2. NO Trespassing-  Always have permission to conduct an investigation and please be mindful of posted curfews such as those at Gettysburg Battlefield.

3. NO smoking- smoke can be mistakenly photographed as ectoplasm, don't give someone a reason to discredit your photos.  Also, smoke would inhibit your ability to detect other 'paranormal' scents.

4. DO NOT go alone. Having more than one person ensures that nothing will (hopefully) go unnoticed. It is also good to compare notes on an investigation.  And because you have more to fear from the living, there is safety in numbers.

5. BE RESPECTFUL of the area you are investigating whether it's an indoor investigation or in a cemetery, battlefield, etc.  You are in either someone's home/business or in an area where people are laid to rest or have died, conduct yourself as such.

6. ALWAYS look for all possible explanations, natural or otherwise, for the evidence you gather.  If there is a chance your photo could be caused by something non-paranormal then you must disregard it as legitimate evidence.

7. RESEARCH Always make sure you gather information on the place you are investigating. The history of a place, be it a town or a single home, can shed some light on why a place may be having paranormal activity.

8. NO Ouija boards- There are many opinions of Ouija boards, basically a Ouija board is not a tool to gain accurate research information.

9. MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT- Make sure all of your equipment is in perfect working condition. Keep your camera lenses clean and free of dust. It saves you money overall to maintain clean equipment.

10.REMOVE THE CAMERA STRAP or wear it around your neck. It's amazing how many times camera straps have been mistaken for ghostly photos. In keeping with that theme, make sure long hair is pulled back, and all fingers are away from the camera lens.

11. BRING A FLASHLIGHT.

12. EXTRA BATTERIES You never know when that flashlight, camera, recorder, scanner, etc is going to run out of juice.  Batteries also seem to drain faster in a paranormal setting.  Cold temps also drains batteries.

13. BRING A NOTEBOOK to document the investigation.  I also recommend keeping track of moon phases, weather and solar weather.

14. WRITE DOWN YOUR OBSERVATIONS before sharing them. This ensures that your story is not subconsciously altered by what someone else tells you.

15. KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT- make sure you know how each piece of equipment works so you aren't getting excited about an EMF spike while standing next to an electrical outlet.

16. HOLD YOUR BREATH while taking a photo in cold temperatures. I've seen so many photos of "ectoplasm" that was nothing more than breath in cold air.

17. DO NOT take photos while walking or driving along a dirt road or path.  This can lead to photos of dust particles and not orbs. 

18. DO NOT take photos in rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, or fog.  It may also be a good idea to keep track of the pollen count in Spring and Summer and avoid photos when the count is high.  All these things look like orbs in a photo.

19.  DO NOT take photographs with the camera pointing directly at the sun.  This can create "sun dogs" (hexagon shapes) that are sometimes mistaken for orbs.