What are orbs?

According to Wikipedia:

"The term orb describes unexpected, typically circular artifacts that occur in flash photography—sometimes with trails indicating motion—especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital cameras."

Orbs in photos can be due to a number of things, and they appear the way they do because they are reflections of something out of focus.

Orbs can be:

• dust particles, pet dander  
• rain, snow, mist, etc. 
• insects 
• pollen 
• something on the lens of the camera 
• etc, etc, etc. 
• And if none of the previous could be proven, maybe, just maybe, "ghosts". And I use the term lightly. 

Many people are quick to believe that orbs are spirits in their photos, and that's just not always true. Do tests with the camera, try to recreate the effect. 

To cut down on the amount of unwanted orbs in your photos, I suggest using a non-compact camera, something that takes quality photos and video. Also, make sure you and any investigation partners are aware of where they are shining their flashlights, so not to create false positives, very similar to a photo technique called light painting. 

And remember, don't declare a place haunted based on orb photos alone. They are not always reliable. 

If you have any orb photos you'd like to share with us, please post them on our Facebook or Google+ pages. We're looking forward to seeing them.

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