Footage of a crime may seem like the smoking gun in a case, but photographic evidence is highly complex and often misunderstood.
There are several facets of forensic photography, including crime scene photos and scientific imaging, which involves the optical enhancement of images and footage.
Forensic photography expert Glenn Porter explains on a recent episode of the Crime Insiders: Forensics podcast:
An important part of forensic photography is identifying people by zooming into a photo and looking at evidence like a fingerprint or face.
Facial recognition is a critical part of identification but can be very difficult, Porter explains, “It needs a forensic expert that’s trained in facial identification to be able to make that claim, a little bit like a fingerprint.”
“The major difference between face and fingerprint is that faces change. Fingerprints don’t. So weight gain, weight loss, cosmetic surgery as you mentioned, age. That’s one of the things that’s made facial identification quite difficult and it’s not consistent.”
To hear how forensic analysis helped Porter solve crimes, listen to the full episode of Crime Insiders: Forensics.