FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY HANDOUT
INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY AND FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY INTRODUCTION
Photography is one of the most important branches of Forensic Science. Photography has 4
major ingredients, namely:
1. Light – natural and artificial
2. Sensitized Material – film and photographic paper
3. Mechanical – camera and its accessories, enlarger machine or contact primer
4. Chemical – developer, stop bath and fixer
Photography, in modern definition, it is the art/science which deals with reproduction of image by the
action of light on sensitized materials, with the aid of camera and its accessories, lens and the chemical
process involved therein.
In its literal definition, Photography derived from the Greek word “Phos” meaning Light and “Graphia”
meaning Writing or “Graphos” meaning to Draw.
Note: in early days, Heliography, Photogeny and Daguerreotypy were first used as alternatives, but
Photography gained precedence as preferred name.
1. Photograph/Photo - The mechanical and chemical result of Photography. - An image that can only be
a product of Photography (Using camera, digital camera etc.) - Picture and Photograph are not the same.
2. Picture - The generic term which refers to all kinds of formed image. - Drawing, painting, or artwork
created on a computer.
3. Image - any visual objects that is modified or altered by a computer or an imaginary object created
using a computer.
Forensic Photography Sometimes referred to as Forensic Imaging or Crime Photography is the art
of producing an accurate reproduction of a crime scene or an accident scene using photography for
the benefit of a court or to aid in an investigation. It is part of the process of evidence items
involved in the crime. Pictures of accidents show broken machinery, or a car crash and so on.
Photography of this kind involves choosing correct lighting, accurate angling of lenses, and a collection
of different viewpoints. Scales, like items of length measurement or objects of known size, are often
used in the picture so that dimensions of items are recorded on the image.
Crime Scene Photography is one of the most important steps in the entire investigation process. As one
of the primary documentation components, systematic, organized visual record of an undisturbed crime
scene must be achieved.
Purpose of Forensic Photography -To provide a visual record of the scene and related areas; to record
the initial appearance of the crime scene and physical evidence; to provide investigators and other with
the permanent record subsequent analysis of the scene; and to provide the permanent record to the
court.
Forensic Photographer also known as a crime scene photographer or an evidence photographer is a
professional photographer who is skilled in the art of producing only the most exact, detailed
photographs that record the crime scene and the physical evidence within the crime scene as objectively
and accurately as possible. Importance of Crime Scene Photography
1. Permanent Record o Considered indispensable to a successful presentation of the case in court. o A
crime scene that is altered through carelessness and haste can never be restored to its exact
original condition.
2. Significance of Certain Aspects of the Crime Scene o Some aspects of crime scene may not be
important in the first, but later may vitally affect the issues in the case. o First step in the investigation
of any crime is to photograph all aspects of the crime scene completely and accurately before any
objects of evidence are removed or otherwise disturbed. o Also, photographs must also be taken after a
body have been removed.
3. Reconstruction of Crime Scene o A study of photographs may assist the specialist in reconstructing
the crime scene and developing conclusions of the crime. Photographs may also help the prosecutor
when a case is presented in court. Photographs can be coordinated with crime scene sketches or
drawings that are made to scale.
Mugshot - Is a photographic portrait typically taken after a person is arrested. - Original purpose of this
is to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of an arrested individual for
identification by victims and investigators.
Rogues Gallery - Is a police collection of photographs of criminals and suspects kept for identification
purposes. - This term may also be used figuratively for any group of shady characters or the line-up of
“Mugshot” that might be displayed. Ex. PNP’s Most Wanted
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES BEHIND THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Alhazen (lbn Al-Haytham) - A great authority on optics in middle age (1000 A.D.) - He invented the 1st
pinhole camera, also known as Camera Obscura. - He was able to explain why the images were inverted.
Sir John Frederic W. Herschel - Coined the word photography when he wrote a letter to Henry Fox
Talbot in 1839. (Note on the Art of Photography, 03/14/1839).
Joseph Nicephore Niepce - French inventor who produces the first permanent photographic image on a
summer day in 1826. - The photographic image was with a Camera Obscura.
