Forensic Photography By: Allie Gruber and Olivia Carmichael

Forensic Photography Requirements: – High ethical and professional standing – Employed in Forensic Science including photography. – Have minimum of 3 years working with photography – 40 classroom hours of photography – You must receive two letters- one from an individual and one from supervisor.

What’s the point? The point of a forensic photographer is to capture the evidence that you may not have noticed at the scene, the lighting and bring out key evidence at the scene. Some photographers take close-up pictures of bloodstains, cuts, tears in clothes. For certain times, special light sources are needed for photography. They record the original scene as it is when they arrive. Gives a permanent visual record to many investigators. These photos can be used in court for visual evidence against the suspect.

Equipment Camera Normal lens Wide-angle lens Close-up lens Filters Flashes Tripod Film Notebook/pen Ruler flashlight Sync card for electronic flashes Camera protection Color film and black and white film

Steps in Recording a Scene Secure the scene Take preliminary notes Take overview photographs Make a sketch Record items of evidence

Skills of a Forensic Photographer You must correctly expose the film, and when shooting photos, forensic photographers must shoot photos with the maximum depth of field. This insures that the photos are very sharp, and clear for any visual reference that might be needed. Photographers must know how to shoot photos in every type of lighting. A crime can happen anywhere, so the forensic photographers must know how to properly expose photos, even in the hardest areas to expose.

Educational Paths There is no required route to become a forensic photographer, but schooling is key though when trying to find a photographer. Many successful photographers have degrees in science and in photography. Many receive an undergraduate degree in photography and in criminology. Forensic photographers can be more successful when they know how to use computers, for any digital work through photos. Key classes: science, criminology, computer courses, and photography

Case Study William Lester Suff His real name was Bill Lee Suff, his serial name was the “Riverside Killer.” He not only killed over 13 women but he also beat his two month old daughter to death, his wife also helped him kill their daughter. He would drive in a van until he would spot his victims, then he would stab them to death with the knife he carried with him. Many people described Bill Lee as a “friendly nerd who was always doing things to help people.”

Case Study Cont. Suff’s VictimsWilliam Lester in Court

Interview with Philip Cicero 1. Q- What are the classifications of a forensic photographer/ what type of educational background does it involve? A-Here are the minimum requirements for my position from the State of Tennessee website. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Education and Experience: Successful completion of two years of course work (i.e., 90 quarter hours) from an accredited college or university in photography, visual arts or digital imaging, including at least nine quarter hours in photography, and experience equivalent to two years of professional and/or forensic photographic work. ANSWER CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE 

Interview Cont. Substitution of Experience for Education: Qualifying full-time professional and/or forensic photographic work may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis to a maximum of two years (e.g. experience equivalent to one year of full-time work in professional and/or forensic photography may substitute for one year [i.e., 45 quarter hours] of the required education, including the nine quarter hours in photography). Necessary Special Qualifications: (1) must possess a valid motor vehicle operator’s license, (2) must pass a physical and psychological examination by licensed physicians, (3) must have fingerprints on file with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, (4) must have a good moral character as determined by investigation, (5) must be willing to carry and use a firearm, (6) must successfully complete the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime scene investigations training course and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation firearms and weapons training course within the first year of employment. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Commercial Photography and have worked in Photography for over 20 years.

Interview Cont. 2. What is a typical day for a forensic photographer? Typically, my day to day duties include photographing fingerprints found on evidence from crime scenes. Then I take those photographs and enhance them in the computer for Latent Fingerprint examiner to make comparisons. The best way to describe the enhancing process is that I improve the clarity of the fingerprint using a computer and software that tracks and records everything that is done to the image. The software that I use then is able to verify that nothing was altered or modified. All of the enhancements are done using a computer but are based on traditional photography. Such as lighten, darken, dodge, burn, sharpen, adjust contrast and so on. Then as you can imagine I have a collection of a whole lot of digital images. I am also responsible for maintaining a database of all of those images as well as archiving and storing all of those images so that at any point from now on we will be able to find and retrieve those pictures.

Interview Cont. 3. Is photography your whole job or do you do other things on the side of this? In addition to my day to day duties. I also am assigned to work as part of a Violent Crime Response Team. Which means I need to be prepared to be on call and be ready to go out on Crime Scenes day or night. I also teach TBI Agents and Police Officers from across the state of Tennessee about how to operate their digital cameras as well as what to take pictures of at crime scenes. I also make enlargements of fingerprints and charts for Court presentations. And I'm responsible for any other photographic needs of the TBI.

Interview Cont. 4. What are the pros/cons of being in the forensic sciences/photography? Pros It is a really great job. Every day is different. You never know what you are going to be doing the next day. Photographing fingerprints can be very difficult, so that is fun for a photographer to get to be creative to figure out how to make the best picture. Every day I'm reminded that I get to do something to really help the world and help make it a better place. Cons Forensic Photography is a very exacting job. There is no room for mistakes. There can be some very difficult stuff to see on Crime Scene duty as you can imagine.

Bibliography International Association for Identification. International Association for Identification. 20 Jan "Forensic Photography." Westchester gov.com Jan "Forensic Photography for the Crime Scene Technician." Crime Scene and Evidence Photography. 16 Jan Jan "Forensic Photographer." School in the USA.com The EI Group. 20 Jan