Forensic Photographer Lighting Techniques & Digital Processing Flashcards
7 cards from real CFP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Forensic Photographer Lighting Techniques & Digital Processing flashcards as text
A photographer must document a fingerprint developed with fluorescent powder. After exciting it with an ALS, why must the exposure typically be increased?
Answer: Fluorescent emission is much dimmer than reflected light
Fluorescence emits far less light than normal reflection, so longer exposures or wider apertures on a tripod are usually required.
Which technique best documents an indented writing impression on a notepad recovered from a suspect's desk?
Answer: Oblique lighting raked across the page at a low angle
Low-angle oblique light casts shadows into the shallow indentations, making the impressed writing legible.
When photographing through a vehicle windshield to capture interior blood spatter, which accessory most effectively reduces reflections?
Answer: A circular polarizing filter rotated to cancel the glare
A polarizing filter can be rotated to block polarized reflections off glass, revealing detail behind the surface.
Under SWGDE/SWGIT guidance, which digital processing action on evidentiary images is generally considered unacceptable?
Answer: Cloning or content-aware removal of visual elements from the image
Removing or adding image content alters the factual record, unlike documented global adjustments that only improve visibility.
Why should the original memory card image files be write-protected and hashed immediately after a scene is photographed?
Answer: To establish integrity and prove images were not altered after capture
A cryptographic hash of the originals establishes a verifiable baseline proving no post-capture alteration occurred.
A photographer shoots a luminol reaction in a darkened room. Which combination is most appropriate?
Answer: Tripod, high ISO, long exposure of several seconds to minutes
Luminol chemiluminescence is extremely faint and short-lived, requiring a stabilized long exposure at elevated ISO in darkness.
What is the effect of using a light source with a high color rendering index (CRI) when photographing trace evidence like fibers?
Answer: Colors are reproduced more accurately, aiding later comparison
High-CRI lighting renders true colors, which is critical when fiber or paint color may be compared to known samples.