Use your phone to add a fake ghost to your photo...
With the rise of the digital camera and especially cell phones with built-in cameras, it is no surprise that the number of supposed ghosts captured in photo have also dramatically increased. Now the waters might get even more muddier. It could make it more difficult to determine what is a real "camera ghost" and what is not.
We wanted to show as much as possible about the program to help paranormal investigators become familiar with it. The first picture explains how to do it...
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Ghost Camera Pro instructions...
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One of the better fake ghosts added by the smartphone program.
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This ghost is too perfect to look real.
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A screen shot of the program at work...
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Japanese camera-added ghost...
What Is a Real Ghost Picture?
Prior to 2010, we reported to viewers about the iPhone app "Ghost Capture" and how we receive numerous fake ghost photos made by this cell phone camera app, monthly. It appears to be a popular sport but easy to spot because it uses the same ghosts. (Just imagine how simple it is to identify the same ghost image showing up in different backgrounds. It doesn't take a genius to spot these fakes.) But now, another cell phone program threatens to further pollute the waters with additional fake camera ghosts. Ugh, more junk to sift through!
Ghost Camera Pro is an application that can be downloaded for $.99 and used to create prank paranormal photography. It's billed as being the "most advanced ghost prank app" available. Apparently, this camera ghost program allows for the ghost to be dragged, pinched, pulled, modified to be see-through, etc -- you can even erase parts of the ghost so it fits behind things in the ghost picture. Making it even more difficult to detect, Ghost Camera Pro allows the user to select from the app's ghost selection or import ghosts for inclusion. Even more startling is that if you adjust the settings of your ghost in advance, the camera ghost will appear in real time when a photo is taken.
Fake ghosts with camera apps are not soon to go away. Other programs are also available for download that are similar, such as Jusha, Spooky Photo Free, Best Camera, Haunted Pics and zGhost. All claim to be able to produce believable ghosts with a cell phone camera.
What Can You Do to Spot Fake Ghosts in Photos?
- Educate yourself as to the false ghosts circulating the web and those created by these programs.
- Look at the picture's exif data. (Learn more about ghost pictures and exif data.) What does it tell you or not tell you?
- File names of photographs should be in the camera's original numbering system, such as DSC0203. I often request to see the original photo before it was re-saved to the computer.
- It could become necessary to eliminate altogether the acceptance of any ghost photograph taken with a cell phone camera. Lengthy file names of multiple number and letter combinations separated by underscores are a good indication that a photo is from a cell phone camera.
Get a second opinion. Perhaps another pair of eyeballs might spot something you missed.
All we can do is our best to rule out the obvious. It's inevitable that some cell phone camera ghosts will sneak through even the best scrutiny.