It looked like you had it in focus. You used a flash. Still, there seems to be an additional person in the picture?

Does it look like this?

It's called ghosting.

It is nothing to call Ghostbusters Inc about. It's just a double exposure. One exposure is made by the flash. The other is made from the ambient light.

Many modern cameras try to balance ambient light and flash to make a more natural looking photograph.

Sometimes, it is just too balanced and it does not turn out the way we want. If there is just enough light in the room to make an exposure but not enough to get a fast enough shutter speed, you will see pictures like the one above. I have made it a bit exaggerated so it is easy to see the problem here.

There is a sharp image.

In parts of the photo, there is also a blurry double of the image (the ghost). The ghost is blurry because of movement during the exposure. Sometimes this is subject movement. More often, it is camera movement. It can be hard to know exactly when it will strike. It often seems to happen during really important pictures.

There are two different ways to fix ghosting in photos and exorcise those ghosts from your photography.

• Reduce the blur in the photo.
• Reduce the exposure of the ghost till it disappears. Sometimes, this also reduces the blur too.

You can reduce the blur by using a wider lens.

Often the blur is because the shutter speed the camera balanced the ambient light with is too slow to hand hold. A wider lens (zoom out) will not blur as much as a telephoto lens (zoom in).

You can reduce the ghost blur by using a tripod.

Often, you are using the flash because a tripod is not convienient to use. The photograph below has the same shutter speed as the picture with the ghost in it. Notice that the ghost has disappeared.

You can reduce the ghost blur by using a shorter shutter speed.

Use the fastest shutter speed your flash will sych at. This will prevent the blur from camera movement during the exposure just like using a tripod. Using a faster shutter speed may also reduce the exposure of the ghost.

Reducing the exposure of the ghost will also work.

You can increase flash power and make the exposure using flash at higher shutter speeds and smaller aperatures. In the photo below, the exposure setting was raised and flash power was increased to compensate. The reduces the exposure from the ambient light. Notice that the wonderful warm incadencent lighting is gone from the image.

You can reduce the exposure of the ghost with a lower ISO setting.

This also reduces the ambient light in the photo.

Like I said, it can be hard to expect when ghosting will happen.

If you need to use flash, but there is a lot of light in the room, you may see ghosts. If you are zooming in or using a long lens with flash, that can increase the chance of ghosting. If you are using flash and high ISO settings for subjects that are not far away, ghosting can occur.

Checking your preview on your digital camera once in while in these situations can let you know if you need to change the way you are using your camera.

For some cameras, you will not be able to make any of the exposure changes. How to take sharp photosUse the wider part of your zoom and try to hold the camera as still as possible.

Don't forget to have a good time and make the real memories the ones you remember no matter what the photos look like.

Everyone makes these mistakes from time to time. Some make them all the time and wonder why nothing seems to turn out. These mistakes are common not only to film but to digital photos also.

Here are ten top mistakes that ruin photos:

No film or memory in the camera.

This probably has ruined more photos (or would be photos) when using film than any other mistake. You also may want to check your digital camera. Some digital cameras will let you shoot photos without memory in them. Something you need to be aware of and careful for.

Too close for flash.

Most flash units have a minimum distance in order to properly expose a photo. If you are too close, you will get washed out, white, ghost like subjects.

Too close for the camera to focus.

Even when you do not use the flash you can still get to close for the camera to focus. If your photo is real close, the subject is blurry, but you see things in the background that look sharp, this may be your problem. Stepping back a bit should work better and help with being too close for the flash.

Out of focus.

Sometimes the camera just focuses on the wrong thing. Try to make sure your camera is focused on your subject. You can read more on focus and taking sharp photos here.

Too far for the flash.

Most camera flashes have a range less that 20 feet. Sometimes even less. You will get best results when using most flashes at distances of 5-12 feet.

Too far away from the subject.

This is really a composition mistake. We all do this. It's that photo of an eagle in the tree. It is so far away that all you see in the photo is a small speck. If you have to tell someone what subject of the photo is, because the subject is too small in the photo, you are too far away.

Cut off heads.

Another composition mistake. Make sure you do not place anyone's head too close to the edge of the photo. It will look much better if your leave some space for standard cropping near any edges.

A backlit subject.

This comes from shooting into the sun or source of light when the subject is between you and the light. Your camera will think there is too much light and will underexpose your subject and leave it dark or silhouetted. If you so not want the silhouette try using fill flash. This is using the flash even though your camera says there is plenty of light. You can also use the old western saying: "shoot with the sun to your back."

Camera movement.

If everything in your photo is blurry, your shutter may be a little too slow for you to hold the camera. Try holding the camera more steady or using a tripod. You can read more about camera movement and taking sharp photos here.

Subject movement.

Everything but Junior is sharp because you used a tripod and made sure he was in focus? maybe Junior is just too fast for your camera. You can try using a flash or a faster ISO setting or film. You can read a bit more about subject movement and taking sharp photos here.

There you go. Probably the ten most common mistakes that ruin photos.

I suggest you keep them in mind next time you take out your camera. Avoid these ten mistakes and you will find more of your photos are worth keeping and sharing.