FORENSIC 1

PHOTOGRAPHY
M R . J O N A S S . G A K O
CHAPTER 1

P H O T O G R A P H Y
D E F I N I T I O N S ,
H I S T O R I C A L
B A C K G R O U N D A N D
P R I N C I P L E S
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this presentation you will able to:
•Define Photography,
•Define Police Photography,
•Define Forensic Photography,
•Identify the different personalities behind "true
Photography", "criminal applications", and "criminology
education", and
• To identify its historical background and its principle.
DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Literal definition: The word photography is derive of two Greek words
phos which means "light" and graphia meaning "write". Therefore
photography best translates to "write with light". (Herschel 1839).

There are two versions on the "root words" or origin of the word
photography:

A. Photography is derived from the greek word "phos" or "photo"

meaning light and the word "grapho" which means to draw. Literally
therefore, photography is the drawing with light

B. The other version, the second word is "graphia" which means to write
or literally too, photography is the writing with light.
 • The word "grapho” is found in two books "The Encyclopedia of Practical Photography" Edited and
published by Eastman Kodak, Rochester New York USA 1979 and the other book "Photographic
evidence its theory and practice" by Charles C. Scott West Publishing Co. St. Paul Minnesota, USA 1976.

DAVID REDSICKER
• The word "graphia" appear in the book, "The practical
methodology of forensic photography" by David Red sicker,
CRC Press Washington D.C. USA 2001.

• Personally the word "grapho" meaning to draw is more

appropriate than the word "graphia" which means to write
because photographic subject range from places, persons and
things so it is more wide ranging in subject matter, while
graphia- in Webster dictionary describe to write is the
combining of letters to form a word.
2. Modern definition: Photography is an art or 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. (Aquino 1972)

3. Technical/Legal definition: Modern photography

may be defined as any means for the chemical,
thermal, electrical or electronic recording of the
images on sensitized materials, or objects formed by
some type of radiant energy, including gamma rays.
This definition is broad enough to include not only
the conventional methods of photography but almost
any new process that may be developed. (Scott 1975)
 Police photography is an art or science which
deals with study of the principles of
B. POLICE
PHOTOGRAPHY photography the preparation of photographic
evidence, and its application to police work.
(Aquino 1972)
 Is the art or science of photographically
C. FORENSIC documenting a crime scene and evidence for
PHOTOGRAPHY laboratory examination and analysis for purposes
of court trial, (Redsicker 2001)
 HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF FORENSIC
1. Light -the days of creation.
"In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the
earth. Now the earth was
formless and empty, darkness
was over the surface of the
deep, and the spirit of God
was hovering over the waters.
PHOTOGRAPHY
◦ A. The Basic Components of
Photography
2. Equipment (1700)
The portable camera obscura
(Latin for dark chamber) was
used by artist or painters to
get accurate perspective of
natural scene and scale of
their subjects.
3. Chemicals (1726-1777)
Light sensitivity of silver
nitrate and silver chloride
solution was discovered and
investigated. In 1800 Thomas
Wedgewood and Humphry
Davy produced photogram.
 B. TRUE PHOTOGRAPHY
•1839-is generally known as the birth year of photography, William Henry Fox Talbot explained a process he
had invented (calotype) at the Royal Society of London.

-The "Calotype” used paper with its surface fibers impregnated with light sensitive compounds. Louis Jacques
Mande Daguerre made a public demonstration in Paris "Daguerreotype" in collaboration with Joseph Nicephore
Niepce.

-The "Daguerreotype" formed an image directly on the silver surface of a metal plate. With Talbots "calotype",
the fixation was only partial while Daguerre's Daguerreotypes, images were made permanent with the use of
hypo.
Louis Jacques Mande Joseph Nicephore
William Henry Fox Talbot
Niepce
Daguerre
1848 - Abel Niepce de Saint-Victor introduce a process of negatives on glass using albumen (egg white) as binding
medium.
1850 - Louis Deserie Blanquart - Evard introduced a printing paper coated with albumen to achieve a glossy surface.
1851- Frederick Scott Archer - published a "wet plate" process when collodion-a viscous liquid that dries to a tough
flexible and transparent film-replaced albumen.

Abel Niepce de Saint- Louis Deserie Blanquart - Frederick Scott Archer

Victor Evard
1885- Gelatin emulsion printing paper was commercially introduced based films in 1889.
-During this time; the cameras were crude; the lenses could not form a true image; and the sensitive materials required
long exposures and could not reproduce colors in shades of gray.
-It was in 1856 when John F.W. Herschel coined the word "photography".
• 1861-James Clark Maxwell researched on colors.
• 1890-full corrected lenses were introduced.
• 1906 - a plate was placed on the market that could reproduce all colors in equivalent shades of gray.
• 1907- Lummiere color process was introduced, a panchromatic film was used but with blue, green and red filter.
• 1914-U.S. Eastman Kodak made a color subtractive process called Kodachrome.
1935- color process came out together with electronic flash.
John F.W. Herschel James Clark Maxwell Eastman Kodak
1947 - Edwin H. Land introduced "Polaroid" the one-step-photography.
1960 - LASER was invented making possible Holograms (three dimensional pictures)
1988-The arrival of true digital cameras.
-The first true digital camera that recorded images as a computerized file was likely the Fuji DS-1P of 1988, which
recorded to a 16 MB internal memory card that used a battery to keep the data in memory. This camera was never
marketed in the USA.
- The first commercially available digital camera was the 1992 Kodak DCS-100. It used a 1.3 megapixel sensor and was
priced at $13,000. The first consumer camera with a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) on the back was the Casio QV-10 in
1995 and the first camera to use compact flash was the Kodak DC-25 in 1996. In 1999 the Nikon D1 a 2.74 megapixel
camera was the first digital SLR with the price of under $6,000. This camera also used Nikon introduced the 300D camera
also known as digital rebel, a 6 pixel and the first DSLR priced under $1,000 to consumers.

Fuji DS-1P of 1988 Casio QV-10 in 1995 1992 Kodak DCS-100

C. CRIMINAL APPLICATIONS
1854 - An Englishman, Maddox, developed a dry plate photography eclipsing Daguerre's wet plate on tin
method. This made practical the photography of inmates for prison records.

1859 - In the United States, one of the earliest applied Forensic Science was in photography. It was used to
demonstrate evidence in a California case. Enlarged photographs of signature were presented in a court case
involving forgery.

1864 - Odelberch first advocates the use of photography for the identification of criminals and the documentation
of evidence and the crime scenes.

-Early photographs of accused and arrested persons were beautifully posed as example of the Victorian
photographers at 20 to 30 years. Later, every major police force in England and the United States has "Rogues'
galleries"-full face, profile and full body shot.

-In Europe and the United States had "Rogues Galleries" (Photograph of criminals) became an integral part
almost all police departments.
EXAMPLE OF DRY EXAMPLE OF DRY
PLATE PLATE CAMERA
PHOTOGRAPHY
 C. CRIMINAL APPLICATION
1982 -Alphonse Bertillion who initiated anthropometric measurements for personal identification was also
involved in various means of documentation by photography which developed into a fine science for
criminalistics when he photographed crime scenes and formulated a technique of contact photography to
demonstrate erasures on documents.
1902 - Dr. R.A. Reis, a German scientist trained in Chemistry and Physics at Lausanne University in Switzerland.
He contributed heavily to the used of photography in forensic science and established the world's earliest crime
laboratory that serviced the academic community and the Swiss police. His interest included photography of
crime scenes, corpses, and blood stains. He made a trip to Brazil in 1913 where his experience in criminalistics
was presented to the Western Hemisphere for the first time.
1910 - Victor Baltazard developed a method of photographic comparison of bullets and cartridge cases which act
as an early foundation of the field of ballistics.

Victor Baltazard, Professor of forensic medicine at Sorbone, used

photographic enlargements of bullets and cartridge cases which act as an
early foundation of the field of ballistics.
 Dr. R.A. Reis
Alphonse Bertillion German–Swiss criminology- Victor Baltazard
pioneer, forensic scientist,
Law Enforcer Physician
professor and writer
 D. Legal Foundation of Forensic Evidence
1. For Black and White Photographs
•1859- Daguerreotype was used in a civil case, Lueo vs. United States, 23 Howard 515 to decide on the
authenticity of photographs in comparing signature.
•1874 In a criminal case introducing photograph as identification evidence, Underzook vs. Commonwealth,
76 Pa. 340.

2. For Color Photographs

•1943- Civil litigations Green vs. City and country of Denver, 3 Colo. 390 142 P.2 D.227 involving color
photography of spoiled meat in violation of a health ordinance prohibiting the sale of putrid meat to the public.
•1960- In criminal case, State vs. Conte 157 Comm. 251 A. 2 d81 showing the ghaphic wound of the victim.
•1975 - The first actual digital still camera was developed by Eastman Kodak engineer Steven Sasson in 1975.
He built a prototype (US patent 4, 131, 919) from a movie camera lens, a handful of Motorola parts, 16
batteries and some newly invented Fairchild CCD electronic sensors.
AUGUST VOLLMER E. CRIMINOLOGY EDUCATION

•1902- Dr. R.A. Reis professor at the University of Lausanne

Switzerland set up one of the first academic curricular in
forensic science. His Forensic Photography Department grew
into Lausanne Institute of Police Science.
•Bekerly, California established the School of Criminology at the
University of California, Bekerly Paul Kirk presided over the
major of criminalistics within the school.

•1954 - In the Philippines, the school which pioneered

criminology education is the Plaridel Educational Institution now
the Philippine College of Criminology at 641 Sales St. Sta. Cruz,
Manila.
1950- August Vollmer, Chief of Police of
 THE PRINCIPLES OF PHOTOGRAPHY

•Different authors of photography books have different approach in explaining the principles of
photography but to our mind, the one expounded by Atty. Avelino Aquino in his book "Police
Photography-its principles and practice" is the best articulated.
•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 subject must reach the sensitized materials while all other lights
must be excluded. The exclusion of all unwanted and unnecessary lights is achieved by placing the
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 images visible, it must undergo the development 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, too little
will produce a transparent or white shade. The varying shade of gray will finally form the complete
image.
THERE ARE FOUR MEDIUM OR ELEMENTS TO
PRODUCE A PHOTOGRAPH AND These are the
following changes:
1. LIGHT
In photography is needed because it is actually the one that forms the
images As a matter of fact, in the discovery of photography, the light that was
used is limited to what is known as visible light only. As the science progressed it
expanded to include the other invisible radiation like ultraviolet and infrared
radiation.
2. CAMERA
Since the beginning of photography, the camera has undergone changes
in size, design and built-in accessories to make the taking of photographs easier,
faster, more accurate and convenient for everyone and even to general public.
Despite these improvements, the basic parts and function of the camera remained
the same and that is to exclude all unwanted and unnecessary light which will
affect the intended image.
3. SENSITIZED MATERIALS
This medium is still very much applicable. Try to understand that these
words are general term which is used to describe materials that were made
sensitive to light. Many people think that these words refer only to film or
photographic papers. In digital photography, these materials are no longer needed
but instead the (LCD) Liquid Crystal Display or (CCD) Charged Coupled
Device.
4. CHEMICAL PROCESS
In digital photography there is no need for darkroom and the different chemicals
for the processing of photographs. However, in the field of crime investigation
and also for court trials there is the need for the traditional photographs on papers
or other medium referred to in digital photography as "hard copy". As required
by law all are attachments or exhibits on investigation reports or trial records. To
do this, the original image on the image recorder has to be printed in a computer
printer. This printer depend on the use of different chemical to reproduce the
image in black and white or in color accurately and faithfully. Therefore.
chemical process is not completely or totally out of the principles.
DIAGRAM OF THE
PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
 “PHYSICAL EVIDENCE CAN NOT BE
INTIMIDATED. IT DOES NOT FORGET. IT SITS
THERE AND WAITS TO BE DETECTED,
PRESERVED, EVALUATED AND EXPLAINED.”

HERBERT LEON MACDONELL

 GROUP 1
L E A D E R :

Q U I O B E , J O H N P A U L

M E M B E R S :

A L A N A N O , J O H N A N D R E

L I N D A Y A O , J O H N I R A

T A B U R A D A , M A R I A C E L

A M A H I T , R O S A M A R
T O R R E F R A N C A , D A N I L A
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING AND
PARTICIPATING!