"Debunking" Paranormal Photos

Take everything into account before judging a photo as not legitimate.

Over the years, I have posted several hundred ghost photos on social media.  Every time I do, there always seems to be a self-proclaimed professional photographer commenting that the photo is fake and here’s why, and then other “debunkers or paranormal experts” chime in, agreeing with them.  So, in response to this, I don’t post as many ghost photos.  

If you have read my other blogs or attended any of my events, you will know I have always made two claims. The first is that you may have witnessed something paranormal and just taken a shitty photo of it. The second is that if a spirit interacts in our world, then it must, in whole or in part, obey our physical laws.  

The first claim is self-explanatory. You may have been experiencing something paranormal, and it took time to get your camera or phone out to take a picture of it. The event was happening so fast that you weren’t able to get the camera set up properly for the conditions. So does a blurry photo mean you didn’t experience anything paranormal? No, you just took a shitty photo. In my opinion, that’s what debunkers often fail to take into account: the possibility that the person taking the photo was having a legit paranormal experience and just wasn’t able to document it accurately at the time. Debunkers are basically calling the person a liar for taking a bad photo.  Some debunkers are extremely aggressive in their accusations of impropriety. If the person is a reputable paranormal investigator, there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t take their personal experience into account when they captured the photo.  

The second claim is based on the very equipment paranormal investigators use. Many of the tools we use today were not designed for paranormal investigations. They were designed to be used in real-world (normal) situations. Cameras work off the principle of reflected light. Light must first be reflected off an object back to the camera’s aperture to be recorded on some sort of media, either digital or film. If you take a photo of a person walking across the camera's view in low light, the person will appear blurry. Would it not stand to reason that if an apparition were moving across the camera’s view in similar lighting conditions, it would not also appear blurry? The camera functions the same regardless of what you are photographing. The best skill a paranormal investigator can learn is taking photos in low-light conditions.

I really think the practice of debunking everything first has hurt the paranormal community.  Nobody is willing to trust anyone.  They are more worried about being viewed as the expert that they are willing to tear down someone's reputation to maintain their persona.  This willingness to tear apart anyone who dares to post a ghost photo prevents us from developing a sense of professional courtesy.  Without professional courtesy, we will never be accepted as a legitimate field of study.

I’m not advocating accepting every piece of evidence as legitimate. What I am saying is to take everything into account before making a judgment. Also, don’t be so willing to tear down someone’s reputation if you disagree. Because making a mistake doesn’t make you a liar. Making mistakes is how you learn to be a better investigator.