Forensic dental photography 211
It is important to understand a final concept about the physiology of
injured skin. In a living victim, at any point in time after the initial response
to injury occurs, the composition of the injured skin is different from all other
points in time; the skin is continuously changing as the injury heals. These
changes will affect the response of the tissues to the selected wavelength of
light energy over time and may change the appearance of the injured tissue
when photographed. This is especially true in a living victim but it is also
true in a deceased victim, for the first few days after death. If the anticipated
photographic evidence is not obtained with the first attempts, one should
continue to rephotograph the injuries over time. If the victim is deceased, one
should attempt to have the medical examiner or coroner delay any invasive
autopsy procedures of the tissues associated with the injury until all attempts
to photograph the injury have been exhausted.
11.5 Forensic Dental Photography: Types and Techniques
When presented with an injury, the forensic dentist or investigator must
decide what information the injury may contain, the extent of the injury, and
how best to photographically record it. As previously mentioned, preserv-
ing the detail of the injury with photographs may involve a combination of
color and black-and-white visible light photographs as well as the use of the
nonvisible ultraviolet and infrared photographs. The photographer should
develop a standard technique that includes capturing orientation photographs
showing where the injury occurred on the body. Additionally, this protocol
should include taking closeup photographs with and without a scale. The
scale serves as a reference to record the relative size of the injuries in the
photographs. The evolution of scales for forensic photography resulted in
the development of a two-legged (right-angled) scale, known as the ABFO 2®^
scale, which is used by modern crime scene photographers. This scale was
developed by a photogrammetrist (Mr. William Hyzer) and a forensic dentist
(Dr. Thomas Krauss) for the purpose of minimizing photographic distor-
tion and ensuring accuracy in measurement (Figure 11.11). The ABFO 2 scale
is now available through Amour Forensics, a branch of Lightning Powder
Company, Inc. As this book goes to press, an ABFO 3 scale is being designed
and developed in cooperation with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST).
The photographer should retain the scale used in the photograph
should enlargement to life-size reproductions become necessary at some
future time. It is essential that the standard technique developed by the
forensic photographer include exposing many photographs for each case.
One should not be hesitant to use several rolls of film or create significant
numbers of digital images for a photo shoot. Typically, most beginning