Hi Everyone – Welcome back for more (hopefully entertaining) insight into Halloween photography! I hope you enjoyed our tips & tricks on photographing Zombies and Vampires but now it’s time to go from the difficult to the realm of the nearly impossible – Ghosts!

The main thing here is to be prepared and keep your expectations in check. The challenges begin with setting the appointments… ghosts are undependable and you have to work around their schedules. Rather than agreeing to meet say, Friday at 4:00, you need to set your appointments a bit vaguer – for instance: Shoot for anytime between 12 midnight and 3 am some night next week – or next month. Now it’s up to you to wait; but your equipment should be ready with the proper shudder speed and F-shock set. (I know what you are thinking, don’t say it). Your patience will be rewarded.

You will know that a ghost has arrived in your studio because they will announce themselves with one of the following things (or several). Their favorite calling card – strangely – is to toss a ball into the room before they enter. It will bounce a few times and then come to a rest at your feet. Alternatively, they are also fond of knocking books off your shelves. If you have a chandelier in your studio, it will sway. Either way, get your camera ready. Oh, another thing - you will also know of their arrival if the temperature in the room suddenly dips to 22 degrees.

This is the point where you have to manage your expectations. When the ghost appears, it will not be Patrick Swayze. In fact, it will look nothing like him. You can expect mostly haze with a hint of a human shape somewhere among it. Here is a photo of what many consider to be an excellent example of a ghost captured on film. As you can see, there is just a hint of vagueness.

Another important tip is the fact that a quality camera can photograph a ghost that you cannot see. So, once the chandelier begins to sway, a great technique is to begin snapping photos like a maniac at anything and everything – in all directions. In photography circles, this is known as the hope-you-get-lucky-and-score-big-so you-can-sell-your-photo-for-big-bucks approach.

The Holy Grail, however, is if you were fortunate enough to capture the ghost of, say – Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King or even, heaven forbid, Liberace. I have included a few examples of famous ghosts that we have photographed over the years. Enjoy!

James dean -Still dazzling, even in death - and no one doubts the authenticity of this great shot of him.

Marilyn Monroe - Shows up at 2:13 a.m. every other Tuesday on the third step

The Andrew Sisters singing "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree"

George Washington's Hand