Why you can't take pictures of sleeping people. Why can't you take a picture of a sleeping person? Sleep is a little death

If you ask photographers if you can photograph sleeping people, then nine out of ten will answer that this is not recommended. At the same time, not everyone will be able to explain why it is impossible to do this. They've heard about it somewhere, it's a word of mouth superstition, a bad omen. Let's see what lies behind these prejudices and find the answer for ourselves.

No one remembers when and why people began to believe that it was impossible to photograph sleeping people. In the 19th century, when photography was in its infancy, most families could not afford this luxury. The purpose of the photographs was to leave a piece of myself and some kind of reminder to the descendants. In those distant times, people began to capture the dead. Only here such photos differed from today's. The deceased was dressed in the best outfit, seated on a chair or at a table with relatives and photographed as if he were alive.

When asked why the eyes were closed, they usually answered: “I blinked, but it’s very expensive to retake the picture.” Wealthy families even had special albums with photographs, which depicted relatives who had passed away at the time of photographing.

At that time photography became almost an association with the word "death". Much later, at the beginning of the 20th century, photographing sleeping people began to be considered a bad omen. After all, the person in such a photo will also have his eyes closed. People began to believe that a photograph of a sleeping person could bring the day of his death closer or bring illness to him.

People also believed that if you put a photograph of a sleeping person near his head in a coffin, then the soul of the deceased will turn into a photograph and will live in it forever.

Once, in a village, a woman in labor and a baby died during childbirth. To keep them in memory, the head of the family ordered their photograph with him. Less than a week after the funeral, he died of an unknown cause. Superstitious people began to believe that two biofields, the living and the dead, mixed up in the photograph. Since two dead people were captured in the photograph, their biofield won.

There was also another story. An old woman died in the village. When her son arrived at the funeral, he asked to take a picture of his mother, as if she were sitting at the table with him alive. When the woman was photographed, she woke up from the flash of the camera. It turned out that she fell into a lethargic sleep, and during the flash of consecration, she came to her senses. After this incident, for several years they again began to photograph the dead in hope. Hoping they will come to life. But history did not know a second case.

Can sleeping children be photographed?

People at all times believed that there is always a guardian angel next to a person. For the first forty days of life, it is customary not to show babies to any stranger until baptism has passed. At the time of baptism, it was believed that the child acquires his guardian angel. Until the rite of baptism was completed, the children were not photographed at all. Now, in almost every family, parents try to capture both the moment of discharge from the hospital and the first days of the child.

Well, how not to photograph the cute face of a baby while sleeping? But after all, when a child has not yet been baptized, the guardian angel cannot protect him from evil. People also believed that small children in a dream can play with their angel and at that moment they are not protected. Representatives of the older generation believed that at the moment of photographing a child, his guardian angel flies away from fear. Therefore, the baby is left without protection and is exposed to the forces of evil.

There is another version. It was believed that the sleeping children in the photographs do not have protection from the forces of sorcerers and are more prone to damage and the evil eye than other people. From here, pictures of children were recommended to be stored in family albums and kept away from prying eyes.
Nowadays, parents do not believe in this sign and post photos of babies and sleeping babies, and newborns on social networks.
There is a sign about the damage to the photograph with the image of a sleeping child. The baby in a dream is with his eyes closed, becoming like a dead one. If you spoil, tear or burn such a photo, then you can call trouble on the child. To believe or not to believe this kind of prejudice, of course, only parents decide. But it is always better to foresee the onset of danger than to deal with it later.

Why can't photos with a sleeping person be shown to outsiders?

On the one hand, if you can’t photograph sleeping people, then, accordingly, you can’t show such photographs either. But what if there are such photos and they are part of a family album? Many magicians, fortune-tellers and clairvoyants promise to carry out all sorts of rituals based on photographs. At the same time, people at all times believed that a sleeping person is the most vulnerable. This means that a ceremony performed with a photograph of a sleeping person will bring the greatest efficiency. When people look at photographs, their thoughts are mostly out of control. Thinking badly about a person, you can call trouble on him. Once upon a time, people believed that you could even jinx it from a photograph. Some hold this view even today. Old women in villages, when looking at photo albums, can often tell what the future holds for a person. Or, having nothing bad in your thoughts, somehow think wrong about a person. And as you know, thoughts can come true. Therefore, it is not recommended to be taken lightly and photograph sleeping people. In order not to invite trouble on them, you should not show such photos to strangers. After all, a person in a dream is weak and not protected, which means that such a photograph may be most susceptible to the evil eye.

What superstitions about photographing sleeping people can be found?

The human soul is not always in the body, during sleep it flies away. If you take a picture of a person sleeping, then the photograph captures the body without a soul. And there is no soul only in the dead.
Any look at a photograph can change the fate of a person. When looking at a photograph of a sleeping person, something bad can happen to him. Often people do not think when looking at a photo they say that a person has something better than others, how strong and beautiful he is. But in this way they can deprive him of precisely this distinctive feature.
If the photo was taken in a dark room, in a destroyed building, or next to dead people, then it may not have the best effect on the health and well-being of the person being photographed.
Pregnant women love to be photographed. Moreover, if you photograph a sleeping woman in a position, then the child will not be born. This statement is not supported by any medical facts, but pregnant women are the most superstitious.
You can not tear photos of people, spoil them. Otherwise, the people who are depicted on them cannot escape death or deterioration in health. However, there is another side to this assertion. Many people believe that if you burn a photograph of a person who is suffering from an illness, the illness will go away, because it will be burned by fire.
If the sleeping person turned out to be fuzzy in the photo, then he will die soon.

There is also another side of the coin. A long time ago, people performed various kinds of rituals, piercing a person’s eyes in a photograph. At the same time, it was believed that closed eyes could not be pierced. So the person will be protected. In houses where this was believed, people in the photographs deliberately closed their eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Superstitions associated with the ban on photographing sleeping people are rooted in the distant past. True or false - everyone decides for himself. But it is better not to test them for yourself and avoid photographing while sleeping.

All sleeping people, children, adults look so cute, charming and defenseless. Involuntarily, a hand reaches for a camera or a camera in a mobile phone to capture a beloved and dear person at such a moment. And why can't you take pictures of sleeping people, children or a child?

There is an unspoken rule that you can not photograph those who are sleeping. Moreover, if you dig deep and seriously, then there are many reasons that explain this taboo, for example (short answer):

a ban on photographing sleeping people for religious reasons;
a flash can interfere with sleep;
taboo in the photo associated with mysticism (damage, energy theft);
psychological (a fright of a person, an ugly photo, associations with photographs of dead people);
ethical (taking photographs without consent).

Let's try to consider in more detail the reasons indicated in the list.

Religious reasons

First of all, they relate to Islam. According to Muslim teachings, there is a ban on the reproduction of any images of humans and animals. The prohibited list includes the creation of features of a person's appearance, including sculptures and man-made images, including:

drawings;
works of arts and crafts;
Photo.

The creation by a person of any images, representatives of the Muslim faith say, can lead to polytheism, to the worship of other gods, except Allah. If we continue these arguments, then photographing a sleeping person is the creation of a portrait of a person.

Priests, representatives of Christian teachings are also against photographing someone who sleeps sweetly. But they have other explanations - they believe that this is how you can frighten an angel who protects a person (even when he is in a state of sleep). From fright, an angel can disappear, leave a person without protection.

mystical explanations

There are several different explanations for why it is undesirable to shoot a sleeping person on film or digital. All of them are associated with such concepts as "aura", "energy field", "soul". Everyone decides for himself whether there is some truth in these statements.

Photographing - to the disease

One of the mystical versions explains the ban on filming by the following reasons. The energy field of a sleeping living person and a dead person are identical. By photographing someone who is in a dream, you can consolidate this state, affirm it in reality. The consequences can be dire - from serious illness to death.

Soul and body

The second mystical explanation is based on the idea that during sleep the human soul travels through different dimensions. It returns to the physical body only at the moment of awakening. A click of a camera shutter or a bright flash leads to the fact that a person wakes up too suddenly, when the soul does not have time to return, which again leads to a tragic ending.

There is no answer to the question, if the shooting is done with a mobile phone camera, without a loud click and flash, can this lead to terrible consequences.

How not to jinx it!

Many bioenergy therapists are sure that any picture reflects the energy field. When a person is in a state of sleep, he is weaker and more vulnerable. Therefore, with the help of a photograph of a person not awake, but resting, black sorcerers or magicians can cause damage sooner.

As for the kids, they are not only not allowed to be photographed. Knowledgeable people say that it’s better not to even admire for a long time (as many mothers like to do) on their beloved child. For the same reason, up to forty days, the child is not shown to adults, so as not to jinx it, but they specially convene small children and show them a newborn.

Thinking logically...

There are a number of quite logical explanations why photographing a sleeping person is wrong, ugly, and what negative consequences it can lead to.

Don't scare!

The very first and simplest is fear, in fact, a sleeping person becomes defenseless in a certain sense, he does not adequately assess the situation even in a state of awakening. Therefore, any sudden sound, such as a shutter click or a lens popping out, or the harsh, blinding light of a flash, may frighten a person.

The consequences can be the most unpredictable and severe, especially for fear in children. In the future, there will be problems with laying down, nightmares, nervous excitability, tears, tantrums, stuttering are possible.

Full sleep

The second explanation is physiological, based on the assertion of doctors that a person needs complete darkness when he is resting. This is the only way the body synthesizes melatonin, an important chemical that is responsible for regulating circadian rhythms.

Bright flashes may cause Negative influence to a state of rest, interfere with the restoration of strength. Therefore, after waking up, a person will still feel overwhelmed.

Beauty is power!

The next reason is quite real - it seems to the photographer that his loved one in a dream looks funny, touching, and this moment is worthy of capturing him for centuries. But cute does not mean beautiful, the subject. In general, you may not like the result.

A rare person looks handsome at rest, because the muscles at this time are relaxed, facial expressions and postures are funny. Therefore, if the photo session has already taken place, then the person who was photographed should have the right to choose whether to leave the photos for the family album or immediately delete them from all media.

Sleep is a little death

Many have noticed that when a person is at rest, he looks like a dead person. In the 19th century, the practice of fixing a person “post mortem” became widespread in Europe, that is, there are a fairly large number of photographs that depict already deceased people next to living relatives, moreover, in natural, relaxed poses - at a table, with a book or a toy.

Modern photographs of sleeping people, to a certain extent, resemble the same action or can evoke close associations. By the way, this practice was common in Western Europe, in Eastern Europe they carried out photographic recording of real funerals. Such rather creepy pictures are still stored in old dusty albums today.

The bad habit of photographing sleeping people, which can be associatively associated with the post-mortem photo session, common in previous centuries, is additionally associated with mysticism. Superstitious people who remember pictures from the ceremonial procession well. At that time, not only traditions, rites, acquaintances and relatives, seeing off the deceased on their last journey, were recorded.

The focus of the photographer was the deceased himself, who was photographed, of course, with his eyes closed, in a coffin, but from different angles. Mystically inclined people are afraid of the associations of a sleeping person with the deceased, they believe that it is possible to attract, attract negativity to a living person.

Category of ethics

The simplest and most realistic reason is the ethical moment. There is a famous saying that your rights end where the rights of another person begin. It is clear that the photographer and the subject in this case are a priori in a different position. The sleeper cannot adequately assess the situation, control himself, influence the course of events, he is absolutely defenseless in front of the outside world and the photographer who is shooting him.

It is the latter, in this case, who is responsible and making an important decision - whether to capture the memory of a loved one sleeping next to him or try to keep this image in his memory. And for a photo shoot “for memory” choose a different time, different interiors and, most importantly, give the subject of photography the right to become a full-fledged participant in the filming process!

Many are looking for a short answer to the question: why is it impossible to photograph sleeping people? What is it: superstition, religious prohibition or ethical aspect? Let's figure it out.

Where do legs grow from?

In ancient times, when cameras were not yet created, the only way to capture a person was to draw him. Not everyone could use the services of an artist. It was too expensive. Therefore, rich people ordered portraits. And the poor had no choice but to invite the artist only once - when one of the relatives died, in order to capture how he looked during his lifetime.

The deceased was dressed up, seated at the table, and the artist at that time was painting a picture. For realism, open eyes could be added to the deceased. Some even sat them in a chair and attached a newspaper to their hands.

After the advent of cameras, the dead began to be photographed. This tradition has exhausted itself in the 60s of the 20th century. Hence the association appeared: a man with his eyes closed in the photo brings the day of death closer.

Reasons not to photograph sleeping people

If you look at Wikipedia, then there are several short answers to the question of why it is impossible to photograph sleeping people. Let's consider them in more detail:

People believe that photography is able to store human energy. Therefore, many believe that if a photograph showing a sleeping person gets to a magician or sorcerer, then this can turn into a curse, evil eye, damage and other negative effects.
Religious aspect. The Church believes that during sleep the soul leaves a person. Therefore, he becomes vulnerable to evil forces.
medical point of view. Doctors believe that a flash, a loud sound can frighten a person and cause a heart attack.
From an ethical point of view. If we talk about the ethical aspect, then a sleeping person is not able to control facial expressions, which is why the photos are unsuccessful.
Our ancestors believed that it was impossible to photograph a sleeping person because the guardian angel could leave him forever.

Do you believe that by photographing a person, you can call trouble on him?
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Why you shouldn't photograph a sleeping baby

Many young parents are perplexed why it is impossible to photograph a sleeping child? It is known that up to 3 months, the regimen of infants is almost entirely based on sleep, and babies are very rarely awake. Therefore, you have to photograph the baby during sleep, despite the prohibitions. And for what reason did he appear? Answer to this question can give the older generation.

Our mothers and grandmothers associate this moment with religion. Like, up to 40 days old babies should never be photographed. Of course, there is an explanation for this. If you rely on Christian rules, then they say that it is up to 40 days that the baby is most vulnerable to evil spirits. And they acquire a guardian angel only when the rite of Baptism is performed. So, according to the older generation, before the sacrament better than a child do not take pictures, so as not to invite trouble on him.

Professional photographers, on the other hand, say that there is nothing wrong with taking a picture of a baby as a keepsake. They recommend a photo session at 2-3 months of age. Then the kids can be laid in the desired position.

How to counter superstition

You can resist superstition. For this, according to the older generation, you do not need to show anyone a photo of a sleeping person. Then no one will be able to negatively influence him.

Just yesterday, when my daughter was sleeping, I wanted to take a picture of her, but my husband did not allow it - he said that there was a bad omen in this regard, and I didn’t even know why it was impossible to photograph sleeping people, and especially babies. I'll tell you about what I found out myself - what if someone, like me, is in the dark?

Previously, there was no such problem, cameras were not too affordable ordinary people, and filming was an event. Then, when they appeared compact cameras, the process went easier, but still, many did not shoot literally everything they wanted on film - such pictures would hardly decorate a photo album, and they had no other use.

Of course, fashion photographers photographed sleeping people, and there was a bit of art in this, but it did not wear, so to speak, mass distribution. And then, when digital compact cameras came into widespread use, and each mobile phone became equipped with a device for shooting, it became much easier to shoot. And of course, many began to photograph their loved ones in different situations- cute poses, funny outfits, various funny incidents, and of course a dream. However, not everyone knows whether it is possible to photograph sleeping people?

Actually, to be honest, today I spent the whole day on the Internet, asking girlfriends and girls on the forum about whether they know about the reasons why people should not be photographed if they fell asleep. I heard a lot of interesting opinions, among which the leaders are:

signs;
unpleasant associations;
real harm to a person;
religious prohibitions.

I will tell you about all the reasons in order and whether it is possible to photograph a sleeping person.

The reasons

Naturally, everyone has their own answers to the question of why it is impossible to photograph sleeping children and adults, but with regard to children, I heard one interesting theory.

As you know, we sleep quite sensitively and unevenly, a person wakes up up to two hundred times a night. Naturally, he does not come out of the full state of sleep, the awakening is very short, for a moment.

But if at this moment you scare a person, then the dream will be of poor quality, and it’s quite easy to scare during the shooting process - a couple of flashes are enough.

In adults, this is unlikely to cause anything serious, except for mild anxiety, but with children you need to be careful - a fright in a child can lead to disruption of sleep, speech and development. Naturally, not a single frame is worth the peace of mind of a child.

Signs are a powerful rationale for why it is better to refrain from photographing sleeping people. So, if you believe the signs, then photographing a sleeping person you can:

invite death to him (fix his motionless inactive state);
frighten off his guardian angel;
take away his health and happiness;
capture his soul (as a result of which a person will lose it and may go crazy).

They say that an energetically sleeping person is not much different from a dead one, and when we remove it, it is as if we capture this state, which harms a person.

There is another reason that seems more realistic to me. Probably every adult knows that there was a tradition of taking post-mortem photographs - people took pictures of dead babies in their arms, and took pictures at the funeral. A sleeping person is little different from the deceased, so many are afraid to take such pictures.

An interesting theory about the journey of the soul. Generally speaking, our soul travels to other worlds during sleep, and when the body begins to wake up, it returns back. So, on a flash or a shutter click, a person can wake up abruptly, and the soul does not have time to wake up - then the body can die.

The religious reasons for the ban on photography are very interesting. In many world religions, including Islam, they are very wary of photography. This is due to a religious prohibition - for example, very often only a deity can be depicted, and any image of a person can be equated with an attempt to become like a divine essence.

If you have a sleeping person in front of you, and you are not sure that he is loyal to shooting, then it is better not to photograph him in a dream. Also, some religions attach too much importance to photography - for example, in Asian beliefs, there is a belief that a photograph is an imprint of the soul, which then turns into a demon.

Fear and nervous breakdown are a frequent companion of photography in a dream, no matter how sad it is to admit it. A person in a dream feels defenseless, and if he is abruptly pulled out of this state, he may experience psychological trauma, he will be afraid to sleep, and it is quite difficult to overcome this. And physically fright is almost always associated with impaired breathing and heart rate, so fright can lead to heart disease, or even a heart attack.

So what to do - take pictures or not

I think you understand why it is impossible to photograph sleeping people, but how much is it worth following such signs? Everyone decides for himself. And if even doctors do not advise photographing a sleeping child - a flash can really scare a baby, then there is no such unequivocal opinion with an adult.

If you want to take a picture of a sleeping person with a phone or a regular camera, then try to do the following:

turn off the flash on your phone or camera - after all, you are taking a picture not for official documents, but for home use, it may well be fuzzy;
turn off the sound and check in another room that the shutter sound does not work;
do not lean over the sleeping person and do not bring the phone or camera too close;
no need to try to shift the sleeping person into any funny position.

I decided for myself that it is impossible to photograph a sleeping person if you did not agree with him that this is acceptable. Of course, for me personally, it’s not about whether it’s possible to photograph a dozing girl on the subway - I think that this is an interference with privacy person, and even more so, you should not shoot a video.

It is also important for me that the person I photograph (for example, earlier it was my boyfriend, and now my husband) likes himself in the picture. He believes that when he sleeps he is not very handsome, and I do not consider myself entitled to argue with him (although, in my opinion, men in a dream are very touching, much nicer than newborns).

If the person you photograph is unhappy, offer to delete the photo - put yourself in his place for only a brief moment, few people like to photograph people when they are sleeping, but even less do we want to be in the place of the hero of the picture.

Draw conclusions for yourself, and if you are already filming sleeping people, then do it as harmlessly as possible for them - without a flash and the risk of scaring them.

When a person is resting, and especially if it is a child, he sometimes looks very nice. However, are there many family photo albums pictures with crouched babies or relatives. Despite the fact that the 21st century is in the yard, people are still afraid to take this kind of shots. To understand whether there is a reasonable grain in this, or whether prejudice is to blame, you can turn to the opinion of scientists.

Grandparents repeat with confidence - it is forbidden to photograph sleeping children. Surprisingly, the older generations themselves find it difficult to answer the question about the reason for such a taboo. Although there is a perfectly rational explanation for this. And in order to understand, it is worth going back a couple of centuries.

Photos of the dead

At a time when electronic printing, and photography in general, was the limit of fantasy, people painted portraits. Later, with the invention of the camera by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, people got the technical ability to capture themselves and loved ones in pictures. However financial side question did not allow contacting the photographer from time to time. Therefore, they resorted to shooting in exceptional cases.

Energy field experts also advise against photographing people who are dreaming. If you ask yourself the study of the aura and access to the astral, then it is unlikely that you will be able to give a short answer why non-scientific communities repeat the idea of medieval beliefs. In simple terms, in a dream, the soul leaves the body, so the protective shell is weakened. It is believed that a picture of an unprotected person can be used for evil purposes - to bring damage or the evil eye.

Interesting!

Another judgment of esotericists is connected with the ability of the soul to go into the astral plane when the body is resting. The followers of this theory argue that if you accidentally wake up a sleeping camera shutter or flash, then the soul may not have time to return and some entity from a parallel world will take its place.

religious teachings

Surprisingly, almost all denominations agree that when a person is resting, one should not touch him, let alone photograph him. In Christianity, it is believed that the flash scares away the guardian angel. Islam is generally wary of photography. According to Sharia law, the image of a person in photographs or paintings is considered to be likeness to God.

On the issue of the ban on photographing children and adults during sleep, the judgments of doctors are in tune with beliefs. Doctors are sure that a sudden awakening has a bad effect on a person's well-being. And, if we are talking about a small child, then we should not miss the moment that babies up to a year old are only in the process of building nervous system. It is not uncommon for children to suffer from stuttering if they are greatly frightened.

Sleep disturbance

During rest, the body not only rests, but also produces the hormone melatonin, which is necessary for the regulation of circadian rhythms. By the way, it is because of this that it is recommended to sleep only in a dark room without any light sources. A sudden outbreak can disrupt sleep. As a result, in humans, the process of synthesizing the hormone can go astray, and, as a result, insomnia and confusion in circadian rhythms will begin.