Photographing and videotaping a crime scene is nothing but a part of the documentation of the crime scene. It comes in the first part of crime scene management. These are also considered as the supporting evidences in the court. Forensic photography is an organized approach to the processing of the scene of the crime. Photography and videotaping is the prior step before touching or handling anything from the crime scene. The photographs and videotapes were taken from the crime scene are submitted to the court with a report under section 65 B (4) of the Indian Evidence Act.
Crime scene photography is one of the crucial steps as they serve as supporting evidence. This should be done before handling the crime scene to maintain its integrity. Crime scene photographs should be taken by an expert photographer as well as a forensic photographer. Crime scene photographs should be taken as soon as possible, before handling or any alteration. Also, it has difference with other types of photographs. Crime scene photographs consistently have a very specific determination for conquering each image. These photographs are important to handover as an enduring report to the court of law.
Wide angle/ wide range or overall photography will cover the whole crime scene, which include the scene as well as the surrounding area. Sometimes in case of outdoor crime scenes, wide angle photographs are taken with drone cameras which can also be used to take videos. Wide-angle lenses start with 35 mm focal lengths and provide greater depth of field. It is an accurate depiction of the scene.
The medium range will give the relation and location of the evidences that is the relation of each and every individual piece of evidence with others. This orientation shot will give information like how the evidences are related to its surroundings. It also gives us a fair and authentic depiction of what the scene is.
Close-up photographs are the photographs that show more genuinely. This will maintain the integrity of objects and subjects. In such photographs, we are taking two shots. One with a scale or ruler to know the actual measurements and the other without scales. So, the defence can’t allege that the scene was altered or the evidence is burying anything important. Apart from these, close-up photography is also called macro photography because the size of the subject/object on the negative is larger than the live size according to the reproduction ratio.