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Photography

Photographs are used to supplement an accident investigation and the written report concerning the accident. When used in court testimony, they help indicate and explain the chain of events. Photographs, however, never take the place of an investigation or a report. The investigator should take as many pictures as necessary to properly depict the accident. They should represent what is actually seen by the investigator, thus scale, angles of view, color and light should be as nearly like what, is seen as possible. Photographs must be taken as follows (minimum): Establishing Photograph--This picture should show the scene, the approaches to the scene, and a fixed object in the background to establish the scene. 360-Degree Photographs--These pictures should show all four sides of the accident scene, that is, looking north, south, east and west. Damage Photographs--Close-up pictures of damage to all vehicles and items struck by vehicles involved, to include contact and induced damage.

Skidmarks and debris

Any persons, materials or marks not included in the original scene should not be included in the photographs. This includes police, wrecker personnel, bystanders, chalk marks, measuring devices, etc. The locations from which photographs are taken should be recorded on an overlay to the diagram. They should be numbered in sequence, and a brief description of the picture scene placed on the reverse. For example, "Photo #6 Accident Scene, Facing South." To avoid confusion with other photographs, the first exposure of a roll or series should include a data card that includes the time, date, location and investigator's initials. (Note: The same scene should then be photographed without the data card.) Nighttime Photography--At night, it is more difficult to establish the scene and to see details and distance relationships in photographs. If it is impossible to have permanently fixed objects in the scene to establish the photograph a data board should be used. Greater detail can be achieved by adjusting the f-stop of the camera to allow more light to enter (smaller f-stop). If available, an extension flash attachment will better reveal depth at night. If no flash is available, several photographs taken successively, closer to the object, should be taken. Investigators should go back and photograph the complete area during daylight.

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