Forensic Photography

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Photographing evidence is one of the most common activities in forensic investigation.

An image should only be considered evidence when it has been produced using a tested and justified capture and processing method that can be understood and reproduced by others. Most images are not produced using a scientific method, but rather a strictly photographic one, often inherited from photographic disciplines that have little or nothing to do with our field (photojournalism, social photography, etc.).

Our photographic techniques ensure a level of geometric accuracy where this can be guaranteed, but above all they provide very high colour fidelity to the scene or physical object.

This makes it possible to extract highly reliable colorimetric information (intensity or hue in fluid stains, bodily marks or impressions such as bruises, etc.). Our philosophy is the precise transfer of colorimetric and spatial information between the scene or physical reality and the digital image representing that scene or object.

All evidence documentation work is accompanied by a comprehensive report specifying the accuracy thresholds of our images, describing the capture methodology used and citing the scientific literature we rely on. When photographing certain types of evidence, such as ignition residues or traces of physiological fluids, conventional RGB photography is supplemented with non-visible imaging techniques, such as UV and IR reflectography or fluorescence imaging, as well as multispectral capture and analysis techniques. This allows us to distinguish compounds that behave similarly in the visible spectrum but can be differentiated through imaging in non-visible bands or multispectral analysis.

Other services

• Characterisation of ignition residues (gunpowder, soot, etc.).
• Photography and characterisation of evidence.
• Photography and analysis of works of art and cultural assets.
• Document digitisation.

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