Forensic 1- Forensic Photography

MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

Introduction:

Forensic photography is a widely used scientific method that aids in criminal investigation. We
will be tackling here the some definition of terms and technicalities you will encounter on this course.
This will give you the background of what how and why we study Forensic Photography, and the
history and development of photography.

Objectives: At the end of this module, you should be able to:

 Define basic terminologies related to photography.

 Give importance to the significant people who contributed to the success of photography.
 Give the significance of light to photography basing it on subject brightness.
 Give importance to the use of forensic photography in criminal investigation.

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION
A. DEFINITION OF TERMS:

1. Photography =
 Literal Definition- Derived from the Greek word “Phos” or “Photos” which means “light” and
“Grapho” means “Writing” or “Graphia” meaning “to Draw”. Sir John F. W. Herschel coined the
word photography when he first wrote a letter to Henry Fox Talbot.
 Modern Definition- Is the art and science of reproducing image by means of light through some
sensitized material with the aid of a camera, Lens and its accessories and the chemical process
required in order to produced a photograph.
 Technical/Legal Definition- Modern photography may be defined as any means for the chemical,
thermal, electrical or electronic recording of the images of scenes, or objects formed by some
type of radiant energy, including gamma ray, x-rays, ultra violet rays, viible light and infrared rays.
This definition is broad enough to include not only the conventional methods of photography but
almost and new process that may developed. (Scott 1972)

2. Forensic = Derived from the Latin word “Forum” which means “a market place” where people
gathered for public discussion.
= When used in conjunction with other science it connotes a relationship to the
administration of justice. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the word legal.

3. Police Photography = Is the art or science which deals with the study of the principle
photography, the preparation of photographic evidence, and its application to the police work
and in theadministration of justice.(Aquino 1972)

4. Forensic Photography = Is the art or science of photographically documenting a crime scene

and evidence for laboratory examination and analysis for purposes of court trial. Forensic
photography is an integral part of forensic science and criminalistics. Any photograph may be
considered “forensic” if it adds information required by the court and can be admitted as
evidence.

5. Photograph = Is the mechanical and chemical result of Photography. Picture and photograph
are not the same for a picture is a generic term is refers to all kinds of formed image while a
photograph is an image that can only be a product of photography.

6. Forensic Photographer also known as Crime Scene Photographer or an Evidence Photographer =

Is a professional photographer who is skilled in the art of producing only the most exact, detailed
potographs that reord the crime scene and the physical evidence within the crime scene as
objectively ans accurate as possible. Forensic photographers, however, have specific technical
knowledge not only in photography but also in forensic science and laws pertaining to the use of
photographs as evidence. Forensic photographers should document every aspect of creating
 the photographs, including details of equipment/matrerial, processing and printing information
as well as noting time, conditions, distance, scales of size, and the like. They should be guided by
the strict procedures and protocols.

Other Definition of Terms:

1. Acetic Acid- a rarely mild acid used in highly, diluted from, as the rinse bath which follows the
developer in the normal film and paper developing processes.

2. Angle of view- the portion of the scene that is covered through a camera lens.

3. Aperture- the opening in a diaphragm of lens through which light passes, expressed as a fraction
of the focal length.

4. Autofocus- The camera focuses automatically on the subject in the center of the viewfinder
when you press the shutter release.

5. Available Light- the light condition which the photographer finds existing at the subject position.

6. Back Light- Illumination from a source beyond the subject, as seen from the camera position
which tends to silhouette the subject.

7. Copy- to reproduce via photography

8. Coverage- the area of the image (formed by a lens) which is of useful quantity.

9. Cropping- printing only part of the image that is in the negative or slide

10. Daylight - sunlight or skylight or any mixture of the two.

11. Developer- Chemical Solution used to convert a latent image to a visible image

12. Distortion- an aberration of the lens which is characterized by variable magnification of the
image area and will cause straight lines near the edges of the subject field.

13. Enlarger- consists of a light source, negative holder and a lens and the means of adjusting these
to project an enlarged image from a negative onto a sheet of photographic paper

14. Exposure- the quantity of light allowed to act on photographic material

15. Flash- a brief intense burst of light from a flashbulb or an electric flash unit, usually used where the
lightning on the scene is inadequate for picture taking.

16. Focusing- the adjustment of the lens to film distance to produce sharp image of the subject

17. Negative- photographic image in which the amount of silver present is more or less based on
reflectivity from the original subject

18. Format- Size, Shape, and general makeup of negatives, slides, photographic prints, camera
viewing areas or video equipment

19. Frame- an individual picture on a roll of film or one full onscreen image of displayed
computerized information

20. Illumination- a specific amount of light present in any given area.

21. Image- The photographic representation of an object or scene formed by optical or chemical
action.

22. Multiple Flashes- The use of more than one flash unit, usually operating simultaneously.

23. Natural Size- A photograph enlarged to the true size of the content.

Historical Development of Photography

1. Joseph- Nicephore Niepce (France) -
heliography, Camera obscura
 - He made the world's first surviving photograph from the window of a country home in France
(1826), and it is a reproduction of the 17th century Dutch engraving showing a man leading a horse.
For this reason, he has been credited as being the inventor of potography. The photograph was sold
at Sotheby’s in Paris on March 21, 2002, to the French National Library for $443,000 (Perez, 2007).

2. Louis Daguerre- “Daguerreotype” (1839)

- He made the first ever commercially

successful photographic process that was
widely used. It used a silver nitrite light-
sensitive emulsion that was developed with
mercury vapor and fixed fith a strong salt
solution to produce positive photographic
images. The latent image and use of silver
combined with iodine (silver iodine) that were introduce by Daguerre became the basis of every
major camera process of the 19th century until the introduction of gelatin bromide emulsions used in
the manufacture of dry plates and developing-out process.

3. William Henry Fox Talbot- impregnated

paper with silver nitrate or silver chloride
creating a negative image of the subject.
(Calotype Process)

4. Scott F. Archer (1851)- made public his wet-

collodion process.

He is known as the inventor of the first practical

photographic process to be both sharp and
easily reproducible that is called the Wet-
Collodion Process or initially called
Archertype.Archer used collodion-- a newly-discovered substance which was used as a
medical dressing. The process he discovered was to coat a glass plate with collodion mixed
with potassium iodide and then immerse the plate in a sensitising solution of silver nitrate.
Exposed in the camera while still wet, the plate was then developed and fixed immediately.
Crisp, detailed negative were produced by exposures of only a few seconds.

5. The Kodak Era George Eastman (1880s)- introduced

the first Kodak Camera with the slogan “You push the
button and we do the rest” - BROWNIE CAMERA

A Kodak is a simple box camera that came loaded with

a 100-exposure roll of film. When the roll was finish, the
entire machine was sent back to the factory in
Rochester, where it was reloaded and returned to the costumer while the first roll was being
processed. To underscore the ease of the Kodak system, Eastman launched an advertising
campaign featuring women and children operating the camera
 New Generation of Photographers
1. Fenton, Roger (1819-69)- He is known for his pictures of the Crimean War

2. Heartfield, John (1891- 1968)- German name is Helmut Herzfelde. Documented a violent contrasts
of scale and perspective, ruthless cropping of heads and bodies, the substitution of machine parts for
vital organs- PHOTOMANTAGE

3. Hine, Lewis (1874- 1940)- A master of composition and mood. He used his camera in the cause of
Social Reform

- 1908: Published a pictorial record of Ellis Island Immigrants

- 1911: He was hired by the National Child Labor Committee and he used his photographic
documentation of child labor abuses to bring about correctional legislation

TIMELINE OF PHOTOGRAPHY:

1826- Niepce took the first permanent photograph, a landscape that required 8 hours of exposure

1835- Talbot produces early permanent photographs through his own process

1839- Daguerre patented the daguerreotype

1840- Talbot invented the positive/ negative process widely used in modern photography
(Photogenic Drawing)

1851- Introduction of the Collodion Process by Archer

1871- Gelatin Emulsion is invented by Richard Maddox

1872- Louis Ducos du Hauron created the first color photograph

1887- Celluloid film base was introduced

1888- Kodak n1 box camera was mass maketed

1891- Thomas Edison patents the “Kinetoscopic Camera”

1895- Auguste and Louis Lumiere- invented the cinematographe

1898- Kodak introduced their Folding Pocket Kodak

1900- Kodak introduced their first Brownie

1901- Kodak introduced the 120 film

1907- The autochrome lumiere is the first color photography process marketed

1913- Kinemacolor; the first commercial natural color system for movies was invented

1914- Kodak introduced the Autographic System

1948- Edwin H. Land introduced the first Polaroid Instant Image Camera

1959- Nikon F was introduced. AGFA introduced the first fully automatic camera, the Optima

1963- Kodak introduced the Instamatic

1964- First Pentax Spotmatic SLR was introduced

END OF LESSON 1
 Lesson 2: Uses and Importance of Photography

A. USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Personal Identification
= Personal Identification is considered to be the first application of photography is police work.
Alphonse Bertillion was the first police who utilized photography in police work as a
supplementary identification in his Anthropometry system. It is also usefull in the identification of
missing persons, wanted persons and stolen or lost properties.
2. For Communication
= Photograph is considered to be one of the most universal methods of communication
considering that no other language can be known universally than photograph.
3. For Record Purposes
= Considered to be the utmost used of photography in police work. It also records the illegall
activities and identities of criminal. Also records all the things that an investigator may fall to
notice.
4. For Preservation
= Crime scene and other physical evidence requires photograph for preservation purposes. Crime
scene cannot be retain as is for a long period of time but through photograph the initial condition
of the scene of the crime can be preserved properly. Preventing from necessary handling of
physical evidence thus preserving the integrit of the physical evidence.
5. For Discovering and Proving
= Photography can extend human vision in discovering and proving things such as:
a. The use of Magnification
 Photomicrography = Taking a magnified photograph of small object through attaching a
camera to the ocular of a compound microscope so as to show a minute details of the
physical evidence.
 Photomacrogaphy = Taking a magnified (enlarged) photograph of small object by
attaching an extended tube lens (macro lens) to the camera.
 Microphotography = is the process of reducing into a small strips of film a scenario. It is first
used in filmmaking.
 Macrophotography = used synonymously with photomacrogaphy.
 Telephotography = Is the process of taking photograph of a far object with the aid of a
long focus and Telephoto lens.

b. Used of Artificial Light such as X-ray, Ultra-violet and Infra-red rays to show something which
may not be visible with the aid of human eye alone.

6. For Court Exhibits

= Almost all evidence presented in court before formally be accepted requires that they satisfy
the basic requirements for admissibility which is relevancy and competency. A question of
relevancy is usually proved by proving the origin of the evidence and its relation to the case and
this is usually supplemented by photograph of the evidence giving reference as to where it came
from.
Evidence presented in court once accepted became known as Exhibit. Either Exhibit 1,2,3 etc. for
the defense or Exhibit A, B, C etc for the prosecution.
7. Crime Prevention
= With the used of video camera (hidden camera) and other advanced photographic
equipment crimes are being detected more easily and even to the extent of preventing them
from initially occurring.
8. Reproducing and Copying
= With the use of photography any number of reproduction of the evidence can be made those
giving unlimited opportunity for its examination and even allow other experts or person to
examine the specimen without compromising the original.
A photograph can be made as a representation of any evidence or document.
 The photograph can be used in place of physical eveidence to supplement the case report.

 It is classified as secondary evidence.

 It is not a legal substitute of the original object.

 It is a silent witness.
 9. Police Training
= Modern facilities are now being used as instructional material not only in police training as well
as in other agencies. Photography will serve as lecture materials and illustrations during police
personnel training.

Importance of photography in Police Work and Law Enforcement

People take photographs for all sorts of reasons. The photos serve a social function: as reminders of
vacations and loved ones by freezing moments in their own history for recall in years to come.
In Law Enforcement works, photography serves four primary functions:
1. As means of identification
2. As a method of discovering, recording, and preserving evidence
3. As a way to present in the court room as an impression of the pertinent elements of a crime
4. As a training and public relations medium for piluce programs

Below are further importance of photography in police work.

 it refreshes the mind of the investigator

 It helps reconstruct the crime scene

 It helps the expert witness in illustrating their findings

 It supplements, explain and replaces the descriptive testimony of the witnesses

B. ESSENTIALS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Camera = a light tight box designed to block unwanted or unnecessary light from reaching the
sensitized material.

2. Light = is an electromagnetic energy that travels in a form of a wave with the speed of 186, 000
miles per second.

3. Lens = is the light gathering mechanism of the camera that collect the reflected light coming
from the object to form the image.

4. Sensitized material = composed of a highly sensitized chemical compound which is capable of

being transformed into an image through the action of light and with some chemical processes.
( Film and Photo Paper).

5. Chemical Process = is the process necessary for reducing silver halides into a form so as a latent
image and a positive image be made resulting to what we called Photograph.

TYPES OF SUBJECT BRIGHTNESS

1. Dark Subject: Only reflects about 9% of the light striking it and absorbs the remainder.

ex: Vehicles and weapons, people in dark toned clothing and others

2. Average Subject: Is one that reflects approximately 18% of the light striking it and absorbs the
remainder.

ex: people in medium colored clothing, most buildings, street scenes and interior views

3. Bright Subjects: Reflects twice as much light as an average subject.

ex: fined- skinned and light haired person, people in light clothing and light colored subjects

4. Brilliant Subject: Reflects about four times as much light as an average subject and absorbs very
little light.

ex: people in light colored clothing on a white and sandy beach, a white sailboat against a
blue sky and white buildings of a desert village.
END OF LESSON 2

LESSON 3: LIGHT
LIGHT: ITS NATURE, CHARACTERISTICS, SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION

For a Forensic/police photographer tot ake consistently successful photographs, he must

understand the basic optical principle underlying how camera works, the type of lens and lighting
equipment to utelize, the film speed or digital setting to use in a particular situation, as well as the
andvantages and drawbacks of different camera formats. By becoming familiar with the controls on
the camera, the photographer will be more able to concentrate on the composition and lghting of
each photograph.

We tend totake light for granted even when it is light that enables us to view the world
through our eyes. Light is what enables our eyes to see. Light is the very essence and the basic
substance of photography. It is important to understand how light behaves and how lenses form it
into images in order to gain a broader view of the possibilities of photography.

Light is defined as an electromagnetic energy with the speed of 186,00 miles per second. Its
wave travel is said to be characterized in certain extent based on velocity, wavelength and
frequency of the number of vibration of the wave per second.

Light wavelength is the distance measured between two (2) successive crest or through of
wave and it is expressed in either Millimicron (nanometer) or Angstrom. Millimicron is the units of light
wavelength which is equivalent to one-millionth part of a millimeter which the Angstrom is relatively
smaller for it has an equivalent measurement of ten (10) millionth part of a millimeter.

Once light hits a certain medium, its action can be characterized as either: Reflected,
Transmitted or Absorbed (RAT). Reflected once the light hits a mirror and it bounce back. Transmitted
when the light hits a transparent glass which would allow the light to pass through its medium and
Absorbed when the light hits a dark colored object and prevents it from either bouncing or passing
through.

Isaac Newton in 1666 proved that the light which men see as white light is actually a mixture of
all colors of the spectrum. This is produced when we allow light to hit a glass prism (Sharp Edge of the
Glass). A rainbow array will then be shown with colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet
colors (from top to bottom). The visible light is also said of have a wavelength of between 400-700
millimicron or nanometer.
John Hedgecoe (2005) explains the path of the light in photography by starting with the
subject and light source. Light rays reflected from the subject of the photo are transmitted through a
glass lens at the front of the camera to form a latent image on the film.
The focal plane is where the rays of the light reflected by the lens converge to form a sharp,
upside-down image. Light traveling from different distances from the camera needs varying degree
of reflection to focus at the focal plane, so a focusing mechanism moves the lens toward or away
from the position of the film and focal plane coincides when the lens is correctly focus.
Direction of light-You move your flash or you either choose the time of the day to best illuminate your
subject.
• FRONT LIGHTING- Strikes the surface of the subject straight on.
 • SIDE LIGHTING- the light source skims across the surface of the subject facing the lens which
emphasizes the texture, color and shape

• BACKLIGHTING- light coming behind a subject- especially in very bright subjects

Types of Light

Lights can largely be classified into visible and invisible light.

A. Visible Light
= Is the type of light that produces different sensation when reach the human eye. It is the type of
light, which is capable of exciting the retina of the human eye.

B. Invisible Light

= lights in which their wavelength are either too short or too long to excite the retina of the human
eye i.e. X-ray, Ultrat-violet and Infra-red lights.

C. Photographic Rays

i. X-ray
=Light with the wavelength between .01 to 30 millimicrons. It is produced by passing an electric
current through a special type of vacuum tube. It was incidentally discovered by Conrad Welhelm
Roentgen. This type of light works in the principle of shadow photography.
ii. Ultra-violet ray (Before the violet)
=Radiation having a wavelength of 30 to 400 nanometers designed to photograph fingerprints in
multi colored background, documents that are altered, decipherment of erase writing and
developing invisible writing. It is commercially known as “black Light”.
iii. Visible Light
=It refers to the type of radiation having a wavelength of 400 to 700 millimicrons designed for
ordinary photographing purposes.
iv. Infra-red (Beyond the Red)
=Considered as the photographic rays with the longest wavelength ranging from 700 to 1000
millimicrons. It is designed to take photograph of over-written documents, obliterated writing, and
charred documents or for black out photography. It is sometimes referred to as heat rays).
 LIGHT SOURCE

A. Natural Light
- Those light which come to existence without the intervention of man e.i. Sunlight, moonlight and
starlight. Daylight may still be classified as: open space bright sunlight, under shade bright sunlight,
hazy sunlight, cloudy sunlight and cloudy dull sunlight. Natural light is generally utilized for outdoor
photography, or light that comesto existence without the inventions of man.
- These conditions and their colors affect the appearance of the object being photograph. Factors
such as atmospheric vapor, atmospheric dust and quality of the reflected light coming and not
coming from the source should likewise be considered.

Color Of Light: Natural Light

i. WARM LIGHT- Is great for photographing landscapes and

scenic. Best used when shooting at sunset or sunrise

ii. COOL LIGHT- blue tones on color films such as sunrise, one
a very overcast days or in the shade of building.

Three Types Of Natural Light: Sunlight As a Chief Source Of Natural Light

Bright Sunlight Hazy Sunlight Dull Sunlight

 Bright Light - a lighting condition wherein objects in open space cast a deep on uniform shadow.
In bright light, the subject will produce strong shadow because the source of light is not
covered by clouds. In black and white photography the object or subject looks contrastly.

 Hazy Light - a lighting condition wherein the objects in open space cast a transparent shadow. In
hazy sunlight, the sun is covered by the clouds and shadow appears bluish because of the
decrease of the light falling on the subject in open space. The shadow cast is transparent to
the eye and more details are visible under this lighting condition than in bright sunlight. When
the sunlight is obscured by light clouds, the intensity of the direct light falling on subject in open
space is decreased. In effect, the light coming from the sky becomes stronger than the
shadows appears more bluish than in bright sunlight.
  Dull light - a lighting condition wherein the object in open space cast no shadow. In dull sunlight,
the sun is totally covered by thick clouds. No shadows are formed due to the uniform
illumination of light around the subject in oopen space.

A. ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
- Otherwise known as man-made light e.g. fluorescent bulb, incandescent bulb and photoflood
lamp. It is utlized for indoor photography to align the adverse lighting condition. It is also utilized to
align the hazy or dull light in outdoor photography.
This includes all non-natural sources such as conditions light from incandescent and flourescent light
bulbs, electronic flashes and studio strobes.

Sources of Artificial Light:

a. Continuous Duration

 Flourescent Lamps

 Incandescent Lamps/Tungsten Light

 Photoflood Lamps

 Infrared Lamps

 Ultraviolet Lamps

b. Short Duration
 Flash Bulbs (chemical flash lamp)

 Flash cubes

 Flash bar

 X-cube

 Electronic flash

Electronic Flash = produces light by an instantaneous electrical in charges between two

electrodes in a gas filled glass bulbs. The electrical energy for the discharge is kept in capacitor
or condenser. It usually ranges from 1/300 second and 1/5000 second, and because of this,
subject in fast motion can be arrested or stopped in the photographs.

Types of Electronic Flash

 Strobe cube

 Slave Unit or slave flash

 Right light

 Accessory flash unit

Types of Accessory Flash Units

 Manual Flash- These flash units require you to figure out the corret exposure for your
shooting conditions.

 Automatic Flash- These flash units are automatic sensors to control light output and
duration based on the distance from the camera to the subject.

 Dedicated Light Unit- They are made to work with your camera in specific electronic
means.

 Built-In Flash Unit- A flash unit built into the camera.

 Off-camera Flash- A flash unit not mounted on the camera.

B. THEORIES OF LIGHT
1. The WAVE Theory (Huygens) = It is the theory that was transcribed from the motion of the water
that if we observe a piece of log floating in the ocean and with the force of the air would naturally
will make the log move up and down.
2. Corpuscular theory (Newton) = this later opposed the wave theory stating that light has its effect
by the motion of very small particles such as electrons.
3. Modified Wave theory (Maxwell and hertz) = Based on electromagnetics.

All these theories are still considered to be of little lacking that law enforcement need not to be
very focus on this but rather go along with the accepted conclusion that light is a form of energy,
which is electromagnetic in form.

]END OF LESSON 3

CONGRATULATIONS! You have reached this far. This is the end of Module 1