would be photographed before the subject sat for their session, with a figure dressed in ghostly garb standing long enough to be captured, but not long enough to create a strong image on the print. The customer would be photographed later, with the proper exposure time. As these prints were developed, the photographer overlayed the negatives to make the ‘ghost’ figure appear transparent. A ghostly image was also left if a photographer hadn’t cleaned their photo plates, making the next photograph appear to contain a spirit. Some manipulated the glass or metal plate they used to capture the photograph before the portrait session, opening it up to add a figure or smudge that would look ghostly when developed. They would take the picture, and the defective plate would reveal a ‘spirit.’