ABSTRACT
In midrange and overall crime scene photography, the perspective from which a picture is captured can add artistic flair and creativity to the image’s aura. However, perspective plays a more important role in photographing pieces of evidence destined for closer examination or comparison with real items of evidence. These images must be captured in a perpendicular alignment between the camera and the subject (Figure 4.1). Perpendicular alignment can be difficult when dealing with images such as bloodstain patterns found along the baseboard of a wall or a footwear impression located on an inclined surface. Although these situations create difficulties, an attempt must be made to obtain a perpendicular alignment. Even a small deviation from a 90° alignment can create difficulties for examiners attempting to make comparisons. Scales are used in nearly all examination quality photographs and the appearance of the measured increments present on the scale will appear unequal or out of focus if the scale is not perpendicular to the camera’s lens. An accurate scale graduation from one end to the other is critical to everything from developing one-to-one scale prints of the evidence to the actual measurement of a particular piece of photographed evidence. If the ruler is canted even a little, the measured increments on the part of the ruler closest to the camera lens will be shorter than those increments further away from the camera. It is easy to imagine how such an inconsistency in the measuring device could cause some irritability and annoyance among examiners viewing or developing the images. Consequently, photographers should strive to maintain a proper perpendicular subject-to-camera alignment in all their close-focusing work.
