FORENSIC

PHOTOGRAPH
Y
 DEFINITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY:
LITERAL DEFINITION

Derived from the Greek word “Phos” or “Photos”

which means “light” and “Grapho” means “Writing” or
“Graphia” meaning “to Draw”.

The word was first used by the scientist Sir John F.W.
Herschel in 1839. (John Frederick William Herschel)

It is a method of recording images by the action of

light, or related radiation, on a sensitize material
MODERN DEFINITION:

Photography is an art of science which deals with the

reproduction of images through the action of light, upon sensitized
materials, with the aid of a camera and its accessories and the
chemical processes involved therein.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION:

Photography 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 rays. X rays,
ultra violet rays, visible light and infrared rays.
 Forensic photography

An art or science of photographically

documenting a crime scene and evidence
for laboratory examination and analysis
for purpose of court trial.
 PHOTOGRAPH
Is the mechanical and chemical
result of Photography.
PICTURE
An image that can only be a product of Is a generic term, refers to all kinds of
formed image
photography
POLICE PHOTOGRAPHY AND
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
• POLICE FORENSIC
PHOTOGRA PHOTOGRAPHY
PHY an art or science of
•an art or science which deals photographically documenting
with the study of the principles a crime scene and evidence for
of photography, the laboratory examination and
preparation of photographic analysis for purpose of court
evidence, and its application to trial
police work.
Objectives of the Photography in Crime Scene investigation
1. To record the condition of the scene before alterations occur.
2. To record the location of the scene.
3. To record the position and condition of the evidence.
4. To document the point of view of the persons involved and witnesses.
5. To document the spatial relationships of pertinent items.
6. To convey the look of the scene to investigators, attorneys, and jurors who will not
have the opportunity to view the scene firsthand.
7. To be used as a tool for crime scene reconstruction efforts.
8. To assist in portraying an accurate picture of the crime scene during courtroom
testimony.
9. To refresh the memory of those involved in the investigation.
 Basic Importance of Crime Scene
Photography
✔ Refresh memory.
✔ Preserve time and event.
✔ Save money and effort.
 Importance of Photography in Law Enforcement

1. The utmost use of it is a record purpose. Photography will record the scene of the
crime permanently.
2. Photography can preserve all perishable evidence like contusion in the cases.
3. Photography can be used not only in the identification of physical evidence.
4. Photography is necessary in the interrogation of suspects at the time he made a
confession.
5. Photography can provide a system or technique in making visible things that cannot
be seen by the naked eye.
6. Photography can be useful in court in the determination of the truth respecting a
matter of fact. Evidence that cannot be brought inside the courtroom can be presented
by means of photographs
 USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Personal Identification is considered to be the first application of
photography in police work
Alphonse Bertillion was the first police who utilized photography
in police work as a supplementary identification in his Anthropometry
system

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.
FOR RECORD PURPOSES
Considered to be the utmost used of photography in police work

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.
FOR DISCOVERING AND PROVING
Photography can extend human vision in discovering and proving
things such as

a. The use of magnification

• Photomicrography
• Photomacrography/Macrophotography
• Microphotography
• Telephotography

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.
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.
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.

POLICE TRAINING
Modern facilities are now being used as instructional material not only
in police training as well as in other agencies.

REPRODUCTION 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.
EVIDENCE
Crime scenes, traffic accidents, homicides, suicides, fires,
objects of evidence, latent fingerprints, and evidential traces.
Evidence can frequently be improved by contrast control (lighting,
film, paper. and filters), by magnification (photomicrography,
photomicrography). and by invisible radiation (infrared, UV, soft X-
rays,and hard X-rays).
OFFENDER DETECTION.
Surveillance, burglar traps, confessions, re-enactment of
crimes, and intoxicated driver tests. One of the newest applications
of police photography is to video record arrests in which the
suspect offers resistance. This practice has been instituted by many
law enforcement agencies to counter charges of police brutality.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Slides, computer presentations, and videotapes that pertain to safety
programs, juvenile delinquency, traffic education, and public cooperation
and homeland security.
FOUR PRIMARY WAYS TO USE PHOTOGRAPHY
IN POLICE WORK

1. as a means of identification
2. as a method of discovering. recording, and preserving
evidence
3. as a way to present, in the courtroom, and impression of the
pertinent elements of a crime
4. as a training and public relations medium for police
programs
 BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY PRINCIPLES

1. Light.
• =the primary ingredient for image documentation.
• 2. Exposure
• =is the total amount of light that hits the sensor of Camera. It is
controlled by the amount of light entering the camera and the duration or
how long the light hits the sensor. Exposure is ultimately responsible for the
formation of the image. Essentially, light and its effect on exposure creates
the picture.
• 3. Light Metering
• =is responsible for reading the amount of light entering the camera
and determining or making suggestions for what settings should be used for
that exposure situation.
• 4. Shutter Speed
• =controls the duration of the exposure.
• 5. Aperture
• =The opening in the lens that controls the light entering the
camera is called the aperture. The aperture is controlled by an iris,
which is composed of several blades that increase and decrease the
diameter of the opening to control the light. Apertures are in the
camera's lens and control the amount of light transmitted by the lens
that will enter the camera used to expose on the imaging sensor.
• 6. Exposure Compensation or Exposure Value (EV)
• = Exposure compensation on cameras adjusts the camera's
automatic exposure setting as metered by the camera. The exposure
compensation feature will increase or decrease the actual exposure of the
final image.
• 7. Exposure Bracketing
• =Bracketing is a method of taking multiple, images of a scene or
object using different exposures ranging from overexposed to normal to
underexposed.
• 8. Exposure Modes
• =The exposure modes are commonly located on a dial on top of
the camera or can be changed in the camera's menus. Exposure modes
allow the photographer to take control over how the exposures are made.
• 9. ISO (International Organization of Standardization)
• =is the sensitivity rating of the camera's sensor. You may
recognize the abbreviation from film, as it was used to rate the sensitivity
of film. The higher the number the more sensitive to light the film was,
and therefore it was more desirable to use in low-light situations.

• 10. White Balance

• =(also called color balance) is a very important setting on a digital
camera. It allows the photographer to adjust the camera for different
sources of light. White balance is essential because each source of light
has its own color temperature.
 PRINCIPLES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• A photograph is the mechanical and chemical result of photography.
• To produce a photograph, light is needed aside from sensitized materials.
• Lights reflected or radiated by a subject must reach sensitized material inside a camera.
• The amount of light on the sensitized material after exposure is not immediately visible to
the eyes.
• To make the formed image visible, it must undergo the development process(chemical
process).
• The visual effect that results from the chemical processing is dependent on the quantity
and quality of the exposing light.
• More light will yield an opaque or black shade on the sensitized material after development.
• If the light is too little, it will produce a transparent or white shade.
• The exclusion of all other lights to be recorded on the sensitized material inside the light-
tight box (camera) is controlled by the lens.
 Important Dates and Personalities

▶ 1700’s- Camera equipment first created

▶ 1777- Chemicals discovered

▶ 1839- birth year of photography

▶ 1841- use of photography in police work

▶ 1988- arrival of digital cameras

▶ 1960- LASER invented, Hologram

Hologram was invented by Gabor.
▶ 1700- CAMERA OBSCURA- forerunner of modern
camera
▶ Hercules Florence- coined the word “Photographie” 4
yrs before Herschel termed the photography

▶ John Herschel (1856)- first to used the word

“photography” and discovers Hypo or Sodium
Thiosulfate (fixer)
 ▶ Johann Schulze- discover treatment solution of silver nitrate
discovery of sensitivity of light to silver salt or silver nitrate

▶ Carl Scheele- discover blackening of Silver

Chloride.

▶ Alhazen al-Haytham- invented the first pinhole camera, called

camera obscura
▶ Robert Cornelius, self-portrait, Oct.
or Nov. 1839, approximate quarter
plate daguerreotype. The back reads,
"The first light picture ever taken."
This self-portrait is the first
photographic portrait image of a
human ever produced.
▶ Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.
⮚ Produce the first permanent photographic image on a summer
day in 1826.
⮚ Heliograph or sun printing
⮚ shows the view from Niepce's second floor window and is little
more than an impression. It is a bitumen image on pewter, showing
only masses of light and dark tones.
⮚ Exposure lasted 8 hours.
 ▶ Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre
⮚ Developed a more convenient and effective method of
photography, naming it after himself the Daguerreotype- the
first practical photographic process
⮚ The Daguerreotype was the first commercially
successful photographic process.
⮚ Daguerre was able to reduce exposure time to less than 30
minutes and keep the image from disappearing afterwards.
⮚ The “Daguerreotype” formed an image directly on the silver
surface of a metal plate.
DAGUERREOTYPE
 ▶Henry Fox Talbot
⮚ The inventor of the first negative from which
multiple positive prints
⮚ He perfected this paper-negative process
and called it a Calotype or talbotype, Greek
for beautiful picture.
⚫ The calotype,; a negative-positive process using
a paper negative.
⚫ Invented the mousetrap photography
⚫ Father of Modern Photograpy
▶ Frederick Archer (ARWET)- Wet plate collodion negative, a more stable
and detailed negative
-collotype or collodion type process
▶ Richard Leech Maddox- development a dry plate or gelatin
photography
negative eclipsing Daguerre’s wet plate on tin method.
-This made practical photography of inmates for prison records.
▶ Abel Niepce (ABEGG)- Egg white albumen ON NEGATIVE AS
BINDING MEDIUM
▶ Louis Evart (GLOUIS)- introduced printing paper WITH ALBUMEN TO
PRODUCE
GLOSSY surface.
▶ William Abney- Hydroquinone, a developer

▶ Herschel-use hypo or sodium thiosulfate, fixer

fixing agent
-Cyanotypes/ blue toned print

▶ OleRoemer – measures the speed of light, at

approx.
186, 282 miles/s or 299,792.5 km/ s
 ▶ Odelbercht- first use of photograph in identification and
documentation of criminals and crime scene.

▶ Victor Baltazard- use of photograph in

Comparison of bullet cartridge

▶ George Eastman- inventor of Kodak film, or roll

films
-a color subtractive process called Kodachrome.
▶ Alphonse Bertillion who initiated anthropometric measurements for personal
identification was also involved in various means of documentation by
photography

▶ Daniel Barbaro- introduced lens used in Camera Obscura

▶ Steven J. Sasson is an American electrical engineer and the inventor
of the self-contained/portable digital camera at Kodak
▶ Edwin Land- Polariod or instamatic photo or one step photograph
 ESSENTIALS OF
LIGHT
PHOTOGRAPHY
is an electromagnetic energy that travels in a form of a wave with the speed of 186, 000
miles per second.
CAMERA
a light tight box designed to block unwanted or
unnecessary light from reaching the
sensitized material.
LENS
is the light gathering mechanism of the camera that collect the reflected light coming from the
object to form the image.
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).
CHEMICAL PROCESS
CHAPTER 2. PROPERTIES OF LIGHT IN FORENSIC
PHOTOGRAPHY
LESSON 1. OVERVIEW ON LIGHT, SOURCES OF
LIGHT AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO PHOTOGRAPHY
 LIGHT
• Light is defined as an electromagnetic energy that travels
through space with the speed of 186,281 miles per second
(186,000 m/s). Or 299,792.5 km per second (300,000
kilometers 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
• Angstrom is relatively smaller for it has an equivalent
measurement of ten (10) millionth part of a millimeter
▶ The highest surface part of
a wave is called the crest,
and the lowest part is the
trough.

▶ The horizontal distance

between two adjacent
crests or troughs is
known as the
wavelength.
 LIGHT
THEORIES/NATURE OF LIGHT

THE WAVE THEORY (CHRISTIAN 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.

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(c)
MODIFIED WAVE/ELECTROMAGNETIC
THEORY (MAXWELL AND HERTZ)
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.

QUANTUM THEORY (ALBERT EINSTEIN)

Electrons attached to atoms in a
metal that can absorb specific quantity of
light (first termed as quantum, but later
changed to a photon), thus have the energy
to escape (Sparks)
 TYPES OF LIGHT
LIGHTS CAN LARGELY BE CLASSIFIED INTO VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE
LIGHT.

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.

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, Ultra-violet and Infra-red lights.
PHOTOGRAPHIC RAYS/ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
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.
ULTRA-VIOLET RAY (BEFORE THE VIOLET)
- We cannot see but we know it because it tans our skin.
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”.

UV Use:
▶ Fingerprints on multicolored surfaces (dust with fluorescent powder or
ninhydrin). Body secretions such as urine, semen(buish color) and
perspiration often glow when illuminated by ultraviolet light. Money and
other valuables can be dusted or marked to identify thiefs.
Fingerprints on multicolored surfaces (dust with
fluorescent powder
Fingerprints or ninhydrin)surfaces (dust with
on multicolored
fluorescent powder or ninhydrin)
ULTRAVIOL
 VISIBLE LIGHT

It refers to the type of radiation having a wavelength of 400 to 700 millimicrons

designed for ordinary photographing purposes

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).
 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).
COLORS OF LIGHT FOUND IN VISIBLE
SPECTRUM
PRIMARY COLORS NEURTRAL COLORS
BLUE GRAY
GREEN WHITE
RED BLACK

SECONDARY COLORS WHITE – PRESENCE OF ALL

CYAN COLOR
YELLOW BLACK – ABSENCE OF ALL
MAGENTA COLORS
 PAINTED OBJECTS do not produce their own light, they reflect light, when objects
look red, because it is reflecting only red light to our eyes. To do this, it absorbed the other
primary colors in the white light it is reflecting. It absorbed green and blue and reflects red.
 MEDIUMS OF LIGHT
TRANSPARENT OBJECTS – 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 – 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
 Once light hits a certain medium, its action can be
characterized as either:
REFLECTED, TRANSMITTED OR ABSORBED
(RAT)

REFLECTED once the light hits a

bounce back mirror and it
a. regular- light hits a flat, smooth and shiny surface.
b. irregular or diffused- hits a rough or uneven but glossy
object.
ABSORBED when the light hits a dark colored object
and prevents it from either bouncing
or passing through.
TRANSMITTED when the light hits a
transparent
glass which would allow the light to pass through its
medium
Regular
Reflection
 MANNER OF BENDING OF LIGHT
• REFLECTION – the rebounding
or
the of light as it
deflection hits the
surface
• REFRACTION – bending
when passing of fromlight
one
medium to another

• DIFFRACTION – bending
when it strikes theofedgelight
of an opaque
object.
 LIGHT SOURCE
NATURAL LIGHT
Are those light which come to existence without the intervention of
man e.i. Sunlight, moonlight and starlight.

TYPES:

• BRIGHT SUNLIGHT
• HAZY SUNLIGHT
• DULL SUNLIGHT
 BRIGHT SUNLIGHT
Object in an open space casts a deep and uniform shadow and the object
appears glossy.
 HAZY SUNLIGHT
Object in an open space casts a transparent or
bluish shadow.
This is due to thin clouds that cover the sun.
 DULL SUNLIGHT
Object in an open space cast no shadow
due to thick clouds covering the sun.

CLOUDY BRIGHT - objects in open space cast no shadow but objects at

far distance are clearly visible.
CLOUDY DULL - objects in open space cast not shadow and visibility of
distant objects are already limited.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Otherwise known as man-made light e.g.
fluorescent bulb, incandescent bulb and photoflood lamp.

CONTINUOUS RADIATION

PHOTOFLOOD LAMP
Is likewise known as Reflectorized light or Spot light. It is a
light with a reflector at the back which focus the light to the object
the common wattages of this lamp is 500 watts.
 FLUORESCENT LAMP
Are tube lamps in which the walls are
coated with fluorescent powders with both
ends is mounted with a holder that serves as the
reflector. This is commonly used by everybody
more than it is used in photographing.
(utmost use in houses or offices)

INCANDESCENT BULB
Are bulb with a wire filament
connecting two wires which sustain the
electrical charge that produces the light.
Everybody likewise commonly uses this
although it is more expensive in terms of
electrical consumptions.
INFRA-RED LAMP
ULTRA-VIOLET LAMP
 SHORT DURATION TYPE
FLASH BULB
Are chemical lamps, as it generate lights by the
rapid combination of metal in oxygen. The bulb can be
used only once as the bulb is busted when fired
electrically. There are thin filaments inside the bulb with
two electrical contacts. When the current flows through
the filament, it becomes incandescent and ignites the
explosive primer that ignites the aluminum foil that
burns, giving flash of tense light.
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.
 CONCURRENT LIGHT
Light that is scattered

COHERENT LIGHT
Light that is aligned as LASER LIGHT
“Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”

HOLOGRAM
The formation of image through the use of laser light
DENNIS GABOR - who invented the hologram, explained
his discovery in simple terms in this article published in
1948
END OF PRELIM COVERAGE