[Music] [Music] clip on your TV or heck just walk outside these days cameras are literally everywhere think about it we've got security cameras traffic light cameras we've got ATM cameras dashboard cameras and let's not forget the undisputed champ of all cameras the cell phone cam these days almost everyone has a camera in the pocket and it's changed the way we record information forever footage of breaking news all the way down the pictures of your friends breakfasts posted on social media everything has the potential to be captured on camera by anyone at anytime so what does this all mean for crime scene photographers are they obsolete I mean after all we all possess the basic skills necessary to take a photo and pretty much everyone everywhere is already recorded anyway right nope negative absolutely positively wrong crime scene photography is and always will be essential to crime scene investigations and unlike what you see on TV it's not just a matter of showing up to a crime scene and snapping a few pictures more than just point-and-shoot crime scene photography is an exacting and thorough capture of every aspect of the scene here to tell us more about it is nfstc art director and photographer becky carter crime scene photography provides a permanent record of a crime scene contents and condition for presentation later on in court or for analysis after an investigation is completed the scene will never look the same way again items will be moved surfaces will be cleaned and it's very important for other investigators to have a record of the condition of the scene and where evidence was to be able to locate later crime scene photographs must be accurate and unbiased to be admissible or even useful it's all about accuracy security and dashcam footage can be a wonderful asset to an investigation when they exist sometimes the cameras just aren't there and usually those cameras point in only one direction a crime scene photographer is able to photograph in many different directions and with much higher quality than many standalone camera installations smartphone cameras are usually not very good at documenting close-up or macro evidence for example fingerprints you need a lot of detail to be able to make a fingerprint useful for analysis and smartphone cameras just aren't there yet also software is making changes to your photos after you take it but before I get saved to the cameras memory this is a big no-no we want to make sure when we submit our images that they are exactly as they were taken by the camera lastly any device used to collect evidence may be subject to subpoena I'd prefer to keep my personal phone personal so as you can see crime scene photography is way more involved than just taking a picture it's an in-depth process that requires very specific skills and incredible attention to detail and unlike what you see on TV not just anyone off the street with a cell phone camera can do it just because everyone has a camera doesn't mean everyone's a pro crime scenes need real crime scene photographers collecting real evidence anything else is photography get the picture [Music] everyone thanks for watching this latest program from nfstc if you'd like to see more click on one of these links and don't forget to subscribe we'll see you next time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]