F. L. VARGAS COLLEGE, INC.

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines

Telefax # (078) 396-1347

Self-Paced Learning Module (SLM)

Course Forensic 1 - Forensic Photography
Sem/AY Second Semester/2021-2022
Module No. 3
Lesson Title Properties of Light and Photography
Week
2
Duration
Date March 7-18, 2022
Description This lesson will tackle the light and its properties focusing on the photographic rays
of the use in modern photography. This lesson will also provide activities and exercises to
Lesson demonstrate learned knowledge the concept of light as an element of photography

Learning Outcomes

Intended Students should be able to meet the following intended learning outcomes:
Learning • Explain the concept of light.
Outcomes • Discuss the photographic rays use in modern photography.
• Establish its properties and sources.

Targets/ At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Objectives • Discuss light characteristic.
• elaborate the photographic rays use in modern photography.
• identify properties and mediums of light.

Student Learning Strategies

Online Activities A. Online Discussion via Google Meet

(Synchronous/ You will be directed to attend in at least one hour class discussion on the history
Asynchronous) and elements of photography. To have access to the Online Discussion, refer to
this link:
Section 2-A https://meet.google.com/tjg-otwu-kdh
Section 2-B https://meet.google.com/nys-fhgh-umt
Section 2-C https://meet.google.com/jhd-qban-sqr
Section 2-D https://meet.google.com/mks-mfrk-dqm

The online discussion will happen on your given schedule from 5:00-6:30.

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 F. L. VARGAS COLLEGE, INC.
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
Telefax # (078) 396-1347

(For further instructions, refer to your Google Classroom and see the schedule of
activities for this module)

B. Learning Guide Questions:

1. What is light and its role in photography?
2. Compare the different properties of light?
3. Distinguish the modern photographic rays use in police work?

Note: The insight that you will post on online discussion forum using Learning
Management System (LMS) will receive additional scores in class participation.

Lecture Guide

PHOTOGRAPHIC RAYS:
ITS NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS

Everyone knows light. It excites the retina of the eye. Light

makes things visible. There is no exaggeration to say that man cannot
live without light. Same things are true in photography, because light is
needed to produce a photograph.
LIGHT
- It is a form of electromagnetic radiation which travels in wave
motion.
- It is a wavelength of radiant energy capable of visual detection.
Offline Activities - It is a radiant energy which emanates from heat.
(e-Learning/Self- - Light moves in straight lines from its source, but it can be bent
Paced) and scattered by objects placed in its path.
- It travels at a speed of about 186, 000 miles per second in air or
300, 000 km/sec in an open space but differs in wavelength and
frequency. It can be bud or reflected. It takes about 8 minutes
for the light to travel from the sun to reach the earth.

• Aloh Roemer (Denmark) – he measured the speed of light

in 1676.

Optics is the study of light. It is concerned with the nature of light and the way
it behaves in optical instruments. Light is a form of energy and so an object may
only produce light when there is energy present.

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Telefax # (078) 396-1347

THEORIES OF LIGHT
1. Wavelength Theory
- The wavelength of the light is the most pertinent,
particularly in the design of lenses.
- It is best illustrated by the dropping of stone in a pond of
still water.
- The series of wave which travels outward from the
center point are just a like wave that travels in all
direction from a source with equal velocity.
- This theory maybe used to illustrate reflection,
interference, refraction, diffraction and polarization.
- James Clerk Maxwell – A British scientist who discovered
wavelength structure of light after 20 years or research.
2. Quantum Theory
- Max Plank theorized in 1900 that light might be made up of little bundles
of energy named quanta
- A quantum of light is called photon, when photon strikes a light sensitive
surface, it gives energy of electrons within the metal explain the
photoelectric current.
- It is used to explain X-radiation and photo-electricity.

The different energies in the electromagnetic spectrum are the

following: cosmic rays; gamma rays; x-rays; UV rays; visible light; infra-red
rays; heat rays; Hertzian waves, and the alternating current oscillation.

Visible Spectrum - a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum

where the visible light is found, the portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum that affect the human sense of sight. Visible light includes all
those radiation having a wavelength ranging from 400 – 700 mu.
FOUR PHOTGRAPHIC RAYS OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY
1. X-rays – 01 to 30 nm.(nanometer)
2. Ultra-violet rays- 3- to 400 nm. (nanometer)
3. Visible light – 400 t0 700 nm. (nanometer)
4. Infra-red rays- 700 to 1000+ nm. (nanometer)

Note: 1 meter (m) of length

Equals: 1,000,000,000.00 nanometers (nm) in length

GENERAL TYPES OF LIGHT

1. Visible Light
- Lights with a wavelength of 400-700 nm.

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2. Invisible Light
- Lights with shorter or longer wavelengths.

WHITE LIGHT
When the wavelengths between 400-700 nn are presented to
the eye in nearly equal quantity, we get the sensation or perception of
colorless or white light. If a narrow beam of white light is allowed to
pass through a prism it will bend the light of shorter wavelength thus
spreading them out into visible spectrum. These are the color of the
rainbow.
White is the sum total of all the colors of the rainbow while black
is the absence of all colors.
If we divide the wavelength of visible light into three, we will
produce blue, green and red colors.

Separation of White
Light into Colored Light

Light from many

sources, such as the
Sun, appears white.
When white light
passes through a prism,
however, it separates
into a spectrum of
different colors. The
prism separates the
light by refracting, or
bending, light of
different colors at
different angles. Red
light bends the least
and violet light bends
the most.

PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
1. Reflection
- It is the deflection or bouncing back of light when it hits a
surface.

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Telefax # (078) 396-1347

a. Regular reflection- happens when light hits a flat, smooth

and shiny surface.

b. Irregular or diffused reflection- occurs when light hits a

rough or uneven but glossy object.

2. Refraction
- The bending of light when passing from one medium to
another.

3. Diffraction
- The bending of light when it hits a sharp edge of an opaque
object.
- It is also the separation of the colors of light.
Sample:
1. light striking spider wave, your eyes can see different
colors of light like rainbow.
2. Rainbow is the effect of light diffusion due to
atmospheric vapor.

4. Interference
- Color can be produced by interference of light waves in thin
film like soap bubbles or a film of oil floating in water.

5. Rectilinear
- The nature of light that normally travels in straight line.

6. Absorption
- The nature of light to be absorbed in the process of dark
surfaces.

7. Filtration
- The character of light to be altered from its colorless into
visible state.

8. Polarization
- The process by which the vibration of light are confined to
definite plane, the speed of light can be measured.
It is the blocking of unwanted light, it is best seen in sun
glasses to minimize the effects of light in the eyes.

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9. Fluorescence
- This happens when molecules of the fluorescent material
absorb energy at one wavelength and radiate it at another
wavelength.

QUALITIES OF LIGHT
1. Intensity
- It refers to the strength of light. This varies according to the output of
light source and the distance from the source.

2. Direction
- Where there is a single source, the direction is clearly defined. Where
there are multiple sources or the light is diffused as on a cloudy day, the
direction is less evident or totally absent.

3. Color
- Light varies in color depending upon its source and the substance
through which it passes. Natural sunlight has a different color mixture
from incandescent lighting or electronic flash, and the color of sunlight
itself varies depending upon the atmospheric conditions and time of
the day. The following are the characteristics of color: hue, saturation
and brightness.

Mediums of Light
Objects that influence the intensity of light as they may reflect
absorb or transmit.
Mediums of light maybe classified as:
- Transparent Objects – Materials, which allow light to pass through
so that objects on the other side, can be distinguished. Mediums that
merely slow down the speed of light but allow to pass freely in other
respects, transmit 90% or more of the incident light.
- Translucent Objects – Those that allow light to pass through but
diffuse the flow of light so that objects on the other side cannot be
distinctly seen. Mediums that allow light to pass through it in such
a way that the outline of the source of light is not clearly visible,
transmit 50% or less of the incident light.
- Opaque Objects – A medium that divert or absorb light, but does
not allow lights to pass though, they absorb most of the light while
reflecting some of it.

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 F. L. VARGAS COLLEGE, INC.
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
Telefax # (078) 396-1347

THE RAT LAW

When incident light hits a medium, three things might happen,
the light maybe:
A. Reflected
B. Absorbed
C. Transmitted

SOURCES OF LIGHT
1. NATURAL LIGHT
- Those coming from nature like the sun, moon, stars, other
heavenly bodies, lighting, fire, etc.
- The intensity of the sunlight falling on an open space varies
depending on the weather condition, time of the day, or even
time of the year.
- For a more accurate exposure setting at daylight, only one
characteristic is considered- the kind of shadow casted by an
object in an open space.

a. Bright sunlight- a lighting condition where objects in open

space cast a deep and uniform or distinct shadow.
b. Hazy sunlight- objects in open space cast a transparent
shadow.
c. Dull sunlight- open objects in space cast no shadow.
- Cloudy bright- objects in an open space cast no shadow
but objects are far distances are clearly visible.
- Cloudy dull- objects in open space cast no shadow and
visibility of distant objects are already limited.
2. ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
- Light sources of this category are man-made and are divided
into the continuous radiation and the short duration.

a. Continuous radiation
- Those that can give illumination continuously.

b. Short Duration
- It gives a brief flash of light produced by a burning metallic
wire (flash bulb) or an electrical discharge through a gas-
filled tube (electronic flash)
- The flash bulb is no longer available in the market but the
electronic flash remains very popular.
- Because it is battery-powered, it is more convenient for field
work where AC current is not available.

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Telefax # (078) 396-1347

FORENSIC LIGHT SOURCES

1. Ultra violet lamp

- It comes in variety of shapes, sizes and power.
- Some units are portable battery operated and are easily
carried and can meet the rugged and rigorous demand for
field work.

2. LASER- Light Amplification through Simulated Emission of

Radiation
- By illuminating certain items with LASER, they would
fluoresce or could be made to stand out in sharp contrast
from their background.
- This was especially significant in locating dried
biological items.
- It provided a way for the criminalist to finally see, locate,
and visually record evidence that they know that they
had been missing
- They are quite expensive.

3. Alternative Light Source (ALS)

- Far more expensive alternative to forensic LASER.
- It uses a variety of band pass filters to provide a high
intensity beam of non-coherent light.

4. Forensic Light Sources (FLS)

- Applied to a wide variety of relatively inexpensive light
sources which use filtered white light.

Performance Tasks

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Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
Telefax # (078) 396-1347

PT 1

Directions: In not less than fifty (50) words, explain whether photography is possible without light
(20 points).

PT 2

Directions: State and explain the four (4) photographic rays of modern photography (40 points).

PT 3

Directions: State and explain the so-called RAT Law (30 points).

Understanding Directed Assess

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Telefax # (078) 396-1347

Rubric for Designing Lesson Plan (PT 2)

Learning Resources

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 F. L. VARGAS COLLEGE, INC.
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
Telefax # (078) 396-1347

Books

Delizo, D. B. G. (2019). Criminalistics: Textbook and review materials. Crimzone Enterprises.

Manlusoc, A.C. Yang, B.T. and Bolante, R. B. (2011). Forensic photography.: Wiseman Publishing
Inc.
Robinson E. (2016) Crime scene photography. Academic Press
Marsh, N. (2014) Forensic Photography: a practitioner's guide. John Wiley & Sons, LTD

Internet Resources

Nola Taylor Redd (2022, February 1). How fast does light travel? | The speed of light.
https://www.space.com/15830-light-speed.html
Ryan (n.d.). (2022, February 1). Theories of light. http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/light/
Theories,html
Shaw Academy.(2022, February). The importance of light in photography.
https://blog.shawacademy.com/light-in-photography/

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