FORENSIC 1 – FORENSIC

PHOTOGRAPHY
GROUP 2 – TERM PAPER
TTH / 10:00-11:30am
Instructor:
Mr. Emiliano Quiliquite
GROUP MEMBERS:

 BUNGCASAN, CLAIRE  DURON, JOYCE DIANNE C.

 CARRIAGA, JELOU P.  ELLIMA, KHRISTELLE V.
 CENA, BENNY HINN L.  GAYO, ANGELO C.
 CORDURA, ADRIAN  LIWASAN, JESA D.
 DE LA ROSA, MERIAM B.
CHAPTER 3 – Aims and Purpose
of Photography in Law
Enforcement
&
CHAPTER 4 – Care and Handling
of Camera
 Chapter 3 Learning
Objectives:
 Discuss the history of forensic
photography.
 Explain the generally accepted rules of
photographic evidence.
 Explain the purpose and scope of forensic
photography.
 Understand the mission of forensic
photography.
CHAPTER 3
Aims and Purpose of
Photography in Law
Enforcement
 ABSTRACT:
 This research focuses on the goals and purposes of
photography in law enforcement work.
The study aims to understand the origins of
photography and its goals over the last 20 years, as well
as to identify the purposes of crime scene
photography, which is to provide a true and accurate
record of the crime scene and physical evidence
present by photographing the original scene and
surrounding areas.
This research will also aim to identify general
photographic evidence rules that will thoroughly and
accurately document the entire scene without
interfering with physical evidence.
The forensic photographer's role is crucial because
proper evidence documentation necessitates good
photography skills as well as current knowledge of the
mechanics and techniques involved.
Forensic photography is an essential component of
any trial. And, in many cases, the decision is based on
crime scene photographs to establish prima facie
evidence.
INTRODUCTION:
Photography can be defined as “the process of
producing images by the action of radiant energy
and especially light on a sensitive surface such as a
film or optical sensor” (Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated).
Police photography is art or science that deals with
the study of the principles of photography, or the
preparation of the photographic evidence and its
application to police works.
Photography plays a very delicate
part to the crime scene itself.
Photographs have a permanent
visual record of the scene that can
be analyzed or studied for further
use by investigators and others.
It provides precise measurements
and distances between objects,
which sketches do not.
HISTORY OF FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY:
 The earliest evidence of photographic documentation of
prison inmates dates back to 1843–44 in Belgium and 1851
in Denmark.
 This, however, was solely experimental and was yet to be
ruled by technical or legal regulations.
 The shots ranged from mug shot resemblances, to
prisoners in their cells; and the purpose of them also
varied from documentation to experimentation.
 There was no training required and pictures were often
taken by amateurs, commercial photographers, and even
policemen or prison officials.
Belgium in 1843 and Denmark in 1851 uses
photography for document purpose.
Document contain prisoner’s images.
There was no training required and pictures were
often taken by amateurs, commercial
photographers and even policemen or prison
officials.
By the 1870s, the practice had spread too many
countries.
This was not like photographing portraits of
families or children. These were documenting
criminals.
The first use of forensic photography was in the
nineteenth century by Alphonse Bertillon.
A French photographer, Alphonse Bertillon was
the first to realize that photographs were futile for
identification if they were not standardized by
using the same lighting, scale and angles (Platt
&Schofield, 2005).
He wanted to replace
traditional photographic
documentation of criminals
with a system that would
guarantee reliable
identification.
He suggested anthropological
studies of profiles and full-face
shots to identify criminals.
This makes him the first
forensic photographer.
It is said that Bertillon was
the first to approach a crime
scene like an investigator.
Bertillon took various shots
at the crime scene; some
shots were at a distance, while
others were close up.
Some shots were at ground
level while others were shot
from overhead.
Late in the 16th century, the Italian scientist and
writer Giambattista della Porta demonstrated and
described in detail the use of a camera obscura
with a lens. 
While artists in subsequent centuries commonly
used variations on the camera obscura to create
images they could trace, the results from these
devices depended on the artist’s drawing skills, and
so scientists continued to search for a method to
reproduce images completely mechanically.
In 1727 the German professor of anatomy Johann
Heinrich Schulze proved that the darkening
of silver salts, a phenomenon known since the 16th
century and possibly earlier, was caused by light
and not heat.
He demonstrated the fact by using sunlight to
record words on the salts, but he made no attempt
to preserve the images permanently.
Nicéphore Niépce, an amateur inventor living
near Chalon-sur-Saône, a city 189 miles (304 km)
southeast of Paris, was interested in lithography, a
process in which drawings are copied or drawn by
hand onto lithographic stone and then printed in
ink.
Not artistically trained, Niépce devised a method
by which light could draw the pictures he needed. 
  In 1826/27, using a camera obscura
fitted with a pewter plate, Niépce
produced the first successful
photograph from nature, a view of
the courtyard of his country estate,
Gras, from an upper window of the
house.
 The exposure time was about eight
hours, during which the sun moved
from east to west so that it appears to
shine on both sides of the building.
 Niépce produced his most successful
CAMERA OBSCURA copy of an engraving, a portrait
of Cardinal d’Amboise, in 1826.
 Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a professional scene
painter for the theatre.
 Between 1822 and 1839 he was coproprietor of
the Diorama in Paris, an auditorium in which he and his
partner Charles-Marie Bouton displayed immense
paintings, 45.5 by 71.5 feet (14 by 22 metres) in size, of
famous places and historical events.
 Like many other artists of his time, Daguerre made
preliminary sketches by tracing the images produced by
both the camera obscura and the camera lucida, a prism-
fitted instrument that was invented in 1807. 
 His attempt to retain the duplication of nature he
perceived in the camera obscura’s ground glass led in
1829 to a partnership with Niépce, with whom he
worked in person and by correspondence for the next
four years.
 However, Daguerre’s interest was in shortening the
exposure time necessary to obtain an image of the real
world, while Niépce remained interested in producing
reproducible plates.
 It appears that by 1835, three years after Niépce’s death,
Daguerre had discovered that a latent image forms on
a plate of iodized silver and that it can be “developed”
and made visible by exposure to mercury vapour,
which settles on the exposed parts of the image.
 The antecedents of photogenic
drawing can be traced back to
1802, when Thomas Wedgwood,
son of the famous potter Josiah
Wedgwood, reported his
experiments in recording images
on paper or leather sensitized
with silver nitrate.
Sir Humphry Davy published a paper in the Journal of
the Royal Institution, London, in June 1802, on the
experiments of his friend Wedgwood; this was the first
account of an attempt to produce photographs.
 In 1833 the French-born photographer Hercules
Florence worked with paper sensitized with silver salts
to produce prints of drawings; he called this process
“photography.”
 However, since he conducted his experiments
in Brazil, apart from the major scientific centres of the
time, his contributions were lost to history until 1973,
when they were rediscovered.
 William Henry Fox Talbot, trained as a scientist at
the University of Cambridge, could not draw his
scientific observations, even with the aid of a camera
lucida; this deficiency inspired him to invent a
photographic process.
 He decided to try to record by chemical means the
images he observed, and by 1835 he had a workable
technique.
He made paper light-sensitive by soaking it
alternately in solutions of common salt (sodium
chloride) and silver nitrate. 
Silver chloride was thus produced in the fibres of
the paper. Upon exposure to light, the silver
chloride became finely divided silver, dark in tone.
Theoretically, the resulting negative, in which
tonal and spatial values were reversed, could be
used to make any number of positives simply by
putting fresh sensitized paper in contact with the
negative and exposing it to light. 
 The earliest known photography
studio anywhere opened in New
York City in March 1840,
when Alexander Wolcott opened a
“Daguerrean Parlor” for tiny
portraits, using a camera with a
mirror substituted for the lens.
During this same period, József
“Daguerrean Petzval and Friedrich Voigtländer,
Parlor” both of Vienna, worked on better
lens and camera design.
 Petzval produced an achromatic portrait lens that was
about 20 times faster than the simple meniscus lens the
Parisian opticians Charles Chevalier and N.M.P.
 The finest daguerreotypes in Britain
were produced by Antoine Claudet,
who opened a studio on the roof of the
Royal Adelaide Gallery in June 1841.
He was responsible for numerous
improvements in photography,
including the discovery that red light
did not affect sensitive plates and could
therefore be used safely in the
darkroom.
Antoine Claudet
The improvements that had been made in lenses
and sensitizing techniques reduced exposure times
to approximately 20 to 40 seconds.
 Marc Ferrez

While most of the initial photographic

work in these places was by Westerners,
by the 1860s local practitioners had
begun to open studios and commercial
establishments. 
Marc Ferrez in Brazil, Kusakabe
Kimbei in Japan, the (French-born)
Bonfils family in Lebanon, and Kassian
Céphas in Indonesia were among the
international photographers who set up
studios to supply portraits and views
during this period.

Kassian Céphas
  A few years before the introduction of
the dry plate, the world was amazed by
the photographs of horses taken
by Eadweard Muybridge in California.
 To take these photographs, Muybridge
used a series of 12 to 24 cameras
arranged side by side opposite a
reflecting screen.
 The shutters of the cameras were
released by the breaking of their
attached threads as the horse dashed by.
Eadweard  Through this technique, Muybridge
Muybridge secured sets of sequential photographs
of successive phases of the walk, the trot,
and the gallop.
 Historical Events of Forensic
Photography:
The Admissibility of Digital Photographs in Court
The Federal Level
 Federal Rules of Evidence, Article X (Contents of Writings,
Recordings and Photographs),
 Rule 101(1) defines writings and recordings to include
magnetic, mechanical or electronic recordings.
 Rule 101(2) states that if data are stored in a computer or
similar device, any printout or other output readable by
sight, shown to reflect the data accurately, is an "original".
 Rule 101(3) states that a duplicate is a counterpart produced
by the same impression as the original…by mechanical or
electronic re-recording, or by other equivalent techniques
which accurately reproduces the original.
 And Rule 103 (Admissibility of Duplicates) states a
duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an
original unless (1) a genuine question is raised as to
the authenticity of the original or (2) in the
circumstances it would be unfair to admit the
duplicate in lieu of the original.
This means a photograph can be stored digitally in a
computer, that a digital photograph stored in a
computer is considered an original, and any exact
copy of the digital photograph is admissible as
evidence.
The State Level
Check your state's rules of evidence for specifics on
the admissibility of digital photographs.
Most states have laws that apply to digital
evidence.
As an example, California Evidence Code Section
1500.6(a) (Admissibility of Printed Representation
of Images Stored on Video or Digital Media to
Prove Existence and Content of Image) states a
printed representation of an image stored on video
or digital media shall be admissible to prove the
existence and content of the image stored on the
video or digital media.
 Photographs as Evidence:
The principal requirements to admit a photograph
(digital or film-based) into evidence are relevance
and authentication.
Unless the photograph is admitted by the
stipulation of both parties, the party attempting to
admit the photograph into evidence must be
prepared to offer testimony that the photograph is
an accurate representation of the scene.
This usually means someone must testify that the
photograph accurately portrays the scene as
viewed by that witness.
Guidelines for Ensuring Your Digital
Photographs Are Admissible:
 Develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP),
Department Policy, or General Order on the use of
digital imaging. The SOP should include when digital
imaging is used, chain of custody, image security,
image enhancement, and release and availability of
digital images. The SOP should not apply just to
digital, but should also include film-based and video
applications as well.
 Most importantly, preserve the original
digital image. This can be done a
variety of ways including saving the
image file to a hard drive or recording
the image file to a CD. Some agencies
elect to use image security software.
 Digital images should be preserved in
their original file formats. The saving of
a file in some file formats subject the
image to lossy compression. If lossy
compression is used critical image
information may be lost and artifacts
introduced as a result of the
compression process.
If images are stored on a computer
workstation or server, and several
individuals would have access to the
image files, make the files read-only
for all but your evidence or photo lab
staff. As an example, detectives could
view any image files but they would
not have rights to delete or overwrite
those files.
If an image is to be analyzed or
enhanced the new image files created
should be saved as new file names.
The original file must not be replaced
(overwritten) with a new file.
Forensic Aspects of Photography:
Although forensic photography is simply
the application of photographic principles
to forensic situations, there are archiving
rules that are inviolate.
 The first photograph in a series must have
an incident photographic worksheet or
cover sheet. This is usually a gray card with
colored stripes, the case number, date,
location, and name of the photographer.
 Photographs must be listed in a
photographic log, the log must have all of
the relevant photographic data.
Scenes must be preserved using establishing, mid-
range, and close-up photographs. Close-up
photographs must include one with scales and
another without. Illumination (metering) should
be appropriate to capture impression evidence
detail.
There should be a continuity of overlapping
establishing photographs.Tripods should be used
for all photographs where the camera must be
steady: close-ups, certain mid-range photos,
luminol (BlueStarTM) photography, and dimlight
situations.
The camera (and tripod) should be
perpendicular to the plane in which the
evidence lies and horizontal (parallel).
Scales must be in the same plane as the
object photographed. Photographs should
be taken before and after each on-scene
manipulation (enhancement attempts) of
evidence.
The pop-up flash on the camera should
never be used except in specific
circumstances.
MISSION OF FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY:
Photographs provide investigators and others with
a permanent visual record of the scene that can be
analyzed or examined for later use.
It provides accurate measurements and distances
among objects, which is lacking with sketches.
Photographs are imperative in court hearings and
trials as it provides the judge as well as the jurors
with a permanent visual record of the scene and
evidence that were collected.
 Regardless if a scene has been videotaped, still
photographs are a must at every crime scene.
 Although videotaping does record everything,
photographs can demonstrate certain things such as direct
comparison.
 Photography should always be employed when it is
desired to obtain absolutely objective, permanent and
easily controlled proofs capable of bringing about
conviction.
 It may then be said that photography may be employed
every time that there is room to suppose that the camera
sees further than the eye, or, if it does not see further, each
time that an object should be fixed for future reference.
 CONCLUSION:
The photographs were not considered evidence in
themselves earlier but to provide visual
documentation of the scene and locations of the
evidence within the scene.
Photographs taken at the crime scene allowed the
IO to recreate that scene for later analysis or for the
use in the courtroom.
The two most important aspect of photography are
use of digital camera equipments and training or
skill of photographer.
Since, cameras cannot produce the same view that
the human eye sees; it is the photographer's use of
the camera settings that can affect what can or
cannot be seen in a photograph.
Therefore, a trained photographer recognizes
difficult lighting situations and adjust the camera
settings accordingly.
While, by following the guideline for accuracy and
integrity of a crime scene photograph, it shall
become admissible to be presented in court of law.
As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect."
CHAPTER 4
Care and
Handling of
Camera
Chapter 4 Learning Objectives:
Explain about the definition and terms of
camera, its history and types of camera .
Discuss what is the proper way of handling
and the proper care of a camera.
Discuss important considerations in
selecting digital camera.
 Camera, in photography, device for recording an image of an
object on a light-sensitive surface; it is essentially a light-tight
box with an aperture to admit light focused onto a sensitized
film or plate.
 The camera’s history can be traced back to the Middle Ages with
the first pinhole camera. A physicist by the name of Alhazen
discovered the idea of Camera Obscura, which led him to the
creation of the first pinhole camera. Camera Obscura, in short,
is reproducing an image with color and perspective preserved.
 Though there are many types of cameras, all include five
indispensable components:
1. the camera box, which holds and protects the sensitive
film from all light except that entering through the lens;
2. film, on which the image is recorded, a light-sensitive
strip usually wound on a spool, either manually or
automatically, as successive pictures are taken;
3. the light control, consisting of an aperture or diaphragm
and a shutter, both often adjustable;
4. the lens, which focuses the light rays from the subject
onto the film, creating the image, and which is usually
adjustable by moving forward or back, changing the
focus; and (
5. the viewing system, which may be separate from the lens
system (usually above it) or may operate through it by
means of a mirror.
 ABSTRACT:
 Camera bodies, lenses and accessories are significant
investments that require care.
 They start the day with us at sunrise, finish at
sunsets and stick with us for the many moments in
between.
 Some wait until it's very obvious that a good
cleaning and maintenance is well overdue.
 But maintaining it in order to get the best output is
the most important step.
 Without proper care and handling, your equipment
will deteriorate with time and may not give the
desired result. 
 INTRODUCTION:
 One of the most important aspects of using any camera is
holding it the right way.
 This is true for all cameras, but is especially true when you
are using a digital SLR (DSLR) like those that we use in
class.
 Before going out on your first assignment, please review the
proper handling techniques below.
 These are intended to help you hold your camera as
steady as possible, in order to get the sharpest picture
possible.
 If you want to get the best out of your photographic
investments, you should know how to properly care for
every equipment you have.
Handling your camera properly is the key to sharp
photos.
The number one struggle in holding the camera is
avoiding camera shake, which  results in blurry,
poor quality photos.
This issue is one of the most basic and should
never be taken for granted.
Simply put, the key to a clear photo is stable
handling.
As mentioned, a standard for photographs of
crime scenes and evidence is that the photographs
must be of sufficient quality to be admissible in a
court of law.
Crime scene photographers must understand how
to get the correct results when using their cameras
and lighting equipment for a variety of subjects
and in a variety of lighting conditions.
The camera used most often in crime scene
investigations is the Digital SLR (single lens reflex)
camera.
Digital cameras which have twelve megapixel, or
greater, image sensors and manual exposure
settings (in addition to any automatic or
programmed exposure modes) are usually suitable
for crime scene and evidence photography.
One of the most important considerations in
selecting digital cameras is the quality of the image
sensor.
Most image sensors that are twelve megapixels or
greater can produce photographs capable of
enlargement to 16" x 20" for court exhibits.
There are many other factors involved in the
quality of digital photographs that also must be
considered when selecting digital photography
equipment, such as close-up capabilities,
availability of accessories and even the printer used
to print the digital photograph.
The most important thing you can do for
your camera is to take care of it well.
If you look after your camera properly, it will
reward you with a long life.
A lot of people know how to take pictures,
but not everyone knows how to extend the
life of their camera through proper care.
If you want to get the most out of your
camera—better performance and more
enjoyment—then you’ll take care to make
sure you follow these tips.
8
Be Very Careful Around the LCD Screen and
Camera Lens
You need special equipment to
clean your camera’s LCD screen
and camera lens.
Don’t even think about being
cheap and taking the easy route,
instead, head to your nearest
camera store and buy a special
cleaning kit that includes liquid
solutions, microfiber cloths and
brushes that have been specially
designed to clean your camera lens.
Never Leave Your Batteries in Your
Camera for Too Long:
 The problem with camera batteries was
that they leaked acid, which isn’t a big
problem anymore with newer batteries.
 Many camera batteries are now alkaline
or lithium formats.
 If you keep your camera with the
batteries inside of it in a moist area, then
the batteries can get corrosive.
 So if you’re thinking about just putting
your camera on the shelf for several
months, do yourself a favor and remove
them
Turn Your Camera Off Prior to
Doing Anything
 Before you do anything to your camera,
always keep in mind that it should be
turned off first.
 No matter what it is—swapping lenses,
changing memory cards or disconnecting
or attaching cables—your camera should
be turned off.
 Keeping your camera on when, for
example, it’s actively writing to the
memory card increases the chance that
you’ll ruin the card if you abruptly remove
it.
 Cold and Wet Weather Can
Wreak Havoc on Your Camera
Body
 Cameras these days are awfully delicate
instruments. They have buttons,
connectors, circuit boards…it’s really a
modern, technological wonder.
 Even in spite of such a delicate
instrument, you want to take
advantage of bad weather in order to
shoot some memorable, once-in-a-
lifetime pictures.
 Take your camera out only in
a waterproof bag.
Good Memory Card Care Is Good
Camera Care
 Memory cards are highly
important to your use and
enjoyment of a camera.
 Without them, you
wouldn’t be able to retain
any beautiful memories
that you’ve snapped with
your camera.
 Use a Filter to Protect Your
Camera Lens
 The lens of your camera is naturally
fragile. As such, it’s susceptible to
scratches, cracks, dents…you name it.
 So why not protect it by attaching a UV
filter? Not only will you give your lens a
fighting chance, but you’ll also
enhance the quality of your pictures.
 In the worst case scenario, if you
happen to be clumsy and drop your
camera, the UV filter will break first
and keep the lens intact, thereby
saving you a sizable repair bill.
Condensation Can Be Controlled
Condensation usually hits the
lens and the viewfinder of your
camera, fogging them up until
they’re impeded.
Condensation normally happens
when you move your camera
between different temperatures.
However, if you go out in humid
weather, condensation will
almost immediately attack your
lens and viewfinder.
Don’t Drop your Camera:
Shock is always a bad thing for
electronics. 
Dropping your camera is never a good
idea, so make sure you use a good
strap and good technique when
holding your camera (see my earlier
lesson about holding your camera). 
No matter how careful you are, you
will still likely drop your gear at some
point.
If you drop a piece of camera gear,
check it out immediately.
 CONCLUSION:
Proper care and hadling of camera plays a
significat role.
They are most useful in supplying significant bits
and pieces with exact measurement of the site and
evidence where the crime has occurred.
The purpose of crime scene photography is to
provide a true and accurate record of the crime
scene and physical evidence present by recording
the original scene and related areas.