Although the original film Shutter (2004) is of Thai origin and is set in Thailand, this film takes inspiration from Japanese culture and is set in Japan instead. This was because director Masayuki Ochiai was more comfortable filming in his home country, rather than flying to America to direct this remake.
The part of Megumi was written specifically for actress Megumi Okina, with the part even bearing her name. Director Masayuki Ochiai was a big fan of the Ju-on series (which was remade in America as The Grudge series) and wanted to cast her as a tribute to the series. He would go on to direct the series reboot, Ju-on: The Beginning of the End (2014).
The phenomena of capturing images of ghosts in pictures is known as spirit photography, a supernatural occurrence that dates back to the late 19th century.
Shutter is unique in the fact that it is the first western remake of a Thai horror film; as most of the remakes that came after Ring (2002) were originally Japanese.