A Lesson in Forensic Photography by Kim Bryan

What’s forensic photography? A crime scene photographer takes pictures of a crime scene (duh!) Crime scenes range from traffic accidents all the way to murder scenes They capture and evaluate countless pieces of evidence to prove or disprove a case

What does it take to become one? To be a certified forensic photographer, you need the following notches on your belt: a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction in the photography arena, at least 3 years of experience in the field, and you must pass the Forensic Photography Certification test

Methods and Tools of the Trade Tools include: .35 mm camera, several lenses, film, pen and paper, and occasionally a digital camera (digital cameras aren’t used often because of possibility of tampering)

Methods and Tools of the Trade Rules of Thumb: DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING-- moving or touching objects at the scene of a crime contaminates and/or ruins the admissibility of the evidence into court Take note of every picture; Answer the following questions: what’s in the picture, what’s around the picture, what’s the picture of, where was the picture taken

Methods and Tools of the Trade Ranges and Angles: There should be three separate shots for each piece of evidence An overview-- the shot must be taken on the same plane as the evidence (parallel) A mid-range-- self-explanatory A close-up-- this shot is used to show the details of the object, something that the other two picture may lack

A Case

Where can you learn more? www.crime-scene-investigator.net/csi- photo.html www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics /crimescene/3.html?sect=21