---
category: Scientific Theory & Technology
created: 2025-07-23
description: Kirlian photography is a technique for capturing images of objects placed
  on a photographic plate connected to a high-voltage source, producing a glow or
  aura around the object.
location: Soviet Union
start: 1939
summary: Kirlian Photography is a technique for capturing images of objects placed
  on a photographic plate connected to a high-voltage source, producing a glow or
  aura around the object.
tags:
- concept
- technology
- paranormal
title: Kirlian Photography
updated: 2025-07-23
---

[Kirlian Photography](/concepts/kirlian-photography/) is a technique for capturing images of objects placed on a photographic plate connected to a high-voltage source, producing a glow or aura around the object. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, a Russian electrician who discovered the effect in 1939.[^1]

In the context of [Parapsychology](/concepts/parapsychology/), Kirlian photography was believed by some to capture the "aura" or "biofield" of living organisms, which was thought to be related to [psychic](/concepts/psi/) energy. [Dale Graff](/people/dale-graff/)'s 1977 report, "[Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact](/programs/paraphysics-rd-warsaw-pact/)," discussed Soviet research in Kirlian photography as part of their broader investigation into paranormal phenomena.[^1]

---

[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.