Specialized Photography

Have you seen television images on crime scenes where the yellow tape has concealed an area and police officials are walking around busily behind it? It is just there that we see the guy with the camera bag and lighting walking around taking photographs of the scene of the crime. Although police try their best to get every bit of evidence from the scene of the crime, the photographs can play a vital role when the crime scene needs to be discussed or imagined later. They also prove as a great record to go with the files in the state department or sheriff's office. Photographs are of course a vital part of every investigation that takes place today, and they hold as valid evidence in the court of law.

There is no better tool to catalog the data of a scene of crime than the camera. The camera helps preserve the scene of the crime as it really was. Many a time when something is overlooked during investigation, the detective in charge refers to these images to look for clues, as that is all they have at a later date when the crime scene has been disturbed.

An eye for detail is the most important quality that a forensic photographer must have. There is no compromise on sharpness in any form of photography, but it is absolutely vital where forensics is concerned. There could be a small piece of glass in a shadow area for example that the detectives didn't notice. But they will, later when they see the enlarged view of the photographs of the crime scene, over a cup of coffee at the station. Nothing more needs to be said about why sharpness is critical here.

The forensic photographer is allowed to take the photographs at the scene of the crime before any of the other officials get to touch the place. The idea is the preserve the crime scene as close to how it was at the moment the crime occurred. Once he is done taking his pictures, the fingerprints are brushed and the murder weapon if any is removed, the body is removed and the investigation for other clues begins. But nothing is allowed to be touched until the photographer has completed his or her job. But they do continue to take photographs during the investigative procedures as well.

The forensic photographers are instructed to get a long range, mid range and an ultra close up of every angle. Using the wrong lens or the wrong angle can mislead the viewer to judge the wrong distance between the elements of the photograph. The forensic photographer also takes notes of every photo that is taken. A lot of thought goes behind the angle, the lighting and the lens - so as to give an image as close to reality as possible - nothing more and nothing less.