Police Photography

By: Nicole Simon Rcrim.

Photography - to write with light. Greek
word Phos which means "light" and Grapho
which means "writing" or graphia which
means "to draw"

Forensic - derived from the latin word

"Forum" which means a market place
where people gather for public discussion .
It is sometimes used interchangeably with
the word legal.
Police Photography - it is an art or science which
deals with the study of principles of
photography , the reproduction of photographic
evidence and it's application to police work.

Forensic Photography - it is an art or science of

photographically documenting a crime scene
and evidence for laboratory examination and
analysis for purposes of court trial
Photography was not invented or
discovered by any one man; it is
the result of investigations and
discovery on the part of several
scientist, chemist and others.
Pictures can be made in a camera in
which there is a “Pinhole” at one end
instead of a lens. The pinhole is
carefully made, perfectly smooth and
circular hole, from 1/50th to 1/100th
of an inch diameter. The diameter of
the hole is determined by comparing
the size of the opening with needles
of standard sizes.
The “Pinhole” has no definite plane of
focus like a lens, and the definition of
the image falls is close to or farther
away from the “pinhole”. Of course
the angle of the view varies according
to the distance - at a greater distance
a narrower angle of view is included
than when the plane of focus is nearer
the “pinhole.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA DELA PORTA

Was the reputed inventor in 1569 of the

“Camera Obscura”. This invention was the
logical outcome of discovery of the
possibility of projecting an image through a
minute hole. The next strep was to make
the hole larger , and affixing a glass lens.
This made the picture sharper and clearer
and it was of course , in natural colors.
Camera Obscura later on became a
small, light tight room with a dome
ceiling. The lens was placed in a
movable box in the center of the
dome and the image was reflected
downwards by means of a mirror
onto a circular disk.
Camera Obscura means a “dark
room”. A darkened enclosure in
which images of outside objects
are projected through a small
aperture or lens onto a facing
surface.
The next steps in history of
photography was the desire to find
means of “ fixing” a picture
permanently on a paper or on some
other support, and this brought
about the investigation of the light
on various chemicals.
FABRICIUS

While he was in search of gold in the mines

of Germany, discovered that “horn silver”
ore , a kind of semi-transparent compound
of silver and chlorine was sensitive to light.
Adding common salt (sodium chloride) to
the substance could be formed to a
solution of silver nitrate. The silver
compound was made of white but turns
black on exposure to sun
Horn Silver
Silver Nitrate
On a summer day in
18927, it took eight
hours for Joseph
Nicephore Niepce to
obtain the first fixed
image. About the same
time a fellow
Frenchman , Louis
Jacques Mande
Daguerre was
experimenting to find a
way to capture an
image.
Joseph Nicephore Niepce
• Father of Photography
• Heliograph was made in 1827, during this period
of fervent experimentation.
• It is the earliest photograph produced with the
aid of the camera obscura known to survive
today.
• He could produce a permanent image, with
"heliography" meaning "sun drawing" in Greek,
highlighting the key role of sunlight in the
process.
• Heliography required very long exposure times,
often several hours, making it impractical for
capturing quickly moving subjects.
• Captured the first known fixed
photograph. Credited with being the
inventor of photography.
• Niépce also served as a pioneer in
the field throughout his later life.
• Despite its limitations, heliography is
considered a landmark invention as it
marked the first successful method of
capturing a permanent image directly
from nature using a camera obscura.
Oldest Photograph
Le Cardinal d’Amboise, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, (1765–1833), about
1826. Heliograph on pewter. The Royal Photographic Society Collection at
National Media Museum
Un Clair de Lune, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833), about
1827. Photograph on pewter. The Royal Photographic Society
Collection at National Media Museum
Christ Carrying his Cross, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833),
about 1827. Heliograph on pewter. The Royal Photographic Society
Collection at National Media Museum
Louis Jaques Mande Daguerre

• Was a French artist and chemist, recognized for his

invention of Daguerreotype process of photography.
• His experiment led to collaboration with Niepce
which resulted in the creation of the Daguerreotype.
• Daguerreotypes were the forerunners of our modern
film. It was made of a copper plate coated with silver
and exposed to iodine vapor before it was exposed to
light.
• To create the image on the plate , it must be exposed
to light for about 15 minutes . The use of it has
gained popularity until it was replaced in the late
1850s by emulsion plates.
Daguerreotype Camera
Louis Jaques Mande Daguerre

• 1841- The use of Daguerreotype ( an

early form of photographs of known
criminals for purpose of identification)
became well known as a means of
identifying criminals.
• 1879- Photographs of an injured person
in an auto accident was admissible in
evidence.