How easy is it to photoshop a ghost?

Just how easy is it to photo shop a ghost?

I am curious because I've seen so many ghost photographs, and so many of them look like they can be easily manipulated.

also, does anyone know how this is done? Any debunking info is Much appreciated.

Thanks

very easy with layers i think. i used to mess around with photoshop, but not anymore. yep you could do it with layers, just takes a bit of practise.

don't know how you would debunk them though.

Originally posted by andy1033
don't know how you would debunk them though.

Easy. With the source images that made up the layers. I.e., background image, and subject.

But yes they are very easy to create. Much easier than UFO photos for instance, since the object in ghost pics need not be solid or react to light like a solid object. (regarding shadows, etc)

Usually the object (ghost) has some amount of transparency.


2 and a half cents.

[edit on 2/18/2007 by Mechanic 32]

Originally posted by Mechanic 32

Originally posted by andy1033
don't know how you would debunk them though.

Easy. With the source images that made up the layers. I.e., background image, and subject.

But yes they are very easy to create. Much easier than UFO photos for instance, since the object in ghost pics need not be solid or react to light like a solid object. (regarding shadows, etc)

Usually the object (ghost) has some amount of transparency.


2 and a half cents.

[edit on 2/18/2007 by Mechanic 32]

atfer you flatten images, can you still get layers from them, i did not know that. is that what you are saying.

Originally posted by andy1033
atfer you flatten images, can you still get layers from them, i did not know that. is that what you are saying.

No. I was implying that if the source images were found, the ones that made up the layers, then it could be positively debunked.

I don't think there is a way to retrieve layers from a flattened image.

Hope this clarifies it a little better.

yep i know Mechanic 32 sorry for misunderstanding, i just thought knowing the way computer hackers work, maybe there may be a way.

but like we said to thread starter, just mess around with layers and you will get what we mean.

interesting... so creating a ghostly image would be fairly easy, but not as easy to discover that it is a fake.

I did some fooling around with Photoshop today, and found that simply using the Gaussian blur feature and then lowering the opacity will create a very Ghostly image.

But then, that brings to light more questions ...

in the age of digital photography, how is one to separate the genuine article from the fakes?

Are we only to believe in photos taken long before digital manipulation was possible?

What are your opinions on spirit photography?

Originally posted by atomica_26
What are your opinions on spirit photography?

Personally, I don't believe in spirits. At least none that could be photographed.

Also, I am no professional as far as digital photo analysis. You would have to get a second opinion.

You don't even need photoshop.

www2.tltc.ttu.edu...
www.moma.org...
www.allenwestbrook.com...

This guy does not have a twin


With these, the 'apparition' will appear on the negative itself (along with the prints of course).

Very interesting, but aren't double exposures usually easy to point out? I mean, the photo, coming from a film camera can be scrutinized a bit more than digital?

Nygdan makes a good point, digital technology is just the latest incarnation of an old trick - multiple exposures. Photographic fakes are easier now, they just require different skills, and perhaps more in the way of resources. Where once it was the manipulation of light exposure on a piece of film and perhaps an optical printing rig for special effects, now it's more about computers.

It's relatively easy to fake photographs of anything using modern technology - to answer your question directly.

I dunno, I think it'd be harder to show that the faded, ghostly image on a negative IS a manipulation, rather than a 'genuine' ghost, than to show that it was manipulated in photoshop, which leaves pixels around inserts, records non-visual information into the photo file, etc. With the negative, there's a real image there, there's not going to be any evidence of manipulation.

creating a ghost is probably one of the easiest things to do with photoshop software.


Check out these from a photoshop contest:

www.worth1000.com...

You need to layer it in, making sure to match the levels and color palletes between layers, and blowing it up enough so you can work on a single-pixel level to polish away any paste-related spillover. Once you flatten the image, then you need to recopy it several times using a "benign" photo viewer program like the kind that comes with your digital camera to get rid of the traceable image info.

There are some excellent examples of what can be accomplished with Photoshop, as well as some very good tutorials at:
www.worth1000.com...

If you really want to go the extra mile, you can always physically print it out using the highest resolution possible, then rescan it to obliterate its history. Like most things, your results will improve the more time and practice you put into it.

In some ways, it's a little easier to create a good ghost photo by just using a non-digital camera and a relatively long time exposure. Get somebody to dress up in period costume and a "blur mask" made from a nylon stocking, take a long exposure of a church or graveyard at night, have them run into the frame and freeze for a few seconds, then run back out. The best thing is that the "ghost" will always be in the proper relative proportions of a human being and properly placed within the perspective of the photo. You can even take some nice 3-D photos that way that are even more impressive.

Good luck!

how easy is it?

I just made this in less then 5 minutes.

Just look at this attempt:



Is it just me or does it look like a dodgy ghost drawn with an airbrush? And what I really find bad is the pathetic attempt to place an orb in the photo with the same brush!!

users.adelphia.net...

This is a place called "Gore Orphanage."

The legend says that an orpanage here burned down with a bunch of kids in it. Never really happened.

My son and I took this pic and I added the ghost on the left. We did this to trick one of his friends. We took the image to Walmart and had it printed on their Fuji-Frontier.

The image on the "original" photo looks so good, about 30 people in these parts still belive it's real.

Yet, couldn't be more fake.

Like people above stated. A ghost has got to be one of the easiest things to fake in photoshop.

They sell cameras on ebay that are called ghost cameras or something like that. You take a picture with it & it has a ghost image when you develop the film.

Can you point out one of these 'ghost cameras'?

You could expose the film in teh camera previous to selling it, and then when peopel take their pics, it will be in effect a double exposure.

Here is one of the ebay cameras.
cgi.ebay.com... wItem



[edit on 2/20/2007 by jaydensmommy78]