In 1891 and 1892, at his estate of Nadzieja in present-day Belarus, the physician and inventor Yakub Narkevich-Iodko developed a photographic method for capturing the electrical glow of living organisms, a practice that became known as electrography. Over the following years he gathered some 1,500 images, including fingers and hands, and compared the glow of healthy and unwell people. His work was largely forgotten until the 1980s, when researchers recognized him as a forerunner of what the world now calls Kirlian photography.
More than a century later, people who want to see the energy around the body can choose from several very different technologies: Kirlian photography, Gas Discharge Visualization, aura cameras with hand sensors and technology-generated 360° biofield visualizations. Here is where each came from, what each one works with, what you receive and how to choose the approach that fits what you want to explore.
Why these technologies are often confused
All four produce striking images of light or color around a person, and all four are often described with the word "aura." They rely on very different inputs, though. Kirlian photography and GDV record a glow created in a high-voltage electric field. Aura cameras translate sensor readings from your hands into colors. A See Your Aura scan creates a full-body visualization of your biofield from a photograph. Knowing the difference helps you choose well.
Kirlian photography: the glow in a high-frequency field
A discovery in Krasnodar
In 1939, the engineer Semyon Kirlian of Krasnodar, in southern Russia, watched a demonstration of a high-frequency electrotherapy device and noticed tiny flashes of light between the electrodes and a patient's skin. With his wife, the journalist and teacher Valentina Kirlian, he spent the next decade developing equipment to photograph that light. In 1949 they received a Soviet certificate of authorship for a "method of photographing objects in high-frequency currents." They observed that any living object placed in a high-frequency field produced a glow on film whose character depended on the state of the object, and Semyon was named Honored Inventor of the RSFSR in 1974.
What you receive
A Kirlian photograph usually shows a luminous corona around a fingertip, hand or leaf placed directly on film or a plate in a high-voltage field. The glow is shaped by the electric field, the object's surface, moisture, pressure and the surrounding air, which is part of what makes the images so varied and so captivating.
Gas Discharge Visualization: Kirlian imaging goes digital
Gas Discharge Visualization, or GDV, is a modern computerized development of the Kirlian effect, associated with the Russian physicist Konstantin Korotkov. In a GDV session, you place each fingertip on a glass electrode. Short electrical pulses stimulate the emission of electrons and photons from the skin, creating a gas discharge glow that a sensitive camera records. Software then analyzes the size, brightness and shape of the glow around each finger.
A 2011 paper in the International Journal of Biomedical Imaging described how GDV captures fingertip images with and without a filter, analyzes them by computer and relates them to physiological models, including autonomic nervous system regulation and microcirculation. The authors proposed developing GDV-based biomarkers through further computational research.
What you receive
Typically, fingertip glow images and software-generated charts, often mapped to body systems or presented as energy and balance scores.
Aura cameras: colors from your skin's response
A French and Russian discovery in the 1880s
Most aura cameras rely on hand sensors that read electrodermal activity, the changing electrical properties of the skin. In 1888, the French neurologist Charles Féré found that emotional stimuli lowered the skin's electrical resistance. A year later, the Russian physiologist Ivan Tarkhanov measured electrical changes in the skin without applying an outside current and linked them to sweat gland activity. Researchers now understand electrodermal activity as a sensitive indicator of arousal in the sympathetic nervous system, which is why the skin responds to excitement, stress and fear.
What you receive
You rest your hands on metal sensor plates while a camera takes your portrait. Software translates the sensor readings into colors that appear around your head and shoulders, usually with a short printed interpretation of what each color represents.
See Your Aura: a 360° biofield visualization
A See Your Aura scan takes a different approach altogether. It is completed remotely. You send a recent full-length photograph and your intake information, and specialized biofield visualization technology creates a 360° visualization of your whole field. Your field appears as a blue grid surrounding your body, with pink marking areas of reduced field strength.
What you receive
- an initial 360° visualization, rotating through every angle;
- front, right, left and back still images;
- a remote energizing stage completed by Yvette;
- a second 360° visualization and a before-and-after comparison showing genuine technology-generated shifts in your displayed field;
- a personal written interpretation from Yvette, with practical next steps.
It is not a Kirlian or GDV device, it does not use hand sensors, and it is not a psychic reading or an AI-generated image.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Kirlian photography | GDV | Aura camera | See Your Aura |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Origins | Narkevich-Iodko (1890s); Kirlians (1939 to 1949) | Computerized development of the Kirlian effect | Built on electrodermal research from the 1880s | Technology-generated biofield visualization |
| Main input | Object in a high-voltage field | Fingertips on a glass electrode | Hand sensor readings and a portrait | Full-length photograph and intake |
| Area shown | Fingertip, hand or leaf | Fingertips, mapped by software | Head and shoulders | Whole body, every angle |
| In person or remote | In person | In person | In person | Remote |
| Before-and-after | Possible with repeat images | Possible with repeat sessions | Rarely | Included |
| Personal interpretation | Varies | Often software reports | Short color guide | Written personally by Yvette |
Providers vary, so read how each one describes its equipment and what you receive.
Where energy science meets imaging technology
From Narkevich-Iodko's tower to modern software, each of these technologies reflects a long human effort to make the living body's energy visible. The electrical activity of the body is real and measurable, and imaging methods continue to develop. Each technology works with a different input and offers a different kind of picture: a glow at the fingertips, colors drawn from the skin's response or a full-body view of the biofield.
None of these methods is a medical test. Each offers its own window for reflection, curiosity and self-understanding.
Which approach suits you?
Choose Kirlian photography when you are fascinated by the history of electrography and want to see the classic corona images for yourself.
Choose GDV when you want an in-person session with detailed fingertip images and software charts.
Choose an aura camera when you want a colorful portrait and a quick, enjoyable experience, perhaps at an event or with friends.
Choose See Your Aura when you want to see your whole field from every angle, from home, with a before-and-after comparison and a personal written interpretation. You can view a genuine sample scan first.
What Yvette brings to the visualization
Any image becomes more useful with thoughtful interpretation. Yvette brings close to thirty years of holistic health practice to each scan. She looks at the whole field, the location and reach of pink areas, how the front, sides and back compare and how the field shifts after energizing, and she reads these patterns alongside your intake before writing your report.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kirlian photography the original aura camera?
Kirlian photography came first, and it inspired later interest in imaging the aura. Most modern aura cameras work differently, using hand sensors and software to create colors.
Who discovered the Kirlian effect?
Semyon and Valentina Kirlian developed and patented their method in Krasnodar between 1939 and 1949. Yakub Narkevich-Iodko had photographed similar electrical glows in Belarus in the 1890s.
Is GDV the same as Kirlian photography?
GDV builds on the Kirlian effect, adding electronic cameras and computer analysis of fingertip glow.
What do aura camera hand sensors read?
Most read electrodermal activity, the skin's changing electrical properties linked to sweat gland activity and nervous system arousal.
Is See Your Aura a Kirlian or GDV scan?
No. It is a remote, technology-generated 360° biofield visualization created from your photograph and intake, personally interpreted by Yvette.
Can any of these methods diagnose illness?
No. They are wellness and reflective experiences. Health concerns belong with a qualified professional.
Where this leaves us
Narkevich-Iodko photographed glowing fingers beneath his lightning rod. The Kirlians turned a flash of light into a patented method. Féré and Tarkhanov discovered the skin's electrical response that aura cameras still use, and GDV brought the corona into the digital age. Each technology offers its own way of seeing the energy of living things.
A See Your Aura scan adds a view of your whole field, from every angle, before and after energizing, interpreted personally for you. If you could choose one way to see your energy today, would you want to see a glow at your fingertips, a color around your portrait or your whole field turning slowly before you?
Sources and further reading
These references cover the history of electrography in Belarus and Russia, research on electrodermal activity from France and Russia and modern gas discharge imaging.
Electrography and the Kirlian effect
- Якуб Наркевич-Иодко (Yakub Narkevich-Iodko). Central Scientific Library, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. csl.bas-net.by
- Кирлианы Семён Давидович и Валентина Хрисанфовна (Semyon and Valentina Kirlian). Museum of 20th–21st Century Art. museumart.ru
- Kostyuk N, Cole P, et al. (2011). Gas discharge visualization: an imaging and modeling tool for medical biometrics. International Journal of Biomedical Imaging, 2011, 196460. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21747817
The skin's electrical response
- Electrodermal activity (EDA). EBSCO Research Starters: Health and Medicine. On the discoveries of Féré (1888) and Tarchanoff (1889). ebsco.com