Photographer examiners, often called crime scene photographers, create a permanent visual record of a crime scene through photographs. Their work is essential to criminal investigation, because detectives and jurors can use the pictures to understand what happened, even months or years later when the crime scene is no longer intact. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual salary of $51,570 for forensic specialists such as crime scene photographers. The BLS also projects strong employment prospects for this profession, estimating a 19 percent increase in demand between 2010 and 2020.
Determining Key Evidence
Detectives sometimes instruct crime scene photographers to document specific pieces of evidence, but photographers must depend primarily on their own judgment. They must ensure that they're photographing only relevant evidence, such as a weapon or a blood smear, without capturing unrelated details that could confuse someone viewing the photo later. Crime scene photographers attempt to start taking photos as soon as they arrive, before any evidence is moved by officers investigating the scene. If photographers can capture the scene as it was immediately after the crime, there's a greater chance their photos will reveal evidence that could point to a suspect.
Framing the Evidence
A series of random photos don't help investigators or jurors reconstruct the scene of a crime. It's the crime scene photographer's responsibility to frame the evidence in a way that provides context and an outline of the crime's timeline. Photographers provide insight into the sequence of events by photographing the scene in the order in which events took place. When documenting a home invasion, they might begin with overall photos of the scene, focusing on the outside of the house and possibly neighboring homes. They'd next photograph where the intruder broke in and follow his actions as he moved through the home.
Crime scene photographers must attempt to recreate the scene as closely as possible, so that people viewing the photographs can understand the scene just as though they'd visited it in person. To do this, they capture every shot from multiple angles, including close-up shots focusing on a single item and wider angles capturing the context of the scene. For example, they may take a close-up photo of the murder weapon, followed by a photo of it next to the victim's body. This gives witnesses a up-close look at the details of a given piece of evidence, as well as helping them understand what role it played in the crime.
After photographing a crime scene in its original state, crime scene photographers label or mark all of the evidence and take another series of photos. Labeling the evidence helps it stand out in photographs and provides a sense of perspective. For example, a photographer may place identifying flags next to footprints in the soil to help them show up in photos and indicate their direction. He also places a numbered marker next to each item. The same number is used on other official documentation, such as sketches of the crime scene and written reports. Anyone viewing the photos can then use this number to find additional information about the evidence.
2016 Salary Information for Forensic Science Technicians
Forensic science technicians earned a median annual salary of $56,750 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, forensic science technicians earned a 25th percentile salary of $42,710, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $74,220, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 15,400 people were employed in the U.S. as forensic science technicians.
- Forensic Magazine: Crime Scene Photography: Capturing the Scene
- Crime Scene Investigator Network: Innovative Evidence Identification Markers at a Crime Scene
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Forensic Science Technicians
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Forensic Science Technicians
- Career Trend: Forensic Science Technicians
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images