Forensic

PHOTOGRAPHY
Course Instructor

Almerian B. Tayobong
Registered Criminologist and LPT
PHOTOGRAPHY
- is derived from the Greek words, photos-
which means light and graphy which
means to draw.

- It is defined as a science or an art of

process of producing images of objects by
action of light on sensitized surface with
the aid of an image-forming device known
as camera and the chemical process
involved therein.
FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
- deals with the study of notion of
photography, its application to law
enforcement, work and the
preparation of photographs for court
presentation.
MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY
- is the photographing of object at greater 1:1 ratio up
to nine (9) times magnification.

- it is the making of enlarged copies of prints such as

photographs of tampered serial number of firearms,
engine number, chassis number of motor vehicle and the
like.
MICRO PHOTOGRAPHY
the art or process of photographing minute objects
and magnified by means of the microscope and enlarge
from 10 times up.
ULTRA-VIOLET PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographing unseen objects by the
naked eye with the use of ultraviolet
rays and filters. The main purpose of
photographing ultra-violet photography is
to provide information about an object or
materials, which cannot be obtained by
ordinary photo methods.

The result can only be seen after the

photograph is developed.
INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY
- is the art or process of photographing
or recording unseen objects by the naked
eye by means of infrared light.
MUG-SHOT
- is the process of taking photographs of the alleged
suspects in full length, half-body, right and left side
views, and two-quarter views.

- in an unidentified cadavers, include marks on the

alleged victim’s body esp. tattoo marks or scars, for
identification.
CAMERA
A light tight box; with an image forming
device (lens); with a means to control the
amount of light (shutter) and a means of
holding the film (film holder).
FILM
A cellulose tape embedded with
sensitized solution capable of recording
images thru light.
ANGLE OF VIEW
The amount of area visible when
looking through a lens. Angle of view is
determined by the focal length of the lens.
DEPTH OF FIELD
The distance between the nearest and
the farthest objects in apparent sharp
focus when the lens is focused at a given
point.
ASA
(American Standard Association). An
early organization or group that
determines the numerical ratings for film
speed. A number which represents a film’s
sensitivity to light. At present, the
organization which rates film speed is the
ISO (International Standard Organization).
BASIC PARTS AND TYPES
OF A CAMERA
SINGLE LENS REFLEX (SLR) CAMERA
The photographer sees the subject or scene through
the camera lens. This avoids the problem of “PARALLAX”
which occurs when the view finder or viewing lens is
separated from the taking lens. The design that made
the SLR famous is based on the way the lens and
camera body capture an image. When a user looks
through the viewfinder he is not seeing the image itself.
What he sees is a reflection. A mirror inside the camera
body captures the image coming through the lens and
bounces it up to the viewfinder. This system allows the
user to see and photograph the exact image coming
through the lens. A photographer using a cameras with
the viewfinder on the side sees the image from an angle
and not the true photograph image.
 TWIN-LENS REFLEX
– Twin reflex cameras used a pair of nearly identical
lenses, one to form the image and one as a
viewfinder. The lenses were arrange with the viewing
lens immediately above the taking lens. The viewing
lens projects an image onto a viewing screen which
can be seen from above. The advantage of the TLR
was that it could be easily focused using the viewing
screen and that under most circumstances the view
seen in the viewing screen was identical to that
recorded on film.
 THE VIEW FINDER
Enables a photographer to see the subject
being photograph. There are basically two types
of viewfinders. The first type will allow you to
look through the lens of the camera while the
other will enable you to view at a plane parallel
to the camera lens view finders are there in all
single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, point-and-
shoot cameras and a few digital cameras.
THE BODY
The body of the camera helps in
limiting the amount of light that exposes
the sensitive film that is why it is being
called light tight box.
THE FOCUSING MECHANISM

A ring on the lens of a camera that can be

rotated to allow user to manually focus the
subject being photograph. The ring used to
adjust the lens so that the subject appears
sharp on the film.
 Split Method of Focusing

Object Out of focus Sharp focus

 Meter Reading

Yellow Green Red

+ 3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 Less Average Much

 THE LENS
The lens is designed to capture images with
different speeds and light exposures. This is
measured through two criteria: Aperture size
(The size of the lens opening) and f-stops
(the amount of light exposure allowed).
TYPES OF LENSES
Normal Lens – A lens which has a focal length
approximately equal to but not more than twice the
length of the diagonal of the negative material. Angle
of view exceeds 75 degrees but not less than 45
degrees. A normal lens shows most accurately what a
normal human eye will see. 50mm is a typical normal
focal length. The 50mm is the most popular and
versatile lens. The quality is excellent while also being
inexpensive. It is smaller and lighter, and the
aperture allows photographs to be taken in low-light
situations.
Telephoto Lens - A lens which has a focal
length equal to more than twice the diagonal
of the negative material. Angle of view is 45
degrees. A Telephoto lens brings the
background closer. Longer than normal focal
lengths such as 70mm and 300mm are typical
for a telephoto lens. Since a telephoto lens will
bring the subject up close, it is popular for
sports photography.
Wide angle lens - A lens which has a focal
length less than the diagonal of the negative
material. Angle of view is 75 degrees. A wide
lens captures wider expanse of the background
than what the human eye could possibly see.
Shorter than normal focal lengths such as
24mm and 35mm are typical for a wide lens.
Wide lens are popular for landscape
photography and large group shot shots.
Zoom lens – Lenses which allow the user to
continuously vary the focal length without
changing the focus.
THE APERTURE/f-stop
– A lens opening. The hole or opening in a camera lens
through which light passes to expose the film. The
size of aperture is either fixed or adjustable. Perturb
size is marked in f-stop. Aperture is essentially the
amount of light into expose either the film or the
image sensor. This is controlled by a part of the
camera called the diaphragm. The opening of the
diaphragm is called the f-stop. By controlling the
collimation of paralleling of light, The diaphragm
controlls the image sharpness as well. Smaller
opening sharper image.
 THE SHUTTER
The camera shutter is a device that
enables light to enter through the lens
for a small or long period of time to
enhance the exposure of photographic
film. There are different types of
shutters used in modern day cameras
like leaf shutter, diaphragm shutter,
focal plane shutter, projector shutter
and central shutter.
 THE SHUTTER SPEED
– Is set using the shutter speed dial. It
determines how long the shutter curtain will
remain open while taking a photograph. The
longer the shutter speed, the more light is
recorded ; conversely, the shorter the shutter
speed the less light is recorded
 THE SHUTTER SPEED DIAL
– The shutter speed dial or button is a control
usually located at the top left or right of a
camera near the button. It selects the shutter
speed, the length of time the shutter curtain
remains open. Shutter speed setting are in
seconds or fraction of a second. These
settings are 1 second, ½ second, ¼ second,
1/5 second, 1/30 second, 1/60 second, 1/25
second, 1/250 second, 1/500 second, 1/1000
second, 1/2000 second, 1/4000 second and
1/800 second