ABSTRACT
Rarely is the camera lens of sufficient width to capture the entire room in a single photograph. Therefore, multiple photographs are required to adequately photograph the room or rooms. A sketch on the other hand can be easily drawn to depict the entire room, an entire house, or an apartment to an outdoor scene that may extend over several blocks. Photographic evidence cannot lawfully be altered to remove detail. There are minor enhancements (a more appropriate term would be processing rather than enhancements) that are permissible in photography. The courts have allowed film to be “processed” in the area of color and lightening and darkening photographs. The courts acknowledge that digital images can be enhanced or processed to the same level as film photographs. These include color enhancements and lightening and/or darkening the image. Sketches can be created that may document specific details within the scene, such as bloodstains or shooting incidents. If the fact that the sketch may or may not be an accurate representation of the scene, then photographs can be used to verify the fact that the scene sketch is actually an accurate representation of the scene.
