Guide to Capturing Photographs of Bloodstains for 3D Measurement
Eugene Liscio, P.Eng
See also the instructional videos on "Crime Scene and Evidence Photography"
Introduction
When one stops to think how many decades have passed since the camera first became common place in law enforcement agencies, it is quite incredible to think that still today, taking photographs is one of the most common methods of documenting evidence. The evolution of the computer and digital technologies has changed the way photographs are recorded and stored, but they have not lessened the importance of documenting evidence through photography. Although more and more law enforcement agencies are becoming equipped with high tech 3D laser scanners and reflector-less total stations, most people find it surprising to note that it is possible to record accurate 3D coordinate information by using just about any digital camera. The key is in how to take the photographs. Often, a bloodstain expert is retained, weeks, months or years after a brutal crime has taken place and the key pieces of evidence are provided in the form of police photographs, reports and diagrams. Most bloodstain experts know that without placing a reference set of axes in the camera’s view, it becomes next to impossible to get accurate measurements for key pieces of evidence. Even with a reference set of axes, trying to visualize a specific bloodstain pattern with a high degree of perspective is next to impossible and key details are easily missed.
This guide has been written with the intent of assisting Crime Scene Investigators with capturing photographs of bloodstains (or other evidence) that will preserve 3D geometric data for future analysis by a photogrammetry specialist.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction, provided the original work is properly cited and not changed in any way. The International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts Journal is an Open Access publication with all accepted and published manuscripts available at www.iabpa.org to members of the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts and the general public with permitted reuse. This license allows for the distribution of published manuscripts provided proper credit is given to the author(s).