ABSTRACT
Image processing is an important part of the forensic photography workflow. Once people take their photographs of a crime scene, traffic accident, or item of evidence, they need to be downloaded, archived, and eventually used as part of an investigation or in court to assist the trier of fact in the case. Image processing can be divided into three general categories—corrections, clarifications, and output preparation. Basic image corrections include adjustments to brightness, contrast, color, and noise reduction. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, and color can often be made with a single tool because the three adjustments are closely related. All three are basically adjustments to the tonal values in one or more of the image's color channels. Equal adjustments to all three channels affect brightness and contrast; adjustments to only one or two of the color channels (or unequal adjustments to all three) affect color balance.
