Forensic Photography

Course Length: 1 Day (8 Hours)

This intensive 8-hour, hands-on program provides public and private sector professionals with the practical skills needed to accurately capture, document, and preserve visual evidence under real-world field conditions. Designed for individuals with moderate experience and limited equipment resources, the course focuses on field-expedient photographic techniques that produce reliable, defensible images suitable for investigative, administrative, insurance, and litigation applications.

Participants will receive applied instruction in the foundational principles of forensic photography - including exposure, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, and lighting - and will practice these concepts through guided classroom discussions, demonstrations, and scenario-based field exercises. Emphasis is placed on producing clear, accurate, and contextual images that support origin and cause determinations, failure analysis, damage assessments, and evidentiary documentation.

Students will use their own DSLR cameras to photograph under varying environmental and lighting conditions, including low-light scenarios commonly encountered in fire, explosion, and structural investigations. Instruction includes the use of alternative lighting techniques to reveal latent or subtle forms of evidence, such as trace materials, patterns, or scene indicators that may otherwise go unnoticed.

The program also covers best practices for documenting impression evidence -such as tool marks, bite marks, footwear and tire impressions - as well as methods for photographing fire scenes, structural damage, mechanical failures, and collision-related evidence. Special focus is placed on evidentiary integrity, chain of custody, digital media management, metadata considerations, and standards relevant to investigative, insurance, and legal proceedings.

By the end of the course, attendees will be equipped to produce high-quality, accurate, and defensible photographic documentation that meets professional, investigative, and courtroom standards across a variety of public and private sector applications.

All IAAI courses are subject to cancellation or postponement at any time due to unforeseen circumstances. Registered participants will be notified as soon as possible.

One Day

CFITrainer.Net® Module Prerequisite:

• Digital Photography and the Fire Investigator