Archive for March, 2011

Is your expert an expert?

Mar 17th, 2011 - Filed under: Blog Tags: —

On a recent case opposing counsel hired a forensic photographer. The case involved an accident at night in which visibility was a key factor. The role of the forensic photographer in a case like this is to photograph the area to visually show what a person could see in such an environment. This may involve checking weather conditions, visibility conditions, lighting conditions, and getting information about the exact location of the incident, etc. Of course, it also involves a thorough understanding of how to accurately reproduce the scene photographically.

In this case, the opposing “expert” photographed the wrong area and used the wrong equipment. In his deposition, he was asked about the lighting, and his response included, “Again, this is out of my kind of area. I’m there to push the button.”

He was asked later in the deposition about his role as a forensic photographer, to which he stated, “… I think of it as kind of a movie set. Okay. We have a producer … director … and a cameraman, me.” This photographer obviously doesn’t think of himself as an expert, but as just the person to, “… push the button.”

When I visited the same scene, I checked the weather conditions, moon phase and position, and lighting conditions. I referred to photographs taken the night of the accident and the following day for orientation. And, I read depositions of witnesses. I used the proper equipment, took light readings, and made thorough notes about my observations. When I made prints, I used a calibrated monitor and printer, and valid methods for reproducing the proper tonal values in the prints. I was able to explain when I was deposed how I knew what to photograph, when to photograph the area, what equipment was proper to use, and how I know that my prints represented the scene as it was the night I took the photographs.

Next time you need a forensic photographer, be sure to get an expert, rather than the “cameraman” who is just there to “push the button.”

When to hire an expert

Mar 9th, 2011 - Filed under: Blog

I was recently retained on a civil case just a month before the trial date. When called about the case, I was told that the firm never thought of hiring a forensic photographer until one showed up in opposing counsel’s expert list. In this case, I needed to photograph the scene of an accident to depict what could be seen from a specific perspective, at a specific time of day, under specific lighting conditions. Although I was able to help in this case, this often is not enough time to properly match conditions. This attorney almost waited too long.
That case is over, and the attorney called to thank me for my work (his side won a fair settlement) and to indicate that he will bring me in earlier in future cases. He had never heard of using a forensic photographer before, and now sees the value of having one, and of bringing one in early enough to visually demonstrate through photographs the conditions of a specific event.
A forensic photographer will use the proper equipment, perspective, exposure, and printing technologies to depict the scene. Gaining access to the scene, arranging for lighting to match the conditions, matching sun and/or moon conditions (position as well as phase for the moon) may all need to be taken into consideration.
Bring your experts in early enough in the case to enable them to do a thorough job and to schedule their work for the best time to match conditions – which may be months away (or months ago).