FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON
Focal Length- It is the part of
an optical system used to measure of
how strongly the system converges or
diverges light.
Types of Lenses as According to
Focal Length:
1. Wide angle lens-This lens will have a
wide area of coverage but produces a
small image size. This is usually used
in taking pictures indoor or inside a
small room. It is also used outdoor to
get a panoramic view of a scene. If it is
too wide for an eye to view at a single
glance.
2. Normal Lens- It is referred to as
normal because it coverage
corresponds to nearly the coverage of
a human eye.
3. Telephoto lens- This lens produces a
bigger image of objects at far distance
but its area of coverage is smaller. If
the object is very far to be seen, this
lens can bring it near
4. Zoom Lens- lens with variable focal
length.
APERTURE
Aperture is the size of the opening in
the lens. The word aperture is also
used in other contexts to indicate a
system which blocks off light outside a
certain region. Some lenses have fixed
apertures but most photographic
lenses have variable apertures to
control the amount of light entering
the lens. The aperture is regulated by a
diaphragm of overlapping blades that
can be adjusted to vary the size of the
opening through which light passes.
The size of the opening is indicated by
markings of f-numbers. Each f-
numbers represent the ratio of the
focal length of the lens and the
diameter of the opening. The common
series of f-numbers are 1.8, 2, 2.8, 4,
5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22.
These f-numbers indicate
in succession decrease by one half in
light intensity as the number increases.
This means that an aperture of f 1.8
will admit twice light than f 2 and so
on. Conversely, light intensity will
decrease by one half as the numerical
value increases. This also means that f
8 will admit twice less than that of f
5.6.
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON
The diaphragm serves as
controller of speed, depth of field and
definitions.
DIAPHRAGM AS CONTROLLER OF
SPEED
Lens speed refers to the
maximum aperture diameter, or
minimum f-number, of a photographic
lens. A lens with a larger maximum
aperture (that is, a smaller minimum f-
number) is called a "fast lens" because
it can achieve the same exposure with
a faster shutter speed. Conversely, a
smaller maximum aperture (larger
minimum f-number) is "slow" because
it delivers less light intensity and
requires a slower (longer) shutter
speed.
DIAPHRAGM AS CONTROLLER OF
DEPTH OF FIELD
For many cameras, depth
of field (DOF) is the distance between
the nearest and the farthest objects
that are in acceptably sharp focus in an
image. It is not a fixed distance, it
changes in size and can be describe as
either narrow/shallow and
deep/large.
Influencing Factors of Depth of Field
A. The size of the diaphragm
opening
The size of your aperture
controls the amount of light entering
your lens. Using the aperture (f-stop)
of your lens is the simplest way of
controlling your depth of field.
L-S-S
S-L-D
B. The focal length of the lens
The closer your subject is to the
camera, the shallower your depth of
field becomes. Therefore moving
further from your subject will deepen
your depth of field. The general rule is
that: the shorter the focal length, the
deeper or larger the depth of field is
and vice versa.
C. Circle of Confusion
Another factor that affects depth
of field is the size of the circle of
confusion which is considered
acceptable. Circle of confusion refers to
a small circle which is seen by the eye,
not as a circle but a dot or point.
DIAPHRAGM AS CONTROLLER OF
DEFINITION
The term definition is the
ability of the lens to form a clear image
of fine details. All practical lens images
such as a point, as a small blur which
changes in character with the change
of lens aperture. Decreasing the lens
aperture improves definition as it
removes the small amount of haze
caused by residual aberrations.
FOCUSING
Focusing in
photography is one of the most
critical skills that a photographer
needs. But just what is focus in
photography? Focus in
photography is the process of making
adjustments to the lens to find the
maximum resolution, sharpness, and
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON

contrast for your chosen subject. You 1.1 Coincidence Type

can do so either using manual
focus or the autofocus system of your
camera.
It is practically married to
sharpness. An image that is completely
sharp is said to be in-focus. An image
that is completely blurry is said to be
unfocused. The same metaphor applies
to your mind. When you concentrate
your mind is sharp. You are focused.
When you’re confused, you lack focus.
With this type of focusing
control, the object is split into two
parts when the lens is out of focused.
While moving the focusing control, the
split image will move and unite to form
undivided images of the subject and
then the focusing
control is set
properly.

MANUAL FOCUS

Manual focus is the process of

adjusting the depth of field of a camera
1.2 Split Type
lens to bring an image
With this
into focus without relying on
type of focusing control, the object
autofocus or other technical aid.
is split into two parts when the lens
AUTOFOCUS is out of focused. While moving the
focusing control, the split image will
Three Types of Focusing Device
move and unite to form undivided
1. Rangefinder Type images of the subject and then the
focusing control is set properly.
It is a mechanism used to
measure the angle of convergence of
light as seen from two apertures or
opening but viewed at the same time.
In modern cameras, the range finder is
coupled with viewfinders.

Two Types of Rangefinder:

With this type, the objects being

photographed appeared double when
the focusing control is not on its
proper distance, and by moving this
control, one of the object will move
and coincide with the other object that
will show of the single object formed
and focusing control is therefore 2. Ground Glass Type
accurate.
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON
The ground class focusing
control can be seen on the viewing
screen of the camera. During the
photographing, the images of the
objects being photographed will
appear blurred when the focusing
control is not accurately set. By
adjusting the focusing mechanism of
the camera, the objects will become
clearer and clearer until the clearest of
the objects appeared in the viewing
screen which will indicate that the
focusing control is set properly.
3. Scale Bed Focusing
In the scale bed of focusing
control, the focusing mechanism of the
camera can be adjusted by means of
estimation or calculation of the objects
distance and the camera. The
photographer will estimate the
distance of the object to be
photographed and then, he will set
focusing control of the camera based
on his estimation. If he had estimated
that the distance of the object and the
camera as 10 ft, then the setting of the
focusing will be 10 ft.
What is Shutter Speed?
Shutter speed is the length of
time your camera shutter is open,
exposing light onto the camera sensor.
Essentially, it is how long your camera
spends taking a photo.
The action of the shutter is
expressed in the different shutter
speeds which correspond to the length
of time or duration of the opening to
the closing of the shutter.
Standard Shutter Speeds
• 1000
• 500
• 250
• 125
• 60
• 30
• 15
• 8
• 4
• 2
When you use a long/slow
shutter speed, you end up exposing
your sensor for a significant period of
time. The first big effect of shutter
speed is motion blur. If your shutter
speed is long, moving subjects in your
photo will appear blurred along the
direction of motion. This effect is used
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON

quite often in advertisements of cars actions starts from the center

and motorbikes, where a sense of
speed and motion is communicated to
the viewer by intentionally blurring
the moving wheels.
On the other hand, if you
use a fast/short shutter speed, you can
eliminate motion even from fast
moving objects. If you use a fast
shutter speed while taking pictures of
a water, each droplet will hang in the
air completely sharp, which might not
be even visible to our own eyes.
toward the sides then closes
back to the center. This type of
shutter can be synchronized
with a flash unit with every
shutter speed.
2. Focal plane shutter- this shutter is
located in front of the film or on the
focal plane. It is usually made of cloth
or metal curtain. Its action starts from
one side and closes on the opposite
side. This type of shutter can give a
faster shutter speeds than the
between-the-lens shutter.

Shutter Speed and Exposure

In photography, exposure is the

amount of light per unit area (the
image plane illuminance times the
exposure time) reaching a frame
of photographic film or the surface of
an electronic image sensor, as
determined by shutter speed,
lens aperture, and scene luminance. Kinds of Exposure

The other important effect of  Under Exposure

shutter speed is on exposure, which  Normal Exposure
relates to the brightness of an image. If  Over Exposure
you use a slow/long shutter speed,
The Triangle of Exposure
your camera sensor gathers a lot of
light and the resulting photo will be
quite bright. By using a short/fast
shutter speed, your camera sensor is
only exposed to a small fraction of
light, resulting in a darker photo.

Two Major Types of Camera Shutter

1. Between the lens or central

shutter- this shutter is located
in between the lens component.
It is made of metal blades. Its
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY-MIDTERM LESSON

The Indicators of Sensitivity of Light Classification of Film According to

Spectral Sensitivity
 ASA (AMERICAN STANDARD
ASSOCIATION)- These are  Blue Sensitive Film- this film is
expressed in arithmetic value. sensitive to ultraviolet rays and
blue light only.
 DIN (DEUTCHE INDUSTRI
NORMEN)- It is express in  Orthochromatic Film- this film is
logarithmic value. the same sensitivity in blue
sensitive film which is sensitive
 ISO (INTERNATIONAL
to ultraviolet rays and blue light
STANDARDS ORGANIZATION)-
only.
this is expressed in the
combined arithmetical and  Panchromatic Film- the
logarithmic values. sensitivity of this film is
ultraviolet radiation blue, green
Bracketing
and red light or all colors of light.
It is the general technique
 Infrared Film- this film is
of taking several shots of the same
sensitive to ultraviolet rays to
subject using different camera
blue, green, red light and
settings. Autobracketing is a feature
infrared rays.
of many modern cameras. When set, it
will automatically take several
bracketed shots, rather than the
photographer altering the settings by
hand between each shot.

Spectral Sensitivity

It refers on the sensitivity

of the film in the colors of light which
illuminated in the object being
photograph.

Photographic Film

Photographic film is a
material that is used in
photographic cameras for recoding
images. It is made of transparent
plastic in a shape of a strip or sheet
and it has one side covered with light-
sensitive silver halide crystals made
into a gelatinous emulsion.