The image follows the outline of the hand, foot, or other object copied and consists of closely joined concentric patterns of light, mostly blue and white, but sometimes including patches of red and yellow. The film shows no detail of the center of the foot, hand, finger or other body part. The center is dark. Only the outer shape is identified by the electrical response. This Kirlian photography process sometimes is described as electronic photography.
Advocates claim that it sheds light on the subject's mental, physical, and emotional state.
Developed in Russia in the late 1950s, the procedure was rejected by the medical community because its claims are untrue. The auras, they say, have diagnostic value because they reflect the subject's biological state. Practitioners say that such images can also show evidence of one's emotional state, relationships, and even disease. Believers in Kirlian photography say that the different color patterns in the auras projected on the film reflect the subject's mood, energy level, and health. They project the idea further, suggesting that different auras created by one body part can identify illness or health problems relating to the whole body or to an organ within the body.