Forensic Photographer Crime Scene Imaging & Documentation Flashcards

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, what primary authentication requirement must forensic photographs meet to be admissible?

Answer: A witness must testify that the photograph fairly and accurately represents the scene

Under FRE Rule 901, photographs are authenticated when a competent witness testifies that the image fairly and accurately represents the scene or object depicted.

Which image file format is considered the forensic standard for maintaining unprocessed, original capture data from a digital camera?

Answer: RAW (proprietary sensor data)

RAW files contain unprocessed sensor data without lossy compression, preserving maximum detail and allowing verifiable post-processing without altering original evidence.

A photographer must document a sexual assault scene that includes biological evidence on white bed linens. Which lighting technique best reveals seminal stains invisible to the naked eye?

Answer: Alternate light source (ALS) at 450-490nm blue wavelength with orange barrier filter

Semen fluoresces under blue-wavelength alternate light (450-490nm), and an orange barrier filter blocks reflected excitation light while transmitting the yellow-green fluorescence emission.

What is the purpose of the 'spiral method' when organizing the photographic walk-through of an outdoor crime scene?

Answer: It systematically covers the entire scene from perimeter inward, ensuring no area is missed

The spiral method ensures complete, systematic coverage of an outdoor scene by moving from the outer perimeter progressively inward toward the focal point of the crime.

When a defense attorney challenges that digital crime scene photographs have been altered, the best forensic countermeasure is:

Answer: Providing the original memory card with hash values matching the archived images

Providing the original media with documented MD5 or SHA-256 hash values that match archived copies proves the images have not been altered since capture.

A crime scene photographer is documenting tire impressions in snow. What special consideration applies that would NOT apply to soil impressions?

Answer: Snow may melt rapidly, requiring sulfur or snow wax casting immediately after photography

Snow impressions are highly transient due to temperature changes, so photography must be completed and sulfur cement or snow impression wax applied immediately to preserve the cast.

Which photographic technique is most appropriate for documenting the interior of a vehicle where a shooting occurred, including bloodstain spatter on the headliner?

Answer: Multiple overlapping close-up images creating a photographic mosaic with scale references

Overlapping close-up images with scale references create a complete, measurable photographic record of confined spaces where no single shot captures full context and detail.