Know the Camera Behind the Portrait

Mid 19th century

Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach (1788–1869); "The luminous manifestations of ‘od’" (1851) From 'Physico-Physiological Researches on the Dynamics of Magnetism in their Relation to Vital Force

While some occult photographers aimed to capture ghostly forms, those inspired by Mesmerism sought to reveal the vital fluids within objects and beings. Could a camera visualize invisible energies like a psychic? In the 1860s, Austrian chemist Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach began photographing objects in darkness to capture their energy or “od.” His work initiated effluvist photography, a precursor to modern aura photography.

Late 19th century

Hippolyte Ferdinand Baraduc (1850-1909); “Photograph of the Fluidic Nimbus of a Medium’s Thumb” (1893) Gelatin Silver Print.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen’s 1895 discovery of the X-ray revolutionized effluvist photography, making the invisible visible. In France, physician Hippolyte Baraduc and soldier Louis Darget used this technology to document vital fluids by pressing subjects’ fingers or foreheads onto sensitized plates. They believed these images revealed a person’s health and mood, inadvertently advancing abstract photography and inspiring artists like László Moholy-Nagy.

Early 20th century

Jakob von Narkiewicz-Jodko (1848-1905); "Effluvia from an Electrified Hand Resting on a Photographic Plate" (1896) Electrograph, Société Astronomique de France, Paris.

In Russia, experiments with radiographic components led to electrography, the foundation of aura photography. Scientists like Jakob von Narkiewicz-Jodko believed electricity was key to understanding vital energies. His process used an induction coil to charge a metal plate, creating a glowing silhouette when an object or body part was placed on photosensitive material.

Mid 20th century

Semyon and Valentina Kirlian popularized the discharge-photography technique known as Kirlian photography.

Contemporary Kirlian photograph of a dusty miller leaf, uploaded in 2018. Mark D. Roberts (Rarobison11) · CC BY-SA 4.0. Original image, unchanged.

In 1939, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian, a Russian electrical engineer and his biologist wife, discovered coronal discharge photography, naming it “Kirlian photography.” They believed these photos offered psychic insights. The vibrant colors of Kirlian photography, made possible by the advent of color photography, helped its spread. Their findings, publicized in 1958, gained Western attention with the 1970 book “Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain.”