Photography is a mixture of science and technology. It involves clicking of an image on to a film to be reproduced and stored for future use. In current times in addition to traditional photographs there is influx of digital imaging where in place of film the picture is stored in a digital way.

Use of these photographic techniques in forensic investigations is known as forensic photography. In forensic field it is useful at crime scene as well as in mortuary. Photography can help in storing of image and its reproduction at a later stage and can play a valuable role in investigation as well as in evidence in court of law. It includes pictures of crime scene, victim, accused, weapons, evidence, vehicles (as in road traffic accident) etc. A good photograph depends on quality of camera, illumination, nature of object, angle of photography as well as expertise of photographer.

As the old saying goes “A good photograph is worth a thousand words”, a carefully clicked picture can go a long way in crime investigation. To be fit for court the photographs needs to be clear, properly scaled, clicked from multiple angles and deposited by maintaining chain of custody. These pictures can either be overall images of the scene, context images showing relation between relevant evidence (like dead body and murder weapon), or close up images showing the details of evidence. As a general rule color photographs are better than black and white as they can give a much clear idea about the crime.

If nicely clicked picture is good, similarly, a bad photograph can be devastating, there is always a chance of parallel error, improper illuminations giving false idea about timings, tampering of digital images on computer to alter the details like face, color etc. which can be extremely misleading. Thus, we can say that forensic photography is a wonderful tool if used properly and can be equally devastating if used improperly.