Photographing Injuries
Expert Profile
Mr. William Dodds Sergeant in charge of the forensics unit at Police Department in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He has been working in the field of forensics and collision investigation for the last 17 years and investigated many cases and presented reports on many cases in the court of law. Background- He was a High School Teacher from 1994-2002 and has been a Police officer since 2002. His main focus is Crime Scene Investigation and is a certified Fingerprint Examiner in Canada. He has training and Experience in Footwear Analysis, DNA Collection, Blood Pattern Analysis, Firearms and Ballistics, Death Investigation, and Forensic Entomologist.
He is Level-4 Collision Reconstructionist and has experience in Pedestrian Crashes, Heavy Vehicle Crashes, Motorcyclists Crashes, and Vehicle Fire Investigation.
Foreground
The 30th International Lecture Series was conducted on 13th December 2020 on the Topic: Photographing Injuries by the speaker Mr. William Dodds. The session was started by his introduction after which he started the talk about the subject and covered various topics which include: Basic Photography Theory, Why to take photographs of injuries?, Setting up the clicked photographs (consisting of comparison photographs, shadows, overall/mid-range/close-up photography, background, and forensic light source), Using scales and photos taken pre and post medical care.
Figure 1:- Basic Photography Theory
He defined Forensic Photography as Simple Photography with a legal spin with other aspects i.e. Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO, and Depth of Field. The aperture controls the amount of light flowing through the hole from f1.4 (wider) to f22 (narrower), shutter speed decides for how long the light will be allowed to flow i.e. the duration of the exposure, ISO controls the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light and Depth of Field helps to decide what should be in focus (large the Depth of Field everything will be in focus.
Why to take photographs of injuries?
The photographs of the injuries are taken due to 3 main reasons
a) Aid in the Investigation
b) Used during the Interview as props.
c) Used in court to assist in testimony, to compliment notes and scene sketches, and to facilitate understanding to judge and jury.
Setting up the Injury Photographs (Very Important Aspect)
a) Overall/Mid-range/Close-up Photography- Overall gives the perspective of the actual location of the injury, Mid-range links to the overall photography to show its relationship and begins to focus on injury, also done with the scale as a reference and Close-up to see the detail of the injury without distractions also done with the scale as reference.
b) Scales- It is for size comparisons and added during photography for reference in the photograph. ABFO (American Board of Forensic Odontologist) Scales can be used as it assists with interpretation and conversion of photo size to reality.
c) Shadows- It should be minimized for better lighting and clarity of the object or the injury, can be done with the help of ring flash (reduces shadow on injury with depth), but sometimes shadows are ok as it adds more realistic appearance, add depth and add texture. It is an important part of any photograph.
d) Pre-medical Treatment Photographs- It helps to emphasize the significance of the injury and the seriousness of the crime.
e) Consider your Backdrop- The neutral or dark background improves the looks of the photographs. Flash also helps to darken the background.
f) Comparison Shots- It is done to emphasize an injury and done to compare the injured body part with the non-injured body part such as fingers or toes.
g) Using the Forensic Light Source- It is done to help bring the content of the photograph.
h) Just get the shot!- At times it is not possible to take the photographs such as the victim at the scene becoming uncooperative or in pain and immediately needing the treatment but if possible then the opportunity should not be missed and the photograph should be clicked within seconds as it is without scale or with shadows. It will still have value.
And lastly don’t forget your exhibits, the weapon or cause of the particular injury present at the scene perhaps can also be photographed at the scene or in a controlled setting i.e. in the lab.
Using Scales-
The scale is placed on the same plane as that of the injury for more accuracy. Also if at that time no ruler is present any known object present which easy to grab and can be measured later can be used as a scale such as battery, pen, coin, business card, etc.
Photographs pre and post Medical Care-
Photographs taken of the injury before the medical care if possible help to emphasize on the significance of the injury and seriousness of the crime as after the medical care has been done it looks less serious and is cleaned up and stitches has been done if needed.
Conclusion:
He concluded the session by summarising the topics which he has discussed during the talk and gave examples of how to take photographs in varying situations by his experience and the importance of taking them. Just get the shot!