Aura photography captures the energy field around a person using a special camera and thermal imaging
Aura photography works by having you place your hands on metal plates while a digital camera with a thermal sensor records the light and heat patterns around your body. The camera then assigns colours to those patterns — typically reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and purples — and displays them as a coloured halo or field around your image. The result is a photograph that shows you surrounded by colour.
The process takes about three to five minutes. You sit or stand with your hands on the metal plates, the camera fires, and within seconds you have a printed or digital image. Many wellness centres, psychic fairs, and alternative health practitioners offer aura photography sessions for $20 to $100 per image.
What you are seeing in the final image is a real recording of light and heat — but the meaning assigned to the colours is not scientifically established. The camera is working as designed. The interpretation of what those colours mean about your emotional state, spiritual health, or energy is not backed by peer-reviewed research.
Key Takeaways
- Aura photography uses a thermal camera and metal hand plates to detect heat and light patterns around your body, then assigns colours to those patterns.
- The photograph itself is real — the camera is recording actual thermal and light data — but the meaning of the colours is not scientifically proven.
- Different aura photography systems use different colour assignments, so the same person can receive different colour readings from different cameras.
- The metal plates measure your skin conductivity and body temperature, which change with stress, emotion, and physical state, but scientists do not agree that these changes reflect an "aura" or spiritual energy.
The hardware: thermal camera, metal plates, and colour assignment
An aura photography system has three main parts. The first is a thermal imaging camera — a sensor that detects infrared radiation (heat) coming from your body and the space around it. The second is a pair of metal hand plates that you rest your hands on during the shot. These plates measure your skin's electrical conductivity, which changes when you sweat, feel stressed, or experience emotion. The third part is software that converts the thermal and conductivity data into colour.
When you place your hands on the plates, the system reads your skin conductivity and body temperature. The thermal camera simultaneously records the heat signature around your head and shoulders. The software then maps those readings onto a colour scale — usually assigning cooler colours like blue and purple to lower readings and warmer colours like red and orange to higher readings. The result is overlaid onto your photograph, creating the "aura" effect.
Different aura photography systems use different colour scales and algorithms. A Kirlian camera (an older method that uses high-voltage electrical fields) will produce different colours than a modern thermal-based system. This means the same person photographed on two different cameras may receive two different colour readings, which raises questions about what the colours actually represent.
What the metal plates measure and why they change
The metal hand plates measure galvanic skin response — the electrical conductivity of your skin. Your skin becomes more conductive when you sweat, and you sweat more when you are stressed, anxious, excited, or physically warm. The plates also detect your body temperature, which rises with physical activity, fever, or emotional arousal.
These measurements are real and reproducible. If you are nervous before your aura photo, your skin conductivity will be higher than if you are calm. If you have just exercised, your body temperature will be elevated. The camera will record these differences and assign them colours accordingly. The problem is not that the measurement is false — it is that the meaning assigned to the colours is not established by scientific study.
A practitioner might tell you that a bright red aura means you are passionate or energetic, or that a blue aura means you are calm and spiritual. But these colour-to-meaning associations come from alternative health traditions, not from controlled research. No peer-reviewed study has shown that a particular colour in an aura photograph reliably indicates a particular emotional or spiritual state.
Thermal imaging versus Kirlian photography
Two main technologies are used for aura photography: thermal imaging and Kirlian photography. Thermal imaging, the more common method today, detects the infrared heat your body naturally emits. Kirlian photography, developed in the 1930s, uses a high-voltage electrical field to create a coronal discharge — a visible glow — around an object placed on a photographic plate or sensor.
Kirlian photography produces more dramatic and varied colours, which is why it was popular in alternative wellness circles for decades. However, Kirlian images change based on moisture, pressure, and electrical conductivity of the object being photographed, not on any unmeasured "energy field". A leaf photographed with Kirlian method will show a different glow depending on how fresh it is and how much moisture it contains — not because its spiritual energy has changed, but because its electrical properties have changed.
Thermal imaging is more straightforward: it shows heat. But heat alone does not reveal emotional or spiritual state in a way that can be verified. Both methods produce real images of real physical phenomena. Neither method has been shown to measure anything beyond the physical properties it was designed to measure.
Why colours change between sessions and what that means
If you have an aura photograph taken twice in one day, the colours may be different. This happens because your skin conductivity and body temperature change throughout the day based on stress, caffeine intake, physical activity, room temperature, and dozens of other factors. A person who is calm and cool in the morning may be warm and stressed by afternoon, and their aura photograph will reflect that difference.
Practitioners often interpret these colour changes as meaningful — a shift from red to blue might be described as a shift from stress to calm, or from passion to peace. And it is true that your physical state has changed. But the colour itself is not a direct window into your emotional or spiritual state. It is a visual representation of your skin's electrical and thermal properties at that moment, which are influenced by emotion but also by a hundred other variables you cannot control.
This is why aura photography cannot be used as a diagnostic tool. A doctor cannot look at your aura photograph and tell you whether you have an illness, a blockage, or an imbalance. The colours tell you about your body's heat and conductivity in that moment, not about your health or your future.
The scientific view: measurement versus interpretation
Scientists agree that aura photography cameras work as designed — they measure heat and electrical conductivity and display the results as colour. What scientists do not agree on is whether those measurements reveal anything meaningful about a person's emotional, spiritual, or health state.
No large, controlled study has shown that aura photograph colours predict personality, emotional state, or health outcomes. No study has shown that two people with the same colour aura share any measurable traits. No study has shown that aura colours change in response to treatment or healing in a way that correlates with actual health improvement.
This does not mean aura photography is a scam or that the images are fake. It means the technology measures something real but limited, and the meaning assigned to the colours goes beyond what the measurement can support. You are seeing a real photograph of your body's heat and conductivity. You are not seeing proof of spiritual energy, emotional state, or health status.
Where aura photography is used and what practitioners claim
Aura photography is offered at wellness centres, holistic health clinics, psychic fairs, yoga studios, and some alternative medicine practices. Practitioners use aura photographs to support claims about emotional balance, chakra alignment, spiritual development, and energy healing. Some claim that aura colours can reveal past-life information, future potential, or hidden health problems.
These claims are not supported by research. A practitioner may be sincere in their belief that aura colours mean something, but sincerity is not the same as evidence. If you choose to have an aura photograph taken, understand that you are paying for an image of your body's thermal and electrical properties, interpreted through a framework that has not been scientifically validated.
Some people find aura photography useful as a tool for self-reflection or as a novelty. That is a personal choice. But do not use an aura photograph as a substitute for medical diagnosis, mental health treatment, or any decision that affects your health or safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is aura photography real or fake?
The photograph is real — the camera is recording actual heat and electrical conductivity data. But the meaning assigned to the colours is not scientifically proven. You are seeing a real image of your body's thermal properties, not proof of spiritual energy or emotional state.
Why do aura colours change between photos?
Your skin conductivity and body temperature change throughout the day based on stress, activity, caffeine, room temperature, and other factors. The camera records these physical changes and displays them as colour shifts. A colour change reflects a change in your body's thermal state, not necessarily a change in your emotional or spiritual condition.
Can aura photography diagnose health problems?
No. Aura photography cannot diagnose illness, disease, or health conditions. If you have health concerns, see a licensed medical doctor. An aura photograph shows heat and conductivity, not disease markers or organ function.
Do all aura cameras show the same colours?
No. Different aura photography systems use different colour scales and algorithms. The same person photographed on two different cameras may receive different colour readings. This variation suggests the colours are assigned by the software, not detected from a universal energy field.
What is the difference between aura photography and Kirlian photography?
Thermal aura photography detects your body's natural heat. Kirlian photography uses high-voltage electricity to create a visible glow around an object. Both produce real images, but both measure physical properties, not spiritual energy. Kirlian images are more dramatic and variable depending on moisture and pressure.