When people talk about "digital forensics," it can sound like something that only applies to police labs and high-end criminal investigations. In the context of paranormal research, the same principles apply on a much more practical level. You're simply trying to understand where an image came from, how it was created, and whether anything about its digital footprint hints at normal explanations before you even get to the visual analysis.

Digital forensics is often thought of as a technical discipline, but at its heart it's about asking sensible questions and using the tools you already have. Even the most basic checks can tell you whether a photograph is consistent with the story that comes with it, or whether something about the file raises doubts.

Photography used to be a physical process. If you wanted to fake a spirit photograph, you had to physically manipulate negatives, print double exposures, or stage something in...