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Can Exif Data tell us more about Ghost Pictures? Article by TKay
Exif stands for Exchangeable Image File Format.
The definition of Exif according to Wikipedia:
"Exchangeable image file format (Exif) is a specification for the image file format used
by digital cameras. The specification uses the existing JPEG, TIFF Rev. 6.0, and RIFF
WAV file formats, with the addition of specific meta data tags. It is not supported in JPEG
2000, PNG, or GIF."
What this means is that almost every digital camera saves photographs as JPEG (.jpg)
files with the Exif data embedded into the image itself.
Exif information will show the type of camera, shutter speed, whether the flash was on or
off, the time and date of picture, as well as other information. Posting this information will
help you understand what your settings were at the time the picture was taken and why you
received the results you did in many cases.
If you are like me, I take many pictures and a lot of the times I forget exactly what the
camera did, meaning if the shutter took a longer time or if I had the flash on, etc. This
information is preserved by almost every digital camera and is the true information of the
settings of your camera at the time the photo was taken. This is why we, in most cases,
ask for the original picture, not one that has already been cropped, marked with circles,
arrows or changed in any way.
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Above Right Photograph: "...I moved the camera slightly. I had set the shutter speed on three
seconds. This a light from the neighbor's house."
Below: The Exif Data for the above photograph.
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Notice how lights in the above photograph are
blurred due to the camera's shutter being left open
longer. At left, you can see the shutter speed was
set at 2.8284 seconds which is very long. Many
light anomalies in ghost pictures are accidentally
created by slight camera movement and a
slow-shutter speed.
For anything lower than a 1/60 exposure time, the
use of a tripod is needed to prevent blur. Of
course if you have a slow shutter speed and a
moving object, lets say a distant car light, you will
most likely get some type of light anomaly. I have
noticed since I switched to a smaller camera it is
hard not to get a blur, because when the shutter
button is pressed downward, I tend to move the
camera.
I just wish people would understand that you really
can not determine what is in a picture if that picture
is blurred. The blurriness just creates pareidolia.
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Many digital cameras offer night time flash settings. Test them out before
using them during ghost investigations. Some of these flash settings will
automatically extend the shutter speed or exposure time (and again are
often for tripod-use only to eliminate movement of the camera). The best
thing to do is to play with your camera, change settings and snap away.
Look at what happened at different shutter speeds and modes.
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Exif data will also tell (in most cases) if a picture was run through a photo-editing program. When presenting a
ghost photo as evidence, in most cases, only the original will be accepted.
To access Exif information on a photograph, most computers use Windows operating system. Simply, right click
on the picture file (or if you have it opened in Windows Photo Gallery, right click on the photograph) and select
"properties." Select the "Details" tab and the Exif information should appear.
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Right: Photograph of light anomalies produced by
slight camera movement coupled with the exposure
time/shutter speed.
Some of the Angels & Ghosts Forum members
use a program called JPEG-Snoop (thanks
Bathory) to analyze the source of an image to test
its authenticity. You can download the software for
free here: JPEG-Snoop.
Know that JPEG-Snoop is not always correct in its
assessment as to whether a ghost picture was
altered or not. For example, we recently had a cell
phone photo posted and the program said it had
been altered, though it was not. This was likely due
to the image being compressed and sent to a
website by the cell phone. Still the program is
another tool in the tool belt for the ghost enthusiast!
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Ghost Pictures - Exif Data Copyright 2009 Angels & Ghosts, LLC
All photos taken by TKay and used with permission.
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