Aura photography has been around for a hundred years. So colourful, so mysterious, so magical…! What is it?
Some believe that everyone has an aura, an emanation of energy that is created by the body, mind and spirit. There are people who claim to see these auras, some claim that they are linked to our health, and others believe auras are linked to the chakras.
The early idea of the human aura was popularised in the early 1900s and people have been trying to capture the mystical auras ever since. Sometimes the results were misinterpretations of technical effects, such as photos capturing heat emanating from the body.
1910s
In the 1910s, Jakob von Narkiewicz-Jodko of Russia was experimenting with capturing an image of the subject's life force, or aura. The subject's hand or fingertip was pressed against a film to capture the electric discharge around the edges of the object.
1940s
Around 1940, independently of Narkiewicz-Jodko, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian developed Kirlian photography - techniques of capturing electrical flares that look like shining auras around an object that they named “Kirlian aura”. Kirlians themselves believed that his photography captured the life force or auras of his subjects. Some parapsychologists even claimed that the images reflected levels of psychic powers! As these photos did not involve a camera or lenses, they did not capture the likeness of their subject.
1980s
In the 1980s, Guy Coggins became a big name in the world of aura photography. He developed an aura camera that captured a double-exposure of sorts. The model will place their hands on special plates that will capture electromagnetic data. This data is interpreted into a wash of colours, and superimposed on a photograph of the model. This supposedly represents the aura of the person.
Today
Our Aura Photo Booth was inspired by the ethereal images that showed soft washes and clouds of colour around people. Inspired by colour therapy, each colour has a meaning and invites people to read their aura with these interpretations in mind. Each photo from our Aura booth will have a combination of colours around the model’s face, and will be one of millions of different possible combinations.
However, interpreting your Aura photo comes down to you, spending a moment in introspection. Our booth suggests a way of interpreting the colours of your photo, by focusing on how the colours and their shapes make you feel.
Do these qualities accurately reflect who I am?
How am I feeling and behaving today?
Is it the kind of person I want to be?
Sources & references.
“Aura (paranormal).” n.d. Wikipedia. 2022. Link
“Kirlian photography.” n.d. Wikipedia. 2022 Link
Packard, Cassie. 2019. “The Origins of Aura Photography.” Artsy. Link